PORTLAND PILOTS (7-5, 4-2 WCC)
WEEK 9: vs. #18 Gonzaga Bulldogs (12-2, 7-0 WCC)
Day: Sunday
Date: Jan. 24, 2021
Place: Portland, Ore.
Time: 4 p.m.
Gym: Chiles Center
Online: Video I Stats
 
POR vs. GU
Overall: 28-55  •  Last 5/10: 1-4/1-9
H: 14-24  •  A: 10-29  •  N: 4-2
Last: @GON 75, POR 43 (1/9/21)
 
THIS WEEK
• The Pilots shuffled the schedule this week and will host the No. 18 Gonzaga Bulldogs in a West Coast Conference game on Sunday at the Chiles Center, with tip-off for the two northwest rivals set for 4 p.m.
• The Pilots were originally scheduled to host BYU and San Diego this week, but both games were postponed due to COVID-19 protocols.
• The Gonzaga game also fills the void of Sunday's previously scheduled non-conference contest against Saint Martin's, which was cancelled.
• An online video stream and live stats are available for the games, and links for those can be found at PortlandPilots.com.
 
ABOUT THE PILOTS
• Junior point guard Haylee Andrews is on the verge of scoring 1,000 career points as she enters the weekend with 932; Andrews should become the 28th 1,000-point scorer in program history and the first since both Darian Slaga and Julie Spencer accomplished the feat in 2019.
• Andrews is also No. 10 all-time at UP in career points per game (13.7), is 12th in field goal percentage (.475), and ranks 13th with 329 assists.
• The Pilots started 3-0 in the WCC for the first time since the 1996-97 season, and their current 4-2 league mark is also the best after six games since that same year.
• During the recent win over Saint Mary's, the Pilots handed out an impressive 28 assists, which is a program record against a DI opponent; the previous record of 25 came against Pepperdine in 2014, and in 1983 the Pilots recorded 45 assists vs. Concordia.
• The Pilots also nearly set a program record when they registered 30 steals during a win over Northwest; twice the Pilots have 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.
• Haylee Andrews was named the WCC player of the Week after averaging 22.0 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 4.0 assists during road wins at Pepperdine and LMU; Andrews was the second Pilot to earn the award this season, and it's the third time Andrews has been named the WCC's Player of the Week during her career.
• Sophomore forward Alex Fowler was named WCC Player of the Week (Dec. 7) after averaging 16.0 points vs. Seattle U and Oregon; it's the fourth career weekly conference honor for Fowler.
• Fowler's week included a 20-point performance during a win over Seattle U, and she netted 12 against the No. 9 Ducks.
• Against Montana State, Fowler recorded her second career game with 30 or more points, finishing with 31, which is the second most scored by a WCC player this season; as a freshman, Fowler scored a career-best 35 at Santa Clara.
• The Pilots have compiled 20 or more assists five times this year and they rank 22nd in the nation and second in the WCC averaging 17.3 dimes per contest.
• Portland is 18th nationally and second in the conference in steals per game (11.3).
• Individually, Haylee Andrews ranks 28th in the country and first in the WCC with a 5.3 assists per game mark.
• Senior sharpshooter Maddie Muhlheim ranks third all-time at UP with 201 career three-pointers; Deana Lansing holds the school career record with 223 three's and Laiken Dollente sits in second with 214.
• 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.
• 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 .532 career field goal percentage ranks No. 1 and her and 17.3 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.
• 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 the COVID-19 pandemic.
• The game vs. Seattle U on Dec. 6 was No. 300 as a head coach for Meek.
 
ABOUT THE OPPONENT
• The Gonzaga Bulldogs are ranked 18th in the Coaches' Poll and 20th in the AP Poll.
• The Zags have won 11 in a row and are out-scoring WCC opponents by a 70.4 to 49.6 margin.
• They're the top defensive team in the WCC, allowing only 55.5 points per contest overall.
• Jenn Wirth leads the team in scoring, averaging 13.5 points, and reigning WCC Player of the Year Jill Townsend is just behind her with a 13.2 per game mark.
• Wirth is also the team's top rebounder (8.6 rpg) and she's registered a league-best seven double-doubles.
• Gonzaga was selected as the top team in the WCC Preseason Poll, and they're under the guidance of seventh-year head coach Lisa Fortier.
 
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.
• 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.
• By winning the WCC, the Pilots claimed their first berth to the NCAA Tournament since 1997.