PORTLAND PILOTS (6-3, 3-0 WCC)
WEEK 7: at No. 21 Gonzaga (9-2, 4-0 WCC)
Day: Saturday
Date: Jan. 9, 2021
Place: Spokane, Wash.
Time: 2 p.m.
Gym: McCarthey Center
Online: Video I Stats
 
POR vs. GU
Overall: 28-54  •  Last 5/10: 1-4/1-9
H: 14-24  •  A: 10-28  •  N: 4-2
Last: POR 70, #11 GU 69 @Vegas (3/9/20)
 
THIS WEEK
• The Pilots travel to Spokane, Wash., for a showdown with the No. 21 Gonzaga Bulldogs on Saturday afternoon at the McCarthey Athletic Center, which is scheduled to tip-off at 2 p.m.
• Both teams enter the game unbeaten in the West Coast Conference.
• Online video streams and live stats are available, and links for those can be found at PortlandPilots.com.
 
ABOUT THE PILOTS
• The Pilots are 3-0 in the WCC for the first time since the 1996-97 season.
• During Monday's 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.
• 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.
• Junior point guard Haylee Andrews is the reigning 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 is 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 during Portland's two games; 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 Oregon Ducks.
• Against Montana State, Fowler recorded her second career game with 30 or more points, finishing with 31, which is the season high for 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 14th in the nation and first in the WCC averaging 18.8 dimes per contest.
• Portland is also 11th nationally in steals per game (12.4).
• In the WCC, the Pilots are averaging a league-high 71.0 points vs. conference opponents.
• Individually, Haylee Andrews ranks 17th in the country and first in the WCC with a 5.6 assists per game mark; Andrews is averaging a league-best 19.0 points vs. WCC foes.
• She's also quickly approaching 1,000 career points, currently sitting at 896; she's also No. 10 all-time at UP in career points per game (13.8), is 12th in field goal percentage (.476), and ranks 14th with 316 assists.
• 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.
• 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 .539 career field goal percentage ranks No. 1 and her and 17.6 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 COVID.
• 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 21st in both the AP and Coaches' Polls.
• The Zags are the top defensive team in the WCC, allowing only 57.3 points per contest; Gonzaga is scoring 70.9.
• Jenn Wirth and reigning WCC Player of the Year Jill Townsend are both averaging 13.5 points, and Wirth is the team's top rebounder with a 9.5 per game mark; Wirth has also registered a league-best six 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.