SAN BRUNO, Calif. – Portland Pilot women's basketball players Haylee Andrews and Alex Fowler were both named to the All-WCC Preseason Team for the 2021-22 season for the second season in a row, marking the first time the Pilots have had two players picked to the team two years in a row. The Pilots as a team were picked to finish fifth in the conference.
Andrews makes the team after putting together one of the best seasons of any guard in the WCC. The Australia native led the WCC in both scoring (18.4) and assists (6.2) in league play, becoming just the fourth player in WCC history to do so. She had 106 assists in WCC contests alone, which was 26 more than the next closest player.
In all contests, Andrews averaged 16.2 points and 5.8 assists. Her assist average was good for 12
th in the nation and her assist total of 152 ranked ninth. She also eclipsed the 1,000-point mark against San Diego on Feb. 1 of this year. She was named to the All-WCC First Team last season, marking her first time making the top squad.
Fowler also continued to shine after winning WCC Newcomer of the Year and making the All-WCC First Team back in the 2019-20 season. Fowler made the All-WCC First Team again in the 2020-21 season after averaging an impressive 16.8 points per game along with 7.4 rebounds. Those marks were good for third and fifth in the WCC respectively. She also led the conference in field-goal percentage, making 54.8% of her attempts.
The fellow Australian also eclipsed the 1,000-point mark last season, becoming the fastest Pilot ever to achieve the feat. She also became the first Pilot since Katie Day did so in 2012 to be named to the All-WCC first team in back-to-back seasons.
The Pilots have been picked to finish in the top five of the WCC for the second year in a row, just two years removed from winning the WCC Tournament in the 2019-20 season. The BYU Cougars were picked to finish first in the conference with 80 points and eight first-place votes, followed by the Gonzaga Bulldogs, who garnered 72 points and two first-place votes. Those two teams were followed by the San Diego Toreros – who earned 66 total points – and the San Francisco Dons, who earned 53 points.
Portland was just two points behind the Dons in the preseason poll at 51 total points. The Santa Clara Broncos were picked sixth with 40 points, the Saint Mary's Gaels are slated for seventh with 32 points, the LMU Lions are eighth with 26 points and the Pepperdine Waves and Pacific Tigers bring up the rear with 16 and 14 points respectively.
The Pilots will play the Willamette Bearcats in an exhibition on Nov. 5 before starting the regular season against the UC San Diego Tritons on Thursday, Nov. 11. That game is part of a doubleheader with the men's team, with the women's team playing first at 5 p.m. followed by the men's game against Willamette at 7:30 p.m. Check PortlandPilots.com for live stats and video options and also check PortlandPilots.com/Tickets for all ticket options.
2021-22 WCC Women's Basketball Preseason Poll
Place |
Team |
First Place |
Points |
1. |
BYU |
8 |
80 |
2. |
Gonzaga |
2 |
72 |
3. |
San Diego |
|
66 |
4. |
San Francisco |
|
53 |
5. |
Portland |
|
51 |
6. |
Santa Clara |
|
40 |
7. |
Saint Mary's |
|
32 |
8. |
LMU |
|
26 |
9. |
Pepperdine |
|
16 |
10. |
Pacific |
|
14 |
2021-22 All-WCC Women's Basketball Preseason Team |
Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
School |
Haylee Andrews |
Sr. |
G |
Portland |
Jordyn Edwards* |
Sr. |
G |
San Diego |
Alex Fowler |
Jr. |
F |
Portland |
Shaylee Gonzales |
Jr. |
G |
BYU |
Lauren Gustin |
Jr. |
F |
BYU |
Paisley Harding* |
Sr. |
G |
BYU |
Melody Kempton |
Sr. |
F |
Gonzaga |
Ioanna Krimili |
So. |
G |
San Francisco |
Myah Pace* |
Sr. |
G |
San Diego |
Merle Whiehl* |
Sr. |
F |
Santa Clara |
*COVID Seniors