PORTLAND PILOTS (5-3, 2-0 WCC)
WEEK 6: vs. Pacific / Saint Mary's
 
vs. Pacific Tigers (3-1, 1-0 WCC)
Day: Saturday
Date: Jan. 2, 2021
Place: Portland, Ore.
Time: 2 p.m.
Gym: Chiles Center
Online: Video I Stats
 
POR vs. PAC
Overall: 10-15  •  Last 5/10: 1-4/3-7
H: 4-6  •  A: 4-7  •  N: 2-2
Last: POR 76, PAC 69 @Vegas (3/7/20)
 
vs. Saint Mary's Gaels (2-5, 0-1 WCC)
Day: Monday
Date: Jan. 4, 2021
Place: Portland, Ore.
Time: 2 p.m.
Gym: Chiles Center
Online: Video I Stats
 
POR vs. SMC
Overall: 23-47  •  Last 5/10: 2-3/3-7
H: 15-18  •  A: 7-26  •  N: 1-3
Last: POR 72, @SMC 53 (2/6/20)
 
THIS WEEK
• The Pilots return home to host a pair of West Coast Conference games at the Chiles Center, with the Pacific Tigers coming to The Bluff on Saturday and the Saint Mary's Gaels following on Monday.
• Both games are scheduled to tip-off at 2 p.m.
• Online video streams and live stats are available, and links for those can be found at PortlandPilots.com.
 
ABOUT THE PILOTS
• The Pilots are 2-0 in the WCC for the first time since the 1996-97 season.
• During the recent win over Northwest, the Pilots registered 30 steals, which missed matching a program record by one; the Pilots have twice made 31 steals in a game, against Southern Oregon in 1984 and Concordia in 1996.
• The 31 steals are the most for the Pilots since compiling 25 at UC Riverside in 2000, which is the program record for steals against a DI program.
• Sophomore forward Alex Fowler was named WCC Player of the Week (Dec. 7) after averaging 16.0 points during Portland's two games; it's the fourth career weekly conference honor for Fowler, and the first one this season.
• Fowler's week included a 20-point performance during a win over Seattle U, and she netted 12 against the No. 9 Oregon Ducks; against the Redhawks, Fowler made all five of her field goal attempts in the second half, she shot 7-for-13 overall, connected on all six of her free throws, and added six rebounds, three assists, and three steals.
• Against Montana State, Fowler recorded her second career game with 30 or more points, finishing with 31; as a freshman, Fowler scored a career-best 35 at Santa Clara.
• The Pilots have compiled 20 or more assists four times this year and they rank 31st in the nation and first in the WCC averaging 17.6 dimes per contest.
• Portland is also 18th nationally in steals per game (12.0).
• Individually, junior point guard Haylee Andrews ranks first in the WCC with a 5.0 assists per game mark; Andrews has scored 22 points during both of Portland's WCC wins.
• Senior sharpshooter Maddie Muhlheim ranks third all-time at UP with 198 career three-pointers; Deana Lansing holds the school career record with 223 three's and Laiken Dollente sits in second with 214.
• With 21 three's this season, she ranks 20th in the country and second in the WCC.
• As a sophomore in 2018-19, Muhlheim she set a program single-game record when she hit nine three's against USD.
• The Pilots were picked to finish third in the WCC this season in the preseason coaches poll, and they received a first-place vote.
• Andrews and Fowler were both voted to the Preseason All-WCC Team.
• Andrews and Fowler are two of four returning starters for the Pilots, who lost only graduated senior Kate Andersen from the starting five.
• Fowler is coming off perhaps one of the best seasons in program history; the forward led the conference in scoring with an 18.0 points per game mark, she was named the WCC's Newcomer of the Year, was voted to the All-WCC First Team, was tabbed the WCC Tournament MVP, and she joined Andrews on the all-tournament team.
• Her .542 career field goal percentage ranks No. 1 and her and 17.8 points per game career is second on Portland's all-time single season charts since the Pilots began playing at the NCAA DI level in 1986; all-time, Fowler is second in program history in field goal percentage and third in points per game.
• Andrews is No. 10 all-time at UP in career points per game (13.8), is 12th in field goal percentage (.472), and ranks 14th with 306 assists.
• The Pilots, who are led by second-year head coach Michael Meek, are coming off a historical season as Portland made a magical run at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, Nev., to win the West Coast Conference Tournament Championship and earn a berth into the NCAA Tournament.
• It was a the first WCC Tourney title for the Pilots since 1994, and Portland would have made their first appearance at March Madness since 1997, had the tourney not been cancelled due to COVID.
• Last year the Pilots lead the league in scoring (69.5), field goal percentage (.449), assists (16.2), and three-point percentage defense (.267).
• The game vs. Seattle U on Dec. 6 was No. 300 as a head coach for Meek.
 
A HISTORICAL SEASON
• 2019-20 was a season of milestones for the Pilots as then first-year head coach Michael Meek led the team to a 21-11 overall record for the program's first 20-win season since 1996-97.
• Portland went 11-7 in the WCC to finish fourth, and this came after the Pilots were selected 10th in the preseason coaches poll.
• You have to go back to 1996-97 to find a season with more conference wins for the program; that year the Pilots went a perfect 14-0 in league play when the WCC featured just eight teams.
• The Portland faithful flooded to the Chiles Center last year to support the Pilots, and 2019-20 featured two of the biggest crowds in program history.
• The 1,772 that came to the game vs. USF (Feb. 15) was the fifth biggest crowd ever, and the contest with Gonzaga (Feb. 29) featured the sixth largest crowd at 1,709.
• The Pilots swept the regular season series vs. Saint Mary's for the first time since 2008-09.
• On Jan. 4, the Pilots won 57-48 at BYU, ending a 20-game losing streak to the Cougars; it was the first win for Portland over BYU since the 1998-99 season.
• The wins at USF and SCU (Jan 16-18) marked the first WCC weekend road sweep for the Pilots since 2009-10 (also at USF & SCU).
• The Pilots saved perhaps their best performance for Las Vegas when they stormed through the WCC Tournament to claim the title for the first time since 1994.
• The tourney featured wins over three teams that swept the Pilots during the regular season: Pacific (Quarterfinals), No. 11 Gonzaga (Semifinals), San Diego (Finals).
• The win over the No. 11 Zags was the Pilots first win in the series since defeating Gonzaga in 2009 in Spokane, a stretch of 23 straight Bulldog wins.
• It was also the first win over a ranked opponent since topping the No. 24 San Diego Toreros at the Chiles Center in 2014.
• By winning the WCC, the Pilots claimed their first berth to the NCAA Tournament since 1997.
 
ABOUT THE OPPONENTS
• The Pacific Tigers opened play in the WCC with a 78-70 overtime win at Saint Mary's.
• Valerie Higgins scored 26 points against the Gaels and is averaging a team-high 18.3 points per contest.
• As a team, Pacific is averaging 72.3 points and allowing 78.3.
• The Tigers, who were picked to finish sixth in the WCC, are led by sixth-year head coach Bradley Davis.
• Taycee Wedin leads four Saint Mary's Gaels scoring in double digits with a 13.7 per game mark.
• The Gaels are putting up 68.9 points per game, while opponents are scoring 74.0.
• Long-time head coach Paul Thomas is in his 15th year at Saint Mary's, who were picked fifth in the conference.