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Sara Mangan rises up for the layup against Willamette.

Women's Basketball

Pilots off to Provo for Matchup Against BYU

PROVO, Utah – Portland Pilots Women's Basketball is on the road for the rest of the week, starting with a trip to Provo, Utah to take on the BYU Cougars. The two teams play on Thursday, Nov. 5 at 6 p.m. PST. Check PortlandPilots.com for live stats and video options.
 
GAME INFORMATION
Opponent: BYU Cougars (0-0, 0-0 Big 12)
Day: Thursday
Date: Nov. 5, 2026
Time: 6 PM
Place: Provo, Utah
Pitch: Marriott Center
Video: ESPN+
Stats: PortlandPilots.com
 
POR vs. BYU
Overall: 8-28 • Last 5/10: 3-2/4-6
H: 4-14 • A: 4-12 • N: 0-2
Last: @POR 53, BYU 87 (2025-26)
 
PEEK INTO THE PORT
• The Pilots opened the season with a dominant 107-29 victory over the Willamette Bearcats. It was their ninth straight victory in the season opener for Portland.
• Portland's 78-point win and 107 points scored were the most since last season, when they scored 107 points and won by 81 points against the Warner Pacific Knights. All 14 Pilots that played last game scored.
• Portland's 45 made field goals are the most in any contest in at least the 2000s. They got 69 points from their bench as well.
• The Pilots had three players score in double-digits: Sara Mangan (13), Brynn Smith (11) and Rhyan Mogel (10).
• Mangan's 13 points with three made 3-pointers are the most by a Pilot freshman in their debut game since Emme Shearer in 2020.
• Portland forced 38 turnovers with 27 steals, the most since their matchup against Warner Pacific back in 2023. They scored 62 points off those turnovers.
• Tiffany Barbosa's six steals were a career high and are also the eighth most of any player in NCAA Division I through one game.
• As a team, the Pilots lead the conference early in 11 different categories: bench points per game (69.0), field goal percentage (57.7%), free throw percentage (88.9%), rebound margin (20.0), points allowed per game (29.0), scoring margin (78.0), points offense (107.0), steals per game (27.0), turnover margin (30.0), turnovers forced (38.0) and turnovers per game (8.0).
• Nationally, they are second in steals per game, third in turnover margin and bench points per game, sixth in scoring margin, seventh in points allowed and turnovers forced per game, ninth in field goal percentage, 10th in turnovers per game and assist/turnover ratio (2.88), 14th in points per game and free throw percentage, 25th in assists per game (23.0) and 28th in rebound margin.
 
LAST SEASON FOR PORTLAND
• The Pilots finished last season with a 20-15 record overall, taking fifth in the conference with an 11-7 WCC record.
• It was the fifth straight 20-win season for the Pilots and the sixth in the last seven years under head coach Michael Meek.
• Portland advanced to the 2026 WCC Tournament Semifinals and qualified for the Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT), earning a postseason qualification for the seventh straight season.
• The Pilots defeated the Sam Houston Bearkats and the Lamar Redhawks in the opening two rounds before falling in the Super 16 to the Montana State Bobcats. All seven of Portland's postseason wins have now come with Meek as head coach.
• The Pilots had four different players rack up postseason honors at the conclusion of the 2025-26 regular season.
• For the year's All-West Coast Conference honors, Ananiev made the All-WCC Second Team, Dallow earned honorable mention and Dalan made the freshman team.
• Ananiev earned All-WCC honors for the second time in her career, while Dallow and Dalan do so for the first time.
• Anderson earned WCC All-Academic First Team honors for her performance on the court and in the classroom.
• Along with Anderson, Ananiev, Tiffany Barbosa, Dallow, Rhyan Mogel, Lainey Spear and Ella Zimmerman all earned WCC All-Academic Honorable Mention.
• The Pilots also had four student-athletes earn academic honors from the College Sports Communicators, with Ananiev, Mogel, Spear and Zimmerman making the CSC Academic All-District Team.
• The Pilots led the conference in blocks per game (5.6), turnovers forced per game (20.6) and steals per game (11.1) and ranks second in assists per game (16.8) and bench points per game (21.8).
• Nationally, Portland was 11th in blocks per game, 24th in turnovers forced per game, 28th in assists per game and 29th in steals per game.
 
