PORTLAND PILOTS (16-2, 5-2 WCC)
WEEK 11: at Gonzaga / at Oregon State
 
Gonzaga Bulldogs (10-8, 5-2 WCC)
Day: Thursday
Date: Jan. 16, 2025
Place: Spokane, Wash.
Time: 6:00 p.m.
Gym: McCarthey Athletic Center
Online Video: ESPN+
Stats: PortlandPilots.com
 
POR vs. GON
Overall: 30-63 •  Last 5/10: 2-3/2-8
H: 14-29 •  A: 10-32  • N: 6-2
Last: GON 76, @POR 71 (1/2/2025)
 
THIS WEEK
• It's another battle at the top of the conference as the Portland Pilots visit the Gonzaga Bulldogs Thursday at the McCarthey Athletic Center. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. on ESPN+. Portland and Gonzaga are two of five teams tied atop the WCC standings.
• The Pilots will then visit Oregon State (8-9, 4-2 WCC) on Saturday at Gill Coliseum with a 3 p.m. tip-off.
• The WCC also announce that the Portland-Pepperdine contest postponed on Jan. 9 has been moved to Monday, Feb. 10 at 3 p.m. in Malibu, Calif.
 
LAST TIME OUT
• The Pilots improved to 16-2 and moved into a five-way tie for first place in the WCC standings by knocking off league-leader San Francisco 74-60 Saturday at Chiles Center.
• Portland had four players score in double figures, led by Maisie Burnham, who had 18 points, eight rebounds and two steals. Alexis Mark added 15 points, four assists and three steals and Rhyan Mogel helped out with 13 points off of the bench.
• The Pilots held the Dons to 34 percent shooting overall and had eight blocks, six by Trista Hull. Portland finished the game at 48 percent from the field.
• Portland started out the scoring by going on a 6-0 run, but trailed 20-14 after the first period. San Francisco kept adding to that lead, building a 35-28 advantage before Portland went on a 7-0 run, highlighted by a bucket from Mogel, to tie the game at 35 and seized a 42-40 halftime lead.
• Mogel beat the third quarter buzzer with a corner three-point to give the Pilots a 55-52 edge and the Pilots coasted to the win from there, increasing their margin of victory by outscoring the Dons 19-8 in the fourth quarter.
• Every win for the Pilots this season has come by double digits. They are one of nine teams nationally to have 16 or more double-digit wins against Division I opponents.
 
STANDOUT WCC STATISTICS
• Maisie Burnham and Emme Shearer are first and third respectively in the WCC in
made free throws at 81 and 66 each. Burnham's total ranks 17th nationally as well.
• McKelle Meek ranks third in total assists (74), fourth in assists per game (4.3) and first in assist/turnover ratio (4.11). That ratio also leads the nation.
• Hull's dominance defending the paint has her third in the conference in total blocks (33) and blocks per game (1.83).
• Shearer's 257 career steals ranks sixth all-time for the Pilots and 17th among all active NCAA Division I players. She's currently third in the conference in total steals (39) and is fourth in steals per game (2.17).
• Shearer and Burnham are two of the top scorers in the conference, ranking second and third respectively. Both sit at 16.1 points per game.
• Maisie Burnham is one of just 10 players in the WCC to have a 20-point, 10-rebound game this year. She is one of three WCC players to have done so twice.
• Shearer is one of 35 players in the country currently averaging at least 16.0 points a game and two steals per game. She's the only WCC player to be doing so.
• Alexis Mark is first in the conference in total steals (43) and steals per game (2.39).
• Mark is one of just 13 players nationally averaging at least 10 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals per game against Division I opponents. She's the only WCC player to be doing so.
• Portland currently leads the WCC in field-goal percentage (.465), turnover margin (6.44), turnovers forced per game (22.78), steals per game (12.1), scoring offense (79.3), scoring defense (60.9), scoring margin (18.4), assists per game (18.6), assist/turnover ratio (1.14) and free throws made per game (15.72).
• Nationally, they are 13th in assists per game, 15th in turnovers forced per game, 20th in free throws per game, 23rd in steals per game, 27th in points per game, 28th in turnover margin, 29th in field goal percentage and 33rd in scoring margin.
• The Pilots' 16-2 record matches their best start in program history; the 1996-97 season.
 
