PORTLAND, Ore. – Portland Pilots Women's Basketball is ready for their WNIT second-round matchup against the Lamar Lady Cardinals at the Chiles Center. The two teams play on Sunday, March 22 at 3 p.m. Check PortlandPilots.com for tickets, live stats, audio and video options.

GAME INFORMATION 
Opponent: Lamar Lady Cardinals (20-10, 17-5 Southland) 
Day: Sunday 
Date: Mar. 22, 2026 
Time: 3 PM 
Place: Portland, Ore. 
Arena: Chiles Center 
TV: ESPN+ 
Audio: PortlandPilots.com 
Stats: PortlandPilots.com 

POR vs. LU
Overall: 0-1 • Last 5/10: 0-1/0-1
H: 0-0 • A: 0-0 • N: 0-1
Last: POR 66, LU 76 (11/26/10)
 
PILOTS IN THE POSTSEASON 
• Portland Pilots Women's Basketball is back in the postseason, playing in their 14th postseason tournament in program history. 
• As a program, the Pilots have qualified for the NCAA Tournament seven times, the WNIT four times, the WBI twice and the WBIT once. 
• Portland last played in the WNIT in 2022. They earned their first ever win in the tournament that year, taking down the Colorado State Rams at home 72-63. 
• Their win against the Rams was also their first ever home playoff victory. 
• Last season the Pilots played in the WBIT for the first time in program history, earning two wins in the tournament over the Stanford Cardinal and the Seton Hall Pirates – their first ever over the Cardinal and their first ever over a Big East team – before losing to the Villanova Wildcats in the quarterfinals. 
• The Pilots have earned a bid for postseason play in each of Portland head coach Mike Meek's seven years on The Bluff. All six of Portland's playoff wins have come with Meek at the helm.
 
LAST TIME OUT
• The Pilots won a chaotic first-round matchup against the Sam Houston Bearkats 62-59 to advance in the WNIT.
• The win is just the second ever for the Pilots in the WNIT, the second ever at home and the sixth in program history.
• The game featured a combined 54 turnovers, with the Pilots forcing 24 and committing 30 themselves. Portland added 15 steals and eight blocks as well.
• Dyani Ananiev led the way with 18 points and a career-high six blocks. She's the only Pilot besides Julia Dalan to record at least six blocks in a game this season.
• Lainey Spear added 14 points and nine rebounds – matching her career high for boards – and Brynn Smith scored 10 points off the bench with two 3-pointers.
• Smith's 10 points are the most she's scored in a game since her 10 points against Warner Pacific in November.
 
PEEK INTO THE PORT 
• The Pilots lead 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), 3-point defense (29.3%) and bench points per game (22.2). 
• Nationally, Portland's 11th in blocks per game, 24th in turnovers forced per game and 29th in steals per game and assists per game. 
• Despite playing just 21 games, Julia Dalan is 16th in total blocks nationally and second in the WCC, and her 3.3 blocks per game would also lead the conference. 
• 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. 
• Ananiev currently leads the conference at 77 steals and 2.6 steals per game. Her 2.6 steals per contest ranks 45th nationally.
• With Ananiev averaging one block a game as well, she is one of four players in the nation to average at least 2.5 steals and one block per contest.
• Ananiev's 77 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.
• Ananiev is the leading scorer for the Pilots at 11.1 points per game, followed closely behind by Dallow at 10.1 points per game. 
• Spear has also racked up the takeaways this year at 1.8 steals per game. Spear had eight steals earlier this year 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. 
• Nicole Anderson averaged 9.4 points per game in conference play alone and shot 38.4% from 3-point range. Her 59 3-pointers overall are the most by a Pilot