PORTLAND PILOTS (3-4, 0-0 WCC)
WEEK 4: vs. Oregon & Montana State
 
Oregon Ducks
(4-1, 0-0)
Day: Thursday
Date: Nov. 30, 2023
Place: Portland, Ore.
Time: 6:00 p.m.
Gym: Chiles Center
Online Video: ESPN+
TV: KRCW
Stats: PortlandPilots.com
 
POR vs. UO
Overall: 5-31 •  Last 5/10: 0-5/0-10
H: 5-11 •  A: 0-20  • N: 0-0
Last: POR 51, @UO 90 (2022-23)
 
Montana State Bobcats
(3-3, 0-0)
Day: Saturday
Date: Dec. 2, 2023
Place: Portland, Ore.
Time: 5:00 p.m.
Gym: Chiles Center
Online Video: ESPN+
Stats: PortlandPilots.com
 
POR vs. MSU
Overall: 13-8 •  Last 5/10: 1-4/6-4
H: 7-3 •  A: 5-5  • N: 1-0
Last: @POR 67, MSU 80
 
THIS WEEK
• The Portland Pilots returns home after a three-game road trip to host the Oregon Ducks and the Montana State Bobcats.
• They play the Ducks on Nov. 30 at 6 p.m. and the Bobcats on Dec. 2 at 5 p.m. Thursday's game will also be broadcast on Portland's CW.
• Check PortlandPilots.com as well for video and stat links.
 