CHAMPIONS ONCE AGAIN
• For the second year in a row, the third time in the last five seasons and the fourth time in program history, the Portland Pilots were crowned the champions of the WCC Tournament in 2024.
• They put together an incredible 67-66 win over the No. 14 Gonzaga Bulldogs in the championship game for their third win over the Zags in the WCC Tournament in the last five seasons.
• They are the first non-Gonzaga WCC school to win back-to-back tournament championships since Pepperdine in 2003.
• The championship game was the culmination of an impressive tournament run that also saw the Pilots rout the LMU Lions in the quarterfinals and come back from trailing by as much as 16 points against the Santa Clara Broncos in the semifinals.
• Kennedy Dickie was the named the tournament MVP after averaging 18.7 points and 6.7 rebounds with a double-double in the semifinals. Maisie Burnham also made her second All-WCC Tournament Team.
 
AWARDS SEASON
• Three Pilots earned All-WCC honors last season, with Emme Shearer making the All-WCC First Team, Maisie Burnham making the second team and Dyani Ananiev making the freshman team.
• Shearer makes it five years in a row the Pilots have had at least one player make the first team. The last time the Pilots had a stretch like that was between the 2006-07 season and the 2010-11 season. Shearer averaged a team-high 12.1 points per game and also led the WCC in total steals (76) and steals per game (2.2).
• She was the first Pilot to record at least 70 steals in a season since Kate Andersen in the 2019-20 season.
• Burnham averaged 11.9 points per game for the Pilots and was in the top 20 in the conference in both steals per game (1.4) and points per game. It was the second year in a row Burnham has made the All-WCC Second Team.
• Ananiev was the first Pilot since Shearer in 2020-21 to make the All-WCC Freshman Team. She averaged 8.2 points and 1.45 steals per game, the highest scoring average for a Pilot freshman since Alex Fowler in the 2019-20 season.
• Ananiev is one of two players in the WCC to rank in the top 12 in both steals and blocks per game, and she also knocked down a team-high 50 3-pointers.
• McKelle Meek also made the WCC All-Academic First Team for the second year in a row.
 
LAST SEASON TIDBITS
• The Pilots led the WCC in several categories last season, including blocks per game (5.6), steals per game (11.0), turnovers forced per game (19.7), and bench points per game (21.9).
• Nationally, the Pilots ranked ninth in blocks per game, 17th in steals per game and 28th in turnovers forced per game. They ranked 37th overall in assists per game as well at 16.3 per contest.
• The Pilots have won at least 20 games in four of the last five seasons under head coach Michael Meek. It's the first time at the Division I level that they've posted at least four seasons with 20 wins or more in five years (they did so once at the NAIA level).
• The Pilots have won at least 20 games three years in a row for the first time since a stretch between 1994 and 1997.
 