PRESEASON POLLS
• The Pilots were picked to finish second in the annual WCC Preseason Coaches Poll, with Dyani Ananiev and Florence Dallow both making the preseason team.
• This is the second year in a row that Ananiev has made the team and the first for Dallow.
• Ananiev was the leading scorer for the Pilots at 11.5 points per game, followed closely behind by Dallow at 9.9 points per game. Ananiev earned All-WCC Second Team honors last season while Dallow earned All-WCC Honorable Mention.
• Ananiev led the conference at 79 steals and 2.5 steals per game. Her 2.5 steals per contest ranked 49th nationally.
• With Ananiev averaging one block a game as well, she was one of four players in the nation to average at least 2.5 steals and one block per contest. She was one of just three to post at least 75 steals and 35 blocks on the year.
• Ananiev's 79 steals are the most by a Pilot since Kate Andersen had 82 in the 2019-20 season. It's the sixth most by a Pilot in the program's Division I history.
• Dallow, meanwhile, was second on the team in scoring and first in rebounding, posting 5.4 boards per game and 183 total rebounds.
• Dallow put up a historic stat line against the Pepperdine Waves on Feb. 26, tallying 15 points, 15 rebounds five assists and five steals. She's the only player in the WCC to reach those marks in a single game in at least the 2000s and one of just 37 players in NCAA history to post those numbers in the 21st century as well.
 
THE RETURNERS
• The Pilots are in rare air, having returned every eligible player to return who played minutes last year. They have returned every eligible player who played minutes the season prior in each of the last three seasons.
• Of those 12 returners, 11 played minutes last season, with the regular starting five all returning: Ananiev, Dallow, Mogel, Spear and Dalan.
• Ananiev was the leading scorer for the Pilots at 11.5 points per game, followed closely behind by Dallow at 9.9 points per game. Ananiev earned All-WCC Second Team honors last season while Dallow earned All-WCC Honorable Mention.
• Ananiev led the conference at 79 steals and 2.5 steals per game. Her 2.5 steals per contest ranked 49th nationally.
• With Ananiev averaging one block a game as well, she was one of four players in the nation to average at least 2.5 steals and one block per contest. She was one of just three to post at least 75 steals and 35 blocks on the year.
• Ananiev's 79 steals are the most by a Pilot since Kate Andersen had 82 in the 2019-20 season. It's the sixth most by a Pilot in the program's Division I history.
• Dallow, meanwhile, was second on the team in scoring and first in rebounding, posting 5.4 boards per game and 183 total rebounds.
• Dallow put up a historic stat line against the Pepperdine Waves on Feb. 26, tallying 15 points, 15 rebounds five assists and five steals. She's the only player in the WCC to reach those marks in a single game in at least the 2000s and one of just 37 players in NCAA history to post those numbers in the 21st century as well.
• Lainey Spear and Rhyan Mogel both put up career years with the Pilots.
• Lainey Spear also racked up the takeaways last year at 1.9 steals per game. Spear had eight steals against Seattle U on Jan. 17, the most by a Pilot since 2017.
• Spear was one steal shy of the program record for steals in a game. The last player to reach nine steals in a game was her mother, Kristin, who played with the Pilots from 1995-99 and reached nine steals in a game in 1997.
• 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.
• Rhyan Mogel ranked fourth in the WCC in total assists (155) and fifth in assists per game (4.6) while also ranking third in assist/turnover ratio at 1.61.
• Mogel was the fastest Pilot to 100 assists in a season since Haylee Andrews in the 2021-22 season. Her 151 assists are 11th most by a Pilot in the program's Division I history.
• Spear and Mogel are both local products, with Spear leading the Beaverton High School Beavers and Mogel Clackamas High School.
• Despite playing just 21 games, Julia Dalan was 17th in total blocks nationally and second in the WCC, and her 3.3 blocks per game would also lead the conference and the nation had she qualified. She was named to the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Award Watch List midway through the year.
• A two-time WCC Freshman of the Week, Dalan's 69 blocks are the most ever by a Pilot true freshman, breaking the record previously held by Rosemary Adams in the 1990-91 season. It's the sixth most in a season ever by a Pilot.
• A Centralia, Wash. native, Dalan starred at W.F. West High School, where she was the all-time leading scorer and the 2A Player of the Year in 2023-24.
• Numerous other Pilots made contributions that return for this year.
• Other returning sophomores who played last year include Jada Kennedy, Brynn Smith and Aubrey Herrin. Kennedy averaged 4.4 points and 1.0 blocks in 25 games last year while Smith played all 35 games and averaged 4.0 points per game on 35.1% shooting from 3-point range.
• Kennedy once earned WCC Co-Freshman of the Week honors after averaging 10 points, 7.5 rebounds and four blocks in a two-game stretch against San Diego and Saint Mary's.
• From Australia, Kennedy is the Pilots' tallest player at 6-foot-5. Kennedy played club with the Dandenong Rangers, the same club as her mother, Jacinta.
• Smith, a product of Willamette High School who scored over 2,000 points for her high school career, put up a career-high 14 points in the final game of the season against Montana State.
• Herrin played in just three games before tearing her ACL, missing the rest of the season. Herrin was a multi-sport star, dominating the court as the Mid-Columbia Valley Defensive Player of the Year at Kamiakin High School while competing in the triple jump and high jump.
• Tiffany Barbosa, along with Smith, is the only other returning Pilot to have played every game for Portland last season. She averaged a career-high 4.9 points per game and 1.4 steals per contest, thrice crossing the double-digit threshold for points.
• Ella Zimmerman fortifies the center spot as well for Portland, playing in 34 games last year. She averaged 3.8 points per contest and scored a career-high 18 points against Pepperdine on Jan. 24 last season.
• Caitlin Monahan is the final returning junior, having played in 22 games last season. She scored a career-high seven points against Warner Pacific on Nov. 11.
• Goundo Diakite, a sophomore, returns to Portland after sitting out her freshman year. Diakite spent time training with Spain's national team this summer and also comes from Joventut Badalona.
 
