PORTLAND PILOTS (23-8, 15-3 WCC)
WEEK 19: 2023 NCAA Tournament

#5 Oklahoma Sooners (25-6, 14-4)
Day: Saturday
Date: March 18, 2023
Place: Los Angeles, Calif.
Time: 6:00 p.m.
Gym: Pauley Pavilion
TV: ESPNU
Online Video: Watch ESPN
Stats: PortlandPilots.com

POR vs. OU
Overall: 0-1 •  Last 5/10: 0-1/0-1
H: 0-1 •  A: 0-0  • N: 0-0
Last: @POR 70, OU 83 (1986-87 Season)

THIS WEEK
• The Pilots are dancing! They're set to face off against the 5-seed Oklahoma Sooners in the first round of the tournament at Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles.
• They play the Sooners on Saturday, March 18 at 6 p.m. on ESPN U.
• Check PortlandPilots.com as well for streaming, stats and radio links.

ABOUT THE PILOTS
• The Portland Pilots are in the NCAA Tournament for the fifth time in program history after winning their third WCC Tournament ever and their second in four seasons.
•  The Pilots have qualified for six NCAA Tournaments, but the tournament in 2020 was cancelled due to the global pandemic.
• They finished the year 23-8 overall and 15-3 in WCC play. It's their best win total since the 1996-97 season and their highest WCC win total ever.
• 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.
• The Pilots defeated the Gonzaga Bulldogs 64-60 in the WCC Tournament Championship to qualify for the tournament. It was the first win for the Pilots over Gonzaga this season and the first over a ranked opponent.
• Alex Fowler went scoreless in the first half, but followed that with 15 points in the second. She also grabbed 11 rebounds for her first double-double of the year.
• Fowler was named the MVP of the tournament and made the All-WCC Tournament Team. She's the first multi-time WCC Tournament MVP for the Pilots.
• Maisie Burnham also made the team after scoring a team-high 19 points in the championship game. It's her first All-WCC Tournament Team honor.
• Three Pilots earned All-WCC recognition for their solid play: Fowler, Burnham and Emme Shearer.
• Fowler made her fourth All-WCC First Team, becoming the first Pilot ever to do so. 
• She was a dominant force all season, and she leads the WCC in points per game (17.8) and field-goal percentage (58.4), ranks second in points (553), free throws made (132) and steals per game (1.84), third in total steals (57) and field goals made (202) and seventh in assists per game (3.3). Nationally, she was 19th in field-goal percentage.
• Fowler is the only player in NCAA Division I to average 17.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, three assists and 1.5 steals on 55% shooting this year.
• On top of the conference honor, Fowler was named one of five finalists for the 2023 Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Award presented by Her Hoop Stats. She's the first Pilot to ever be a finalist.
• Burnham is second on the team in both points per game (11.1) and total points (344) and ranks 18th and 14th conference-wise. She was an All-WCC Second Team selection.
• Shearer earned honorable mention and is averaging 10 points a game and has scored 309 total points. She was the only Pilot to record a double-double this season.
• The Pilots lead the WCC in steals per game (9.5), field-goal percentage (46.0%), turnovers forced per game (17.35) and assists per game (17.0). Nationally, they're 17th in assists per game and 18th in field-goal percentage.
• Lucy Cochrane is first in the WCC in total blocks at 50. She missed 10 games from Dec. 10 until Jan. 26 and has played eight fewer games than second place.
• 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 was 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.
• 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. Her block average led the NCAA while her total blocks ranked second.
• 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. 
• Program-wise, Cochrane currently sits at fourth all-time in career blocks and third among those who only played NCAA Division I at 164.
• Fowler sits at 2,114 career points, which is first among Pilots who only played Division I (second all-time). She is fourth all-time among all WCC players.
• Fowler is currently 15th among NCAA Division I players in career points and ninth in field goals made. Her field goals made total is first among Pilots who only played Division I.
• 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 10th among all NCAA Division I players in total assists at 593.
• 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 593. Her 5.2 assist average is also second all-time and she is fifth among Pilots who only played Division I basketball at 1,547 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. She is just 50 points away from reaching 1,000 career points.
• For newcomers, the Pilots added to their bevy of Oceania-based players by signing Florence Dallow and Melika Samia to the roster.
• Dallow, a redshirt, 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 (308-78, .797) 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 Oklahoma Sooners are 25-6 overall and finished 14-4 in Big 12 play. They finished second in the Big 12.
• They are second nationally in points per game (84.5) and assists per game (21), sixth nationally in rebounds per game (44.61) and eighth in 3-pointers per game (9.1).
• Jennie Baranczyk is in her second season as coach of the Sooners.