PORTLAND PILOTS (13-9, 6-5 WCC)
WEEK 14: at Saint Mary's / Pacific
 
Saint Mary's Gaels (10-12, 5-6 WCC)
Day: Thursday
Date: Feb. 6, 2020
Place: Moraga, Calif.
Time: 6:30 p.m.
Gym: McKeon Pavilion
Online: Video I Stats
 
POR vs. SMC
Overall: 22-47  •  Last 5/10: 2-3/2-8
H: 15-18  •  A: 6-26  •  N: 1-3
Last: @POR 78, SMC 65 (1/11/20)
 
Pacific Tigers (13-9, 6-5 WCC)
Day: Saturday
Date: Feb. 8, 2020
Place: Stockton, Calif.
Time: 3 p.m.
Gym: Alex G. Spanos Center
Online: Video I Stats
 
POR vs. PAC
Overall: 9-14  •  Last 5/10: 1-4/2-8
H: 4-6  •  A: 4-6  •  N: 1-2
Last: PAC 77, @POR 73 (1/9/20)
 
THIS WEEK
• The Pilots begin the final stretch of the regular season with a two-game, West Coast Conference road trip that takes them to Saint Mary's and Pacific.
• First on Thursday night, the Pilots will be in Moraga, Calif., for a 6:30 p.m. tip-off with the Gaels at McKeon Pavilion.
• Saturday brings a short trek to Stockton, Calif., for a contest with the Tigers at the Alex G. Spanos Center, which is set to begin at 3 p.m.
• A live stream and live stats for both games can be found at PortlandPilots.com.
 
TICKETS/PROMOTIONS
• Fans can visit PortlandPilots.com/Tickets or call/text 503-943-GoUP for information on every Pilot home game this season.
• For information on all fan promotions, please visit PortlandPilots.com/Promotions.
 
LAST WEEK
• The Pilots dropped a couple of hard-fought contests at the Chiles Center as BYU won on Thursday and San Diego held off Portland on Saturday.
• The Pilots led the Cougars at the half, but BYU surged in front after the break to claim a 66-54 win.
• Alex Fowler had 17 points and eight boards for Portland.
• Saturday was a close game throughout and again the Pilots led after the first half, but the Toreros held on down the stretch to prevail 62-58.
• Fowler had finished with 26 points against USD, and Haylee Andrews collected 10 points, nine boards, and eight assists.
 
ABOUT THE PILOTS
• Despite last weekend's losses, the Pilots still have their best record (13-9) after 22 games since they went 15-7 in 2009-10.
• At 6-5, the Pilots also have their best league mark at this point since 2010-11.
• Portland's recent five-game winning streak was their longest since 2009-10.
• The Pilots began the season 4-0 for only the third time ever in program history, and it was the first time since 2010-11.
• 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 recent wins at USF and SCU marked the first WCC weekend road sweep for the Pilots since 2009-10 (also at USF & SCU), and they've won three straight conference road games for the first time since 2008-09.
• Following that road sweep, freshman forward Alex Fowler was named the WCC's Player of the Week for the second time this year.
• Fowler poured in a career-best 35 points at Santa Clara, she averaged 26 points and eight rebounds, and shot 65 percent from the field.
• She also nabbed the WCC's weekly award on Nov. 25 when she averaged 23.5 points and 7.0 rebounds during Portland's games at CSUN and Air Force.
• Fowler leads the WCC in scoring (17.9 ppg) and she's second in field goal percentage (.540); her 35 points at Santa Clara are the most scored by a WCC player this year.
• The 35 points are also the most scored by a Pilot since Jasmine Wooton went off for 36 points in 2013, and Fowler is the first Pilot to score at least 30 points since Cassandra Brown in 2015.
• Fowler has a team-best five double-doubles this season, and she ranks 4th nationally in field goals made (167).
• Haylee Andrews is second in the conference in scoring (16.5), she leads the league in assists (5.9), and she ranks 12th nationally in assists.
• During wins over Saint Mary's (1/11) and Santa Clara (1/18), Andrews dished a career-best 12 assists.
• The 12 assists are the most by a Portland player since ReZina TecleMariam also collected 12 dimes in 2011; the program record for assists in a game is 13.
• Andrews was the league's inaugural player of the week (Nov. 11) after she averaged 23 points and 8.5 rebounds during Portland's two season-opening wins.
• Earlier this season, Portland just missed matching a program single-game DI record by one when they tallied 24 assists overall at CSUN.
• The Pilots lead the league in both assists (17.5) and steals (11.5), and they're second in margin of victory (+6.6), field goal percentage (.446), and three-point percentage defense (.272).
• Portland is 10th nationally in steals and 14th in assists.
• Portland has just one senior on the roster, local product Kate Andersen (Jesuit HS), who's averaging a career-high 14.0 points; she ranks 14th nationally in steals (3.1) and has scored 857 career points.
• Maddie Muhlheim ranks fifth all-time at UP with 161 career three-pointers, and last year she set a program single-game record when she buried nine three's against USD.
• The Pilots are under the guidance of first-year head coach Michael Meek.
• In nine years at George Fox, Meek led the Bruins to eight NCAA DIII Tournaments, which included national title game appearances in 2012 and 2015.
• Meek ranks fourth in career winning percentage (243-44, .847) among active coaches with five-plus years of experience at all divisions of women's college basketball.
• First-year assistant coach Sharon Rissmiller ('01) is a UP alum who starred on the court for the Pilots from 1997 to 2001; she still ranks ninth all-time with a .770 career free throw percentage, and she compiled 1,069 career points.
• Portland has been to four NCAA Tournaments (1994-97), two WNIT's (1998 & 2009) and one WBI (2010).
 
ABOUT THE OPPONENTS
• The Saint Mary's Gaels are 1-6 in their last seven games.
• The Gaels are the top offensive team in the conference (71.3 ppg), and their 9.8 three-pointers per contest rank fifth nationally.
• SMC is allowing 72.0 points per game.
• Sam Simons is one of four Gaels scoring in double digits, averaging a team-high 15.3 points.
• Paul Thomas is in his 14th year as head coach of the Gaels.
• The Pacific Tigers are tied with the Pilots for fourth place in the WCC.
• The Tigers are scoring 69.9 points per game and allowing 64.6.
• Valerie Higgins is among the conference leaders in points (16.2), rebounds (9.0), assists (3.8), and steals (3.7).
• Bradley Davis is in his fifth season as head coach at Pacific.