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Lainey Spear takes on a pair of Gonzaga defenders in the paint.
Keith Webber Photography

Women's Basketball

Pilots Face Road Test Against the Broncos Before Home Contest Against Seattle U

SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Portland Pilots Women's Basketball faces a tough road test against the Santa Clara Broncos before returning home to the Chiles Center to take on their Emerald City foes in the Seattle U Redhawks. They'll play the Broncos on Thursday, Jan. 15 at 6 p.m. and the Redhawks on Saturday, Jan. 17 at 5 p.m.
 
Both games will be broadcast on ESPN+ with a radio broadcast on Portland Sports Network. Check PortlandPilots.com for tickets, live stats and video options.
 
Game Information
Opponent: Santa Clara Broncos (15-4, 5-1 WCC)
Day: Thursday
Date: Jan. 15, 2026
Time: 6 PM
Place: Santa Clara, Calif.
Arena: Leavey Center
Video: ESPN+
Stats: PortlandPilots.com
 
POR vs. SCU
Overall: 39-50 •  Last 5/10: 4-1/7-3
H: 20-18 •  A: 14-29 • N: 5-3
Last: @POR 73, SCU 66 (2/22/25)

 
Opponent: Seattle U Redhawks (5-12, 1-5 WCC)
Day: Saturday
Date: Jan. 17, 2026
Time: 5 PM
Place: Portland, Ore.
Arena: Chiles Center
Video: ESPN+
Audio: PortlandPilots.com
Stats: PortlandPilots.com
 
POR vs. SU
Overall: 11-8 •  Last 5/10: 5-0/7-3
H: 7-2 •  A: 4-4  • N: 0-2
Last: @POR 78, SU 55 (11/19/2024)
 
PEEK INTO THE PORT
  • The Portland Pilots are 9-8 overall and 3-2 in WCC play, most recently falling to the Gonzaga Bulldogs on the road.
  • The Pilots led heading into the second half, but ultimately couldn't fend off the Bulldogs, losing 69-55.
  • Nicole Anderson led the way for Portland with 14 points off the bench, including three 3-pointers. Her 14 points are a season high, and her three 3-pointers give her seven games with at least that total of shots from outside.
  • Anderson crossed the 1,000-point threshold for her career with the performance.
  • Florence Dallow scored 11 points as well for her sixth double digit scoring game of the season.
  • Julia Dalan added two blocks on the day to reach 57 for the season, which puts her just nine blocks away from the program record for blocks by a Pilot true freshman in a single season.
  • Portland is amongst the best in the WCC in numerous categories, rankings first in turnovers forced per game (21.5), steals per game (11.5) and assists per game (17.5) and second in blocks per game (6.2), bench points per game (27.2) and scoring margin (9.2).
  • Nationally, they are seventh in blocks per game, 27th in turnovers forced per game, 29th in assists per game, 32nd in steals per game and 34th in bench points per game.
  • Dalan is the nation's leader in both blocks per game (3.4) and total blocks (57). She was the fastest Pilot to 50 blocks in a season since Lucy Cochrane.
  • Dyani Ananiev leads the conference in takeaways, averaging 2.8 steals per game and posting 45 steals total. She is 37th nationally in total steals and 35th in steals per game.
  • Rhyan Mogel is one of the top dimers in the league, ranking third in the conference in both assists (80) and assists per game (5.0) and second in assist/turnover ratio (1.86). She is 39th nationally in assists per game and 49th in total assists.
  • Mogel is also fourth in the WCC in steals per game as well at 1.9. She's posted at least four steals in three of the last four games for Portland.
  • In WCC play, Mogel's 6.4 assists per game ranks second in the WCC.
  • The Pilots were picked to finish fourth in the WCC this season, with Ananiev named to the All-WCC Preseason Team.
  • Ananiev played in just 10 games last season, averaging 7.4 points per contest along with 1.8 steals. She was a 2023-24 All-WCC Freshman Team selection.
  • The Pilots return eight players from last year and add seven newcomers.
  • Of the eight returners, none started a game last year. Rhyan Mogel and Lainey Spear are the only two players to have played in every game, with Mogel's 20.6 minutes leading all returning players.
  • Florence Dallow, Natalie Fraley, Tiffany Barbosa, Ella Zimmerman and Caitlin Monahan also all return.
A LOOK BACK AT HISTORY
  • The Pilots had a historic season in 2024-25, finishing 31-5 overall and 17-3 in WCC play to win a share of the 2024-25 WCC Regular Season Title. It's their fourth title, either tournament or regular season, in six seasons.
  • Their 31 wins were a program record and their 17 wins in WCC play were also a new high for the program.
  • Last year, they made the WCC Championships final for the fourth time under head coach Michael Meek and also qualified for the WBIT for the first time in program history.
  • In the WBIT, they beat the Stanford Cardinal and the Seton Hall Pirates on the road to advance to the quarterfinals before falling to Villanova Wildcats in that round. The wins were the first ever road playoff wins for the Pilots, the first win ever over Stanford and the first ever over a Big East squad.
  • Portland led the way in numerous statistical categories last season, leading the conference in points per game (75.7), scoring margin (12.4), steals per game (10.3), turnover margin (4.56), free throws made (16.44), free throw percentage (16.44), free throw attempts (21.08), assists per game (17.3) and assists-to-turnover ratio (1.16).
  • Nationally, they were fifth in free throws made per game, 16th in free throw percentage, 21st in assists per game and free throw attempts, 34th in assist-to-turnover ratio and steals per game and 35th in points per game and turnovers forced per game (19.47).
  • 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).
MEEK AT THE HELM
  • Michael Meek is in his seventh season as head coach of the Portland Pilots.
  • Meek has been dominant through six seasons, winning WCC Tournament titles in 2020, 2023 and 2024 and the regular season title in the 2024-25 season.
  • Meek has won at least 20 games in five of his six full seasons as head coach of the Pilots, including a program record 31 wins overall and 17 WCC wins in the 2024-25 seasons.
  • Meek is 369-105 in his career dating back to his time at George Fox. He is 139-70 in his time with Portland.
  • Meek ranks eighth among all active coaches in NCAA Division I with at least five seasons of experience in winning percentage at .778.
 
ABOUT THE OPPONENTS
  • The Santa Clara Broncos are 15-4 overall and 5-1 in WCC play, most recently beating the Washington State Cougars and the San Francisco Dons on the road. The Broncos have the highest NET ranking of any WCC team at 63.
  • Santa Clara has already surpassed their win total from last season, when they finished 14-17 overall and 8-12 in WCC play.
  • The Broncos were picked to finish fifth in the WCC this year, with Sophie Glancey and Maia Jones both making the preseason team.
  • Glancey, a transfer from Northern Arizona, is second on the team in scoring at 14.6 points per game along with seven rebounds.
  • Jones – the leading scorer for the Broncos at 15.1 points per game – won WCC Player of the Week for her performances this past weekend.
  • Loree Payne is in her first season with the Broncos after spending the last eight seasons with Northern Arizona. She is 281-178 for her career with a .612 winning percentage.
  • The Seattle U Redhawks are 5-12 overall and 1-5 in WCC play, earning their first WCC win over the San Diego Toreros this past weekend.
  • Last year in the WAC, they went 4-26 overall and 1-15 in WAC play. The Pilots beat the Redhawks last year 78-55 at home.
  • The Redhawks were picked to finish last in the conference in their first year.
  • Skylar Young is in his third year as head coach of the Redhawks. A former assistant coach under Pilots head coach Michael Meek, he is 19-61 in three seasons.
Get Your Tickets Now!
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