PORTLAND, Ore. – How do you build on history when starting fresh?
 
That's the question facing Portland Pilots Women's Basketball as they prepare for the 2025-26 season, which begins this Tuesday, Nov. 4 against the Willamette Bearcats. With last year's starting five gone and seven newcomers, the Pilots will have to learn who they are when adversity hits – but it's a challenge Portland Head Coach Michael Meek is ready to face.
 
"We're really young, a brand new team," Meek said. "Even our experienced players are going to be put in completely different roles. I'm really excited about the season because as long as we keep working hard every day and keep trying to get better, our goals have remained the same, which is trying to play our best in March."
 
Last season was undoubtedly one of the best in program history. Portland finished 31-5 and 17-3 in WCC play to break program records for both overall wins and wins in conference play. They narrowly missed out on an NCAA Tournament berth after falling in the 2025 WCC Championships final to the Oregon State Beavers – their third straight appearance in the finals – and not earning an at-large berth. No team in NCAA history had ever won 29 games or more in the regular season and not made the tournament, until the Pilots did so last season.
 
But the Pilots turned that rejection into fuel for the fire. They went on the road for all three of their games in the 2025 Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament (WBIT) and won two of them, beating the Stanford Cardinal in OT at Maples Pavilion and the Seton Hall Pirates in a tight contest in West Orange, N.J. It was their first wins ever on the road in a postseason tournament, their first ever against Stanford and their first ever over a Big East team.

The Pilots ultimately fell to the Villanova Wildcats in the quarterfinals, but it was still a highly successful season. The Pilots set numerous program records at the Division I level, with the most points (2,726), points per game (75.7), field goals made (946), free throws made (592), free throw percentage (.780), rebounds (1,288), defensive rebounds (844), offensive rebounds (444) and assists (620) by an modern Pilot team. Every game they competed, and it showed on the court.

"I think what made that group so special is just their consistency, just showing up every game when things weren't going well," Meek said. "They never got down with it, and so many teams do that. I felt like that team was about as consistent as I've been around."
 
This year's Portland's squad hopes to mirror that consistency, but with a lot of fresh faces. The starting five from last year's team is gone entirely. Seven newcomers join the Pilots with just eight returners. Six of those new players are freshmen, and many of those first-years will be called upon almost immediately to make an impact.
 
"I could see there being as many as four (freshmen) in our rotation early, and I think that just speaks to our youth," Meek said. "I think there's some that may not be in our rotation that we think have all the potential, so we're definitely really excited about the group."
 
The Pilots bring in just one transfer in Nicole Anderson. Anderson (née Rodriguez) played four years with a fellow conference mate in the LMU Lions before transferring to the SMU Mustangs. Anderson sat out the season with the Mustangs due to injury but makes her return to the WCC as a top shooter. She shot 34% or better in three of her four seasons at LMU, with her 37.7% clip in 2023-24 ranking fifth in the WCC at 2.2 makes per game.

The freshmen all bring similar tools that fit perfectly what Meek wants out of his teams. Every freshman comes in at 6-feet-tall or taller, with the ability to disrupt teams with their length. That's a key feature for a team that led the WCC in steals (10.3) and ranked second in turnovers forced (19.47).
 
Plenty of local talent once again fills up the roster with this incoming class. Three freshmen – Julia Dalan, Aubrey Herrin and Brynn Smith – hail from the Pacific Northwest, with Dalan and Herrin coming from Washington and Smith from Eugene, Ore. Dalan was W.F. West's all-time leading scorer and one of the best players in 2A, winning Player of the Year honors in 2023-24. Herrin starred both on the court and the in track and field, doubling as a triple jump and high jump star and a defensive player of the year for the Mid-Columbia Conference at Kamiakin High School.
 
Smith starred for Willamette High School at both the 5A and 6A level. She helped the Wolverines make the quarterfinals of the 6A OSAA High School Girls Basketball tournament, averaging 20 points per game to become Willamette's all-time leading scorer. She surpassed 2,000 points for her career as well. Camille Dake of Vista, Calif. Joins Portland to round out the U.S. freshmen.
 