ABOUT THE PILOTS
• The Pilots are 3-4 on the year after taking losses on the road against Cal Baptist, Northern Arizona and Rhode Island.
• All the losses were by six points or fewer, with the NAU loss coming on a last-second shot from Olivia Moran to sink the Pilots.
• Against the Lancers, Lucy Cochrane dominated on both ends of the floor, putting up 17 points with nine rebounds and eight blocks. It's her highest point and block total this season and the second most blocks by an player in the NCAA this year for a single game.
• Cochrane is second in the nation in both total blocks (28) and blocks per game (4.0).
• Against the Lumberjacks, Emme Shearer matched her career high with 21 points, with Cochrane adding 15 and Maisie Burnham scoring 10.
• Finally, against Rhode Island, Burnham led the way with 13 points while Kennedy Dickie added a season-high 12 points and Cochrane scored 11. Cochrane grabbed 10 boards as well for the first double-double of the season for the Pilots.
• Dyani Ananiev won WCC Freshman of the Week for the second time this season as well.
• The Pilots lead the WCC in steals per game (12.6), blocks per game (6.6), turnover margin (3.14), turnovers forced (22.0) and bench points per game (23.6). Nationally, they are eighth and 19th respectively in blocks and steals per game and also rank 28th in turnovers forced.
• In other individual stats beyond Cochrane's defensive dominance, Emme Shearer currently leads the WCC in steals per game (2.43) and ranks second in total steals (17), McKelle Meek is second in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.0) and seventh in total assists (26) and assists per game (3.7) and Rhyan Mogel is fifth in both steals (13) and steals per game (1.86).
• The Pilots are coming off one of their best seasons in recent program history, having finished 23-9 overall and 15-3 in WCC play. It was their best win total since 1996-97 and their highest WCC win total ever.
• On top of that, the Pilots won the WCC Tournament Championship with a gallant 64-60 victory over the Gonzaga Bulldogs. The championship win was their second in four seasons under head coach Mike Meek.
• The Pilots qualified for the NCAA Tournament for the second time in four years and played in their first NCAA Tournament game since 1997 years against the Oklahoma Sooners.
• Head coach Michael Meek has now reached at least 20 wins three of the past four seasons, and the Pilots have earned 20 wins six different times at the NCAA Division I level.
• Their second-place finish in the conference is their best since the 1996-97 season.
• From last year's squad, the Pilots return seven players, including WCC All-Preseason Team members Maisie Burnham and Emme Shearer.
• Burnham was an All-WCC Second Team selection last season after averaging 11 points  and 4.2 rebounds per contest. She, along with Alex Fowler, also made the All-WCC Tournament after scoring 19 points in the championship game against the Zags.
• Burnham also became the 31st Pilot to cross the 1,000-point threshold for her career earlier this season.
• Emme Shearer earned All-WCC Honorable Mention after averaging 10 points a game and scoring 321 total points. She was one of two Pilots to record a double-double last season, doing so with 12 points and 10 boards against LMU.
• After having never scored more than 20 in a game for her career, Shearer scored at least 20 three times, including a career-high 21 points twice against San Francisco.
• The Pilots led the WCC in assists per game (16.9), field-goal percentage (45.7), steals per game (9.6) and turnovers forced per game (17.31). Their assist average and field goal percentage ranked 16th and 19th respectively in the nation.
• The Pilots return four of five starters from last year, with Burnham and Shearer returning as well as Lucy Cochrane and McKelle Meek.
• Cochrane was the best shot blocker in the conference, averaging just over 2.6 blocks per contest and totaling 56 on the year. Her block total officially led the WCC and was 18 more than the next closest player despite having played seven games fewer
• Although she didn't qualify due to games played, her block average would've ranked first in the WCC and ninth nationally.
• Cochrane's block numbers in just two seasons are among the best in Pilot history. Her 198 blocks are fourth all time and third among Pilots who only played Division I.
• Meek started the final 13 games of the season for the Pilots and averaged 5.3 points and three assists on the year. She led Portland in assists in 11 games last year, the most times on the team.
• Meek's 91 assists were the second most on the team and also ranked sixth in the WCC. She also ranked third in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.8) and ninth in assists per game.
• Along with the returners, the Pilots add eight newcomers, with five transfers and three freshmen.
• Kennedy Dickie joins Portland from fellow WCC conference mate San Francisco. She was a two-time All-WCC Second Team selection who averaged 9.8 points and 7.8 rebounds per contest.
• Dickie's 251 rebounds ranked third in the conference and her rebounding average was good for fourth. She helped lead the Dons to a 19-13 record.
• Kianna Hamilton joins the Pilots from Long Beach State, having helped lead the Beach to a 23-10 record. She earned All-Big West Honorable Mention.
• Hamilton was a disruptive force defensively, averaging 2.21 steals per contest with 73 total steals. Those totals ranked third and first in the Big West respectively.
• Hamilton also has a chance to eclipse 1,000 points for her career, currently sitting at 877.
• Natalie Fraley joins Portland after playing her freshman year at Utah State. She was a Mountain West All-Academic honoree in her first season.
• Anna Eddy makes her return to Portland after spending the last three seasons at Seattle Pacific, redshirting her freshman year.
• Eddy averaged 7.8 points and 3.1 rebounds over two years at Seattle Pacific and scored a career-high 26 points last year against Stanislaus State. She is a local product having gone to Saint Mary's Academy, and is the grandaughter of legendary NBA coach Rick Adleman.
• Piath Gabriel is the final transfer joining the Pilots coming from UMass. Gabriel, however, is ineligible this year due to being a two-time transfer.
• Gabriel was originally recruited to UConn and was the 23rd ranked center in the class of 2020.
• Three freshmen join the Pilots this year: Lainey Spear, Dyani Ananiev and Rhyan Mogel.
• Spear is a legnthy 6-2 forward hailing from Beaverton. She was a first team All-Metro League selection each of the last three years and the Metro League Player of the Year in 2021-22. She led the Beavers to their first ever state championship in 2022 and won the Metro League Championship three times.
• Spear's mother, Kristin Spear (formerly Hepton) is a former Pilot herself. A 1,000-point scorer for her career, Spear's 39.4% career three-point percentage is third among Pilots who only played Division I, and she was also a three-time All-WCC First Team selection.
• Mogel was the Mt. Hood Conference Player of the Year for Clackamas High School in 2022 and a multi-time all-first team selection. She was also named the Mt. Hood Conference Defensive Player of the Year her senior season.
• Last year, Mogel led Clackamas High School to a 26-4 record and a 6A State Championship.
• The final freshman joining Portland is Australian Dyani Ananiev, a versatile wing who was named the rookie of the year in 2021-22 with her club team, Wyndham, as well as the league's leading scorer.
• In 2023, Ananiev averaged 19.2 points per game on 59.6% shooting and 38.6% shooting from deep. She averaged 7.7 rebounds a contest.
•The final three returners for the Pilots are Emma Strelein, Florence Dallow and Melika Samia
• Strelein saw her first action of her college career last year, playing in 17 games last year.  She scored a career-high four points against Willamette.
• Dallow, a redshirt freshman, 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 Nortfh 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 fifth-year head coach Michael Meek.
• Meek ranks eighth in career winning percentage (311-83, .789) among active NCAA DI coaches.
• 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.
• Fifth-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.
• Assistant Coach Jerod Gibson joins the staff after serving as head coach for Linn-Benton Community College the last five years, posting a 72-49 record as their coach.
• Haylee Andrews ('23) joins the staff as the director of operations immediately after graduating this past season. Andrews is one of the most accomplished players in program history, a four-time All-WCC team selection and the second most assists by any Pilot at the Division I level.
 
ABOUT THE OPPONENTS
• The Oregon Ducks are 4-1 on the season while the Montana State Bobcats are 3-3.
• Last season, Oregon went 20-15 overall and participated in the 2023 WNIT, advancing all the way to the Great 8. They beat the Pilots last year 90-51 in Eugene.
• Last year, the Bobcats finished with a 20-11 record and a 13-5 record in Big Sky play. The last time the Pilots and Bobcats met was the 2020-21 season, a contest the Bobcats won 80-67.
• Kelly Graves is in his 10th season at Oregon. Prior to that, he was an assistant coach for the Pilots from 1992-97.
• Tricia Binford is in her 19th year as head coach of the Bobcats.

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