PORTLAND PILOTS (12-5, 6-0 WCC)
WEEK 10: vs. No. 20 Gonzaga Bulldogs

vs. No. 20 Gonzaga Bulldogs (16-2, 6-0 WCC)
Day: Saturday
Date: Jan. 14, 2022
Place: Portland, Ore.
Time: 5:00 p.m.
Gym: Chiles Center
TV: Portland's CW
Online Video: PortlandPilots.com
Stats: PortlandPilots.com

POR vs. GON
Overall: 28-58 •  Last 5/10: 1-4/1-9
H: 14-26 •  A: 10-30•  N: 4-2
Last: POR 59, GON 68 (Jan. 20, 2022)

THIS WEEK 
• The Pilots are staying home for their next game, a Saturday showdown against the No. 20 Gonzaga Bulldogs on Portland's CW.
• They'll play the Zags on Saturday, Jan. 14 at 5 p.m.
• An online video stream and live stats for will be available for the game as well. Those links can be found at PortlandPilots.com.

ABOUT THE PILOTS
• The Portland Pilots are 12-5 on the year and 6-0 in WCC play after beating the Santa Clara Broncos 81-71 and the San Francisco Dons 77-46, both at home.
• Portland has won seven in a row and are off to their best start in WCC play since the 1996-97 season. It's their longest win streak since the 2009-10 season.
• The Pilots lit it up from outside against Santa Clara, going 15-29 from the 3-point line, matching a program record for threes in a game.
• The Pilots also set a program record for threes in a half with 11 in the first.
• Alex Fowler put up at least 20 points for the third game in a row with 26 along with a career-high four threes made.
• Emme Shearer also scored 20 points with four threes of her own.
• Shearer immediately topped that 20-point performance with a career-high 21 points along with six rebounds against San Francisco. She averaged 20.5 points, five rebounds and 1.5 steals for the weekend.
• Haylee Andrews set a program record for assists in a game with 14 against the Dons. She also moved to second all-time for the Pilots in career assists with 589.
• Andrews is one of only seven players this year to put up at least 14 assists against a Division I opponent this year.
• The Pilots lead the WCC in turnovers forced (17.88), steals per game (9.9), field-goal percentage (47%) and assists per game (17.7). Nationally, they're 17th in both field-goal percentage and assists per game.
• Fowler leads the WCC in field-goal percentage (64.7%), free throw attempts (95), free throws made (77), points per game (17.6) and total points (300). She is also fourth in field goals made (108), seventh in assists per game (3.5) and eighth in total assists (59).
• Nationally, Fowler ranks sixth in field-goal percentage, 16th in free throws made and 26th in total points.
• Fowler is one of 13 players in NCAA Division I averaging at least 17 points, five rebounds, three assists and a steal this year. She is also one of 26 players to have reached 300 total points for the season.
• Haylee Andrews' 64 assists on the year is sixth in the WCC. Every player ahead of her has played at least 14 games while she has only played 10.
• The Pilots went 20-11 last season, finishing fourth in the WCC and qualifying for the Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) for the first time since 2009.
• It is the first time that Portland has earned a .500 record or better three seasons in a row since 2009-11.
• It was also their fifth season as a Division I program winning at least 20 games and their second time in three seasons under head coach Michael Meek.
• The Pilots also earned their first win in the WNIT against Colorado State 72-63. It was also their first home win in a playoff game.
• They advanced to the second round before falling to the Oregon State Beavers.
• The Pilots finished the season ranked first in the WCC in both blocks (154) and blocks per game (18.2), second in scoring offense (70.6), assists (564), assists per game (18.2), assist to turnover ratio (1.11), turnovers forced (18.58), steals (340), steals per game (11.0) and field-goal percentage (43.6%) and third in scoring defense (62.0).
• Of the stats above, they ranked seventh nationally in assists per game, 15th in assists and steals per game, 16th in total steals, 17th in blocks per game and 20th in total blocked shots.
• In terms of All-WCC honors, Alex Fowler was named to the All-WCC First Team, Haylee Andrews made the second team and Lucy Cochrane earned honorable mention.
• Fowler became the first Pilot to make the All-WCC First Team three times since Laiken Dollente in 2010 and the first to make it three times in a row since Kristin Hepton in 1999.
• Fowler averaged 17.1 points and eight rebounds per contest, leading the WCC in field-goal percentage (53.1) and ranking third in field goals made (199), rebounds (249) and rebounds per game, fourth in total points (530) and fifth in points per game.
• Andrews suffered a leg injury late in the season, only playing 18 games. She still averaged 11.3 points, 5.7 assists and 4.7 rebounds per contest, with her assist average being first in the WCC.
• Despite her injury, Andrews finished 10th in the WCC in total assists, with the next closest player having played eight more games than her.
• Cochrane was an absolute force defensively, blocking 114 shots for an average of 3.9 per contest. Both of those totals led the NCAA.