On the international side, Goundo Diakite and Jada Kennedy both have a chance to make an impact for Portland's frontcourt. Diakite is a 6-1 forward from Barcelona who brings strength to the Pilots' frontcourt while Kennedy comes in as the tallest Pilot at 6-5. An Australian, Kennedy's mother played pro basketball in Australia while her dad played professional soccer.
 
The returners bring plenty to the table as well. Five returning Pilots from last year played in 25 games or more: Rhyan Mogel (36), Lainey Spear (36), Natalie Fraley (35), Tiffany Barbosa (32) and Ella Zimmerman (26). Of those five, just Mogel and Spear played 15 minutes or more per game, and none of those players started for Portland.
 
Mogel's 20.6 minutes per game leads all returners. At 5.6 points and just over a steal per game last year, Mogel will be highly important on both sides of the ball. Spear – who along with Mogel is one of just two returning players to have played in every game last season – brings length and versatility to the defensive side as well. Fraley, the only senior besides Anderson, will also see her number called frequently.

"Those three have been rotation players on the last two championship teams," Meek noted. "We feel they all have to take part in some of that leadership role."
 
Two key players didn't see the floor much in 2024-25 due to injury: Dyani Ananiev and Florence Dallow. The tall guards both dealt with ailments, with Ananiev suffering a shin injury that held her to just 10 games played and Dallow sitting out to recover from an ACL tear suffered the year before.
 
Ananiev, the lone All-WCC Preseason Team selection for Portland, earned All-WCC Freshman Team honors in 2023-24 and shined both offensively and defensively. She scored in double digits in four of those 10 games played in 2024-25 and still shot 36.4% from outside. She recorded multiple steals in six of those 10 contests and had a stock (combined block or steal) in nine of 10 games.
 
Dallow played in 21 games her first year of play in 2023-24 at 3.9 points per game. Meek has seen massive leaps in her game during her year of rehab and expects her to be an important part of this year's squad.
 
"They're both really good teammates, they both want to be good and they're both very versatile, offensively and defensively," Meek said. "We're really excited to have them both back."
 
While many of the faces have changed, the system remains the same. Expect the Pilots to play fast and wreak havoc whenever possible, attacking teams with their trademark full-court press. They ranked in the top 40 nationally in steals per game, turnover margin and turnovers forced, which is consistent with every Mike Meek squad.
 
Meek knows this team will face plenty of adversity. Last year's squad dealt with it. They trailed by 10 points or more in six games last season and pulled out victories anyways.
 
That was in no small part due to the leadership from last year's seniors. But the Pilots don't have that luxury anymore. Fraley and Anderson are the only players in their final years of eligibility with Portland this year. Dallow's a senior academically, but a redshirt sophomore by eligibility with two years left to play.
 
Leaks will exist that need to be plugged, and mistakes will be made that need correction. The question for the Pilots is who will step into that leadership role.
 
"Although they're going to be in different roles, we do have a core of players that have been in the program," Meek said. "What you don't know until you go through a season is how they respond to adversity, whether it's a close game at the end, a tough loss, foul trouble, a few calls that don't go your way, whatever that may be."
 
But despite that reality, there's enough continuity to keep Portland in good position.  This year's more about reloading then rebuilding. The Pilots have won 20+ games in five of the last six seasons under Meek and have never finished below .500. That's not something that comes down to just talent.
 
"I think we've had a great culture," Meek said. "I think the fact we've only lost one player to the porta in the last two years definitely speaks to that culture we've had."
 
For Meek, the whole season will be important for helping the team grow. Ultimately, as it is every season for Meek, everything leads to March.
 
"I know it's cliché, but we try to get better every day and try to be the best version of ourselves in March and give ourselves a chance," Meek said. "I think with some great work ahead we're capable of being really good by that time of year."

"Every team's a new team. Even when you only graduate one or two players, those players can reshape the team," Meek said. "Seeing how this group comes together, what the leadership is like, and really what it's like when things aren't going our way... that is going to go a long ways to the successes and failures of the team."

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