PORTLAND PILOTS (6-2, 0-0 WCC)
WEEK 5: vs. CSUN Matadors

vs. CSUN Matadors (3-4, 0-0 Big West)
Day: Thursday
Date: Dec. 9, 2021
Place: Portland, Ore.
Time: 7:00 PM
Gym: Chiles Center
Online Video: PortlandPilots.com
Stats: PortlandPilots.com

POR vs. CSUN
Overall: 6-5 •  Last 5/10: 1-4/5-5
H: 5-0 •  A: 0-5 •  N: 1-0
Last: POR 64, @CSUN 73 (Nov. 21, 2019)

THIS WEEK 
• The Portland Pilots will end their homestand this Thursday, Dec. 9 when they welcome the CSUN Matadors to the Chiles Center.
• Tipoff for the game is set for 7 p.m.
• Links to a stream and live stats can be found at PortlandPilots.com as well as tickets.

ABOUT THE PILOTS
• The Portland Pilots are 6-2 this season, most recently losing to the then-ranked Oregon Ducks 62-59 at the Chiles Center.
• The game came down to a last-second three from Haylee Andrews, who had her potential game-tying three come up just short.
• The loss snapped Portland's four-game winning streak and ended a three-game skid for the Ducks
• Alex Fowler and Andrews were the top scorers for the Pilots with 16 and 10 respectively. Fowler also had nine rebounds and four steals.
• Fowler has shined in her last five contests, averaging 16.6 points per game and 8.4 rebounds. She currently ranks second in the WCC in total steals (18), third in field-goal percentage (48.5) and fourth in field-goals made (47) and rebounds per game (7.0).
• Lucy Cochrane also impressed defensively for the Pilots against her former school, recording five blocks and two steals on the night.
• Cochrane's night marks the first time a Pilot has earned at least five blocks or more in a game since 2014, when Sara Zaragoza had six.
• The Australia native is averaging a WCC-leading three blocks per game and has the most total blocks of any player at 21. She is the only Pilot to win WCC Player of the Week this year, doing so on Nov. 15.
• Haylee Andrews has also stood out during the first few weeks of play, currently leading the conference in assists per game (5.9) and total assists (47).
• Portland leads the conference in several stats, including points per game (76.2), scoring margin (+18.5), steals per game (14.2), total steals (114), assists per game (19.5), total assists (156), three-point defense (25.5%), turnovers forced per game (24.0) and turnover margin (+6.4).
• Of the stats above they are fourth nationally in steals per game, seventh in total steals, ninth in assists per game, 10th in turnovers forced and 11th in total assists.
• Portland has scored at least 90 points three times this season. The last time they did that through their first eight games was 1983.
• Defensively, they held three teams under 50 points through the first seven games, marking the first time they had ever done so.
• The Pilots went 14-13 overall last season and finished 9-8 in WCC play, marking the second season in a row the team has finished above .500.
• It is the first time that Portland has earned back-to-back seasons above .500 since the 2010-11 season.
• The team also earned a postseason berth for the second year in a row, receiving an invite to play in the Women's Basketball Invitational (WBI) for the third time in program history.
• It is the first time the Pilots have earned back-to-back postseason berths for the first time since 2010, when the team made the WNIT and the WBI in back-to-back years.
• Portland finished second in the WBI, marking their deepest postseason run since becoming an NCAA Division I program back in the 1986-87 season.
• The Pilots ranked first last season in both total assists (477) and assists per game (17.7) as well as steals (284) in the WCC. They also ranked second in steals per game (10.5) and turnovers forced (18.9) and third in points per game (68.4) and field-goal percentage (44%).
• Of the stats above, they ranked 10th nationally in assists per game and 11th nationally in total steals and assists.
• The Pilots return nine players from last season as well as their top eight scorers.
• Among those returners are Fowler and Andrews, who were both named to the All-WCC Preseason Team this season. It's the first time the Pilots have ever had two players named to the preseason team two years in a row.
• The Australian duo also were both named to the All-WCC First Team last year, becoming the first Pilot duo to earn the top honors since 2002.
• Andrews was one of the most dominant guards in the WCC last year, ranking fifth in the WCC in points per game (16.2) and first in assists (5.8).
• During just WCC play, Andrews led the conference in points per game (18.4) and assists (6.2). She is the first Pilot to ever lead the WCC in both and just the fourth player in WCC history to do so.
• Her 106 assists in WCC play was 26 more than the next closest player. She ranked ninth nationally in total asssist (152) and 12th in assists per game.
• Fowler finished third in the conference in scoring (16.8), fifth in total rebounds (200) and sixth in rebounds per game (7.4). She was also first in field goal attempts (336), field goals made (184) and field-goal percentage (54.8).
• That field-goal percentage for Fowler breaks her own Pilot record she set last season for field-goal percentage by a Pilot for a season at the DI level.
• A former WCC Newcomer of the Year winnner, she is the first Pilot to make back-to-back All-WCC First Teams since Natalie Day did so in 2010 and 2011.
• Fowler is second all-time in field-goal percentage (54%), fifth in scoring average (17.2) and sixth in rebounding average (7.6).
• At her current rebounding pace of 227.5 rebounds per season, she is on track to break into the top 10 all-time in total rebounds this year.
• Andrews is fourth in assists all-time in program history among Pilots who only played Division I basketball (470). She is second in assist average (5.2).
• Similar to Fowler, Andrews can break into the top two in career assists for a Pilot if she were to maintain her average of 141 assists per season.
• Both Fowler and Andrews eclipsed the 1,000-point threshold for their careers last year, with Fowler being the fastest Pilot ever to the career mark.
• If both Fowler and Andrews -- who have 1,150 (19th) and 1,293 (13th) points respectively -- maintain their season scoring total averages (402.7 for Andrews, 515.2 for Fowler), they will each have a chance to break into the top five in scoring all-time for the Pilots.
• Among the other key returners is Maddie Muhlheim, who is the Pilots' career leader in three-pointers who currently sits at 242 total.
• Muhlheim broke the record in the WBI semifinal matchup against the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks. She hit six threes in the 80-65 win over NAU and had a team-high 22 points.
• Muhlheim also averaged a team-high 2.2 steals per game, which was fifth in the WCC.
• Emme Shearer was the only other Pilot to earn All-WCC honors last year, making the All-WCC Freshman Team. She averaged seven points a game along with two rebounds and 1.4 assists.
• She is averaging 2.8 steals per game through eight games.

THE HEAD COACH
• The Pilots are under the guidance of third-year head coach Michael Meek.
• Meek ranks seventh in career winning percentage (271-61, .816) among active DI coaches with five-plus years of experience.
• He had the best record for a UP coach through the first two seasons ever at 35-24.

ABOUT THE OPPONENTS
• The CSUN Matadors are 3-4 this season, most recently having lost to the San Diego Toreros 70-83.
• They've played two WCC opponents this season -- the Toreros and the Loyola Marymount Lions -- and have split those games 1-1. They beat the Lions in overtime 62-57.
• Their other three losses all came againts opponents who were ranked when they played: Arizona, UCLA and Texas.
• Carlene Mitchell was named the interim coach this past summer.