• Both of those stats also set program records for both most blocks in a season and most blocks per game in a season.
• Per HerHoopStats.com, Cochrane is one of just 30 players in the last 12 seasons to average 3.9 blocks per contest and one of just 52 players to record at least 110 blocks in a season. 
• Cochrane currently sits at sixth all-time in career blocks and fifth among those who only played NCAA Division I at 136. If she matches her pace set last season, she would become the all-time shot-blocking leader among Pilots who played Division I basketball only.
• Fowler sits at 1,861 career points and is just 92 points away from tying the school record for most points in a career at the NCAA Division I level. She is currently third in program history (DI level) and is just the third Pilot to score 1,800 points for her career.
• Fowler is 16th among all Division I players in career points and ninth in field goals made (733).
• Per HerHoopStats.com, Fowler is one of just nine players to put up at least 450 points and 200 boards in each of the last three seasons. She was also one of just 10 players to at least 17 points and eight rebounds per game last season on at least 50% shooting and one of nine players with at least 530 points and 240 rebounds on 50% shooting.
• Andrews is the only NCAA Division I player with at least 1,500 points, 550 assists, 500 rebounds and 150 steals.
• She ranks seventh among all NCAA Division I players in total assists at 575.
• Andrews is one of just three players in NCAA Division I since the 2018-19 season at have two seasons averaging at least 14 points, five assists, 4.5 rebounds and one steal per game. The other two players are Iowa's Caitlin Clark and Oregon's Sabrina Ionescu.
• She is also the only player to, from 2018-19 to 2020-21, put up three seasons with a total of 350 points, 120 rebounds, 120 assists and 30 steals. If she hadn't been injured last season, Andrews was on pace for around 350 points, 175 assists, 145 rebounds and 62 steals, which only four other players did last season.
• Among the Pilots, Andrews is second all-time in total assists at 589, just 50 shy of breaking Kathy Adleman's record. Her 5.3 assist average is also second all-time and she is sixth among Pilots who only played Division I basketball at 1,520 points.
• The Pilots were picked to finish second in the WCC in the annual WCC Preseason Coaches Poll. This is their highest such ranking since at least the 1990s.
• Fowler and Andrews were both named to the All-WCC Preseason Team, the third such year in a row that both players have been named to the team. No other Pilot duo has done that.
• 14 of Portland's 17 players from last year return this season, including 11 players who earned minutes last season and four of their top five scorers.
• Emme Shearer returns after finishing fifth in the WCC in steals (58) and steals per game.
• Maisie Burnham also returns after ending last season on a tear, averaging 13.5 points on 58% shooting (47.4% from three) in the final 13 games of the season.
• For newcomers, the Pilots added to their bevy of Oceana-based players by signing Florence Dallow and Melika Samia to the roster.
• Dallow is a 6-foot guard our of New Zealand who played for the U14 and U16 New Zealand youth national teams that placed first and second respectively at the FIBA Oceania Championships. She played for North Harbour Representative Basketball Team from 2015-21 as well, with her team taking third at nationals in 2019 and 2020 and fourth in 2021.
• Samia has played for several New Zealand national teams, including taking part with the U16 select team in 2017 and 2018 and the Waikato U19 team in 2021. That U19 team won a national championship in 2021. She was also a part of the NBA Global Academy.

THE COACHES
• The Pilots are under the guidance of fourth-year head coach Michael Meek.
• Meek ranks 15th in career winning percentage (297-75, .798) among active NCAA coaches with 10-plus years of experience (not all at DI level).
• He held the best record for a UP coach through the first three seasons ever at 55-35.
• Tom Batsell has been an assistant coach with Meek for dating back to 2005, back when Meek was the head coach for Southridge High School. From 2005-10, the Skyhawks won six state championships.
• Assistant coach Skyler Young is the longest tenured coach on staff, having joined the Pilots after spending 19 years as a coach with several programs and professional teams.
• Fourth-year assistant coach Sharon Rissmiller ('01) is a Portland alum who starred on the court for the Pilots from 1997 to 2001; she still ranks 10th all-time with a .770 career free throw percentage, and she compiled 1,069 career points.

ABOUT THE OPPONENT
• The Gonzaga Bulldogs are the No. 20 team in the nation and the top team in the WCC 16-2 overall and 6-0 in WCC.
• They are also ranked the No. 1 Mid-Major in College Insider's Women's Mid-Major Top 25 poll.
• Lisa Fortier is in her ninth season as head coach of the Bulldogs.