PORTLAND PILOTS (16-6, 6-4 WCC)
WEEK 15: at San Francisco/Santa Clara

at San Francisco Dons (13-13, 7-7 WCC)
Day: Thursday
Date: Feb. 17, 2022
Place: San Francisco, Calif.
Time: 6:00 PM
Gym: War Memorial
Online Video: PortlandPilots.com
Stats: PortlandPilots.com

POR vs. USF
Overall: 37-37 • Last 5/10: 4-1/5-5
H: 22-12 •  A: 15-20  •  N: 0-5
Last: @POR 65, USF 60 (Jan. 13, 2022)

at Santa Clara Broncos (12-11, 6-7 WCC)
Day: Saturday
Date: Feb. 19, 2022
Place: Santa Clara, Calif.
Time: 2:00 p.m.
Gym: Leavey Center
Online Video: PortlandPilots.com
Stats: PortlandPilots.com

POR vs. SCU
Overall: 33-48  •  Last 5/10: 3-2/3-7
H: 17-18  •  A: 12-27  •  N: 4-3
Last: @POR 76, SCU 71 OT (Jan 22, 2022)

THIS WEEK 
• The Portland Pilots are headed back to California for their next three contests, starting with two this weekend against the San Francisco Dons and the Santa Clara Broncos.
• They'll play the Dons on Thursday at 6 p.m. and the Broncos on Saturday at 2 p.m.
• Links to a stream and live stats for both games can be found at PortlandPilots.com.

ABOUT THE PILOTS
• The Portland Pilots are 16-6 after splitting their games against the Saint Mary's Gaels and the Pacific Tigers.
• They earned a stellar win over the Gaels but dropped a heartbreaker to the Tigers despite a late push.
• The Pilots still own their best record since the 1996-97 season.
• Maisie Burnham has led the Pilots in scoring in each of the last three games. She's averaged 15.7 points and four rebounds over that span.
• Burnham has been the top scorer off the bench for Portland, averaging 7.9 points per game. She's scored in double digits seven times this season.
• Alex Fowler, Rose Pflug and Liana Kaitu'u were the only other players to score in double digits with 11, 10 and 13 respectively.
• Fowler -- who took WCC Player of the Week honors last week --  is first in the WCC in field-goal percentage (56.7%) and fourth in points (17.5) and rebounds per game (7.5).
• Fowler moved up to fifth all-time in career points among Pilots who only played Division I basketball and seventh among all Pilots.
• Lucy Cochrane racked up the blocks against Saint Mary's with eight. It's the sixth time she's had at least five blocks in a game this year.
• She's been one of the best defensive players in the country, leading the nation in blocks per game (3.7) and ranking third in total blocks (74). Her 74 blocks are the second most from any Pilot at the DI level over the course of a season.
• As far back as 2000, she is the only Pilot to put up at least five blocks three games in a row. She is the only Pilot in the 2000s to have five blocks in five different games.
• Cochrane's career-high of nine blocks in a game -- which she's done twice -- is more than any Pilot in the 2000s. The Pilots as a team hadn't had a game where they'd blocked at least nine shots since 2015.
• Rose Pflug has stepped into the starting lineup for Haylee Andrews, who suffered a knee injury against BYU. She's averaged 10.6 points and four assists over five games.
• Andrews was one of only three active four-year players who have career totals of 1,300 points, 450 rebounds, 350 assists and 100 steals. She also leads the WCC assists per game (5.7).
• Portland ranks second in the WCC in points per game (71.6), assists per game (18.2), steals per game (11.9) and blocks per game (4.8).
• Nationally, Portland's assist average ranks seventh and steals average ranks 10th.
• 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 winner, 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 (55.2%), third in scoring average (17.6) and sixth in rebounding average (7.6).
• Andrews is second in assists all-time in program history among Pilots who only played Division I basketball (525). She is second in assist average (5.2). Andrews is fourth in assists all-time.
• 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.
• Fowler -- who sits at 1,415 points currently -- has a chance to break into the top five in scoring by the end of the year.
• Andrews currently sits at sixth all-time.
• Among the other key returners is Maddie Muhlheim, who is the Pilots' career leader in three-pointers at 261 total and in games played at 134.
• 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.
• Among other notable accomplishments for Muhlheim, this year she became the 30th Pilot to score 1,000 points for her career, doing so in Portland's overtime win over Santa Clara.
• Muhlheim also averaged a team-high 2.2 steals per game, which was fifth in the WCC.
• 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.
• Shearer took WCC Freshman of the Week honors earlier this season.

THE HEAD COACH
• The Pilots are under the guidance of third-year head coach Michael Meek.
• Meek ranks sixth in career winning percentage (281-65, .815) 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 San Francisco Dons are 13-13 on the season while the Santa Clara Broncos are 12-11.
• They are currently locked in a tight race in the middle of the WCC, occupying the fourth and sixth slots respectively.
• Molly Goodenbour is in her sixth season in charge of the Dons. Bill Carr is also in his sixth season leading the Broncos.