THE NEWCOMERS
• Four newcomers join the Pilots this year, all freshmen. The Pilots have no transfers on the 2026-27 roster.
• Locally, the Pilots brought in a prolific shooter in Sara Mangan. Mangan is the all-time leader in made 3-pointers for OSAA 6A with 362 3-pointers, was a two-time Metro League Player of the Year and was a McDonald's All-American nominee.
• Pahlyss Hokianga adds to the Oceania contingency in Portland, bringing national team experience to The Bluff from New Zealand. She's played with the senior national team over the last year with fellow Pilot Dallow and former Pilot Emme Shearer as one of the team's youngest members.
• Hokianga was one of the top points guards in the country, winning the Acorn Foundation Christine Tustain Sports Award in 2024, the Aotearoa Youth Player of the Year and Rapid League MVP in 2023 and 5x5 Basketball MVP honors in 2023 with Tauranga College.
• Maddie Angus also comes from Oceania, joining the Pilots from Melbourne, Australia. Angus shined with the Sandringham Sabres and also represented the state of Victoria at the Foot Locker National Championships, taking a silver medal at the U-16 level and a gold at the U-18 level.
• Carly Gonzalez rounds out the newcomers for Portland. Gonzalez was named the Austin American Statesman Private and Parochial Player of the Year as a junior after averaging 14.8 points and 15.1 rebounds per contest. Gonzalez also posted five triple-doubles her senior year.
 
THE COACHES
• The Pilots are under the guidance of eighth-year head coach Michael Meek. Meek ranks ninth in career winning percentage (381-112, .773) among active NCAA DI coaches.
• Meek has made a postseason tournament every year as coach of the Pilots and has posted at least 20 wins in six of his seven years coaching the Pilots.
• 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 assistant coach and director of operations Kianna Hamilton and director of player development Seve Moreno.
 
ABOUT THE COUGARS
• The BYU Cougars opened the season with a 67-50 win over the Idaho State Bengals, led by 17 points from Delaney Gibb.
• Last season, the Cougars were 26-12 overall and 9-9 in Big 12 play, finishing ninth in the conference. They made the finals of the WBIT before falling to the Columbia Lions.
• The Pilots 
• In the annual Big 12 Preseason Media Poll and the Preseason Coaches' Poll, the Cougars were picked to finish seventh in the conference. In the coaches' poll, Delaney Gibb was named to the All-Big 12 Preseason Team.
• Gibb led the Cougars in scoring at 18.3 points per game along with 5.1 rebounds and was an All-Big 12 First Team selection.
• Olivia Hamlin also returns after earning All-Big 12 Freshman Team honors and All-Big 12 Honorable Mention. She was second on the team in scoring at 12.9 points per game.
• Lee Cummard is in his second season as head coach of the Cougars, going 27-12 for his career.
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