THE RETURNERS
• The Pilots returned all players who were eligible to return from last year's squad, with 11 official returnees. The Pilots also return three of their five starters: Shearer, Burnham and Meek.
• Along with the accomplishments of Burnham and Shearer, Meek played in all 34 games for the Pilots with 33 starts, leading the Pilots in assists with 119 while averaging a team-high 3.5 assists per game. Those assist numbers ranked seventh and eighth in the WCC respectively.
• Other returners for the Pilots include Ananiev, Lainey Spear, Rhyan Mogel, Natalie Fraley, Florence Dallow, Melika Samia and Emma Strelein.
• Spear and Mogel were part of the standout freshman class from last year along with Ananiev. Spear played in 30 games for Portland in her first year, averaging 2.1 points and 1.6 rebounds off the bench, playing primarily in the frontcourt.
• Spear's mother, Kristin Spear (nee Hepton) is a former Pilot herself, having scored over 1,000 points for her career here and making the All-WCC First Team three times.
• Mogel, meanwhile, played in all 34 games last year off the bench, averaging 2.6 points per contest. Her 37 steals were the second most by any Pilot off the bench.
• Spear and Mogel are both local products, with Spear leading the Beaverton High School Beavers and Mogel Clackamas High School.
• Fraley transferred to Portland last season after spending a year at Utah State. Playing in 33 games, she averaged 2.9 points per game and 1.6 rebounds.
• Dallow earned her first minutes for the Pilots after redshirting her freshman year. She  played in 21 games, average 3.9 points per game for Portland before suffering an injury late in the season.
• Samia was out last season with a knee injury. Eddy played in three games before suffering a knee injury herself.
• Eddy is a local product having gone to Saint Mary's Academy and is the granddaughter of legendary NBA coach Rick Adleman.
• Strelein played in 13 games last season for Portland.
 
THE NEWBIES
• Along with the returners, the Pilots add five newcomers, with two transfers and three freshmen.
• The transfers for the Pilots are Trista Hull, a forward/center from Boise State, and Alexis Mark, an in-conference transfer from LMU.
• Hull, a Yakima native, spent three years with the Broncos and averaged 4.2 points and 5.6 rebounds last season in 32 games. She was second on the team in rebounds per game and total blocks as well (42).
• Mark, meanwhile, earned All-WCC Honorable Mention last season with the Lions, averaging 11.9 points and 7.4 rebounds per contest. That rebounding average ranked fifth in the WCC.
• Three freshmen join the Pilots this year: Ella Zimmerman, Tiffany Barbosa and Caitlin Monahan.
• From Redondo Beach, Zimmerman was a dominant force inside for Redondo Union High School. She earned several honors during her high school career, last year being an All-CIF Division I selection.
• Zimmerman was also the Daily Breeze All-Area Player of the Year in the 2022-23 season and the 2022-23 Basketball Bay League MVP that same year.
• Barbosa is an international prospect hailing from Stockholm, Sweden. The lengthy guard has experience with the Swedish national team, playing most recently with the U-20 squad.
• Barbosa's Sweden squads have won the Nordic Championships each of the last four years. She earned All-Star honors in the most recent Nordic Championships.
• Monahan is a PNW native from Mercer Island up in Washington. Monahan She was a three-time All-Kingco selection at the 3A level.
• Monahan's grandfather, Terry Monahan, is also a men's basketball alumni for the Pilots.
 
THE COACHES
• The Pilots are under the guidance of sixth-year head coach Michael Meek. Meek ranks ninth in career winning percentage (345-94, .785) 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.
• Sixth-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.
• Rounding out the staff is director of operations Kianna Hamilton and graduate assistant Nicolas Duacara. Hamilton played last year for the Pilots in 27 games, averaging 4.8 points and compiling 32 steals.
 
ABOUT THE OPPONENTS
• The Gonzaga Bulldogs are 10-8 on the season and 5-2 in WCC play. The Bulldogs dealt Portland a 76-71 home loss on Jan. 2. Reigning WCC Player of the Year Yvonne Ejim leads WCC in scoring (20.1) and rebounding (8.3).
• The Oregon State Beavers are 8-9 overall and 4-2 in league play. OSU defeated the Pilots at the Chiles Center in overtime by a 76-72 margin on Dec. 30. Kelsey Rees leads the Beavers in both scoring (12.7) and rebounding (8.1).

PRESEASON HONORS
• The Portland Pilots were picked to finish third in the WCC in the annual coaches preseason poll. It's the third year in a row they've been picked to finish in at least the Top three.
• Two Pilots were also picked to the 2024-25 All-WCC Preseason Team: Emme Shearer and Maisie Burnham. It's the second year in a row both Pilots have made the preseason team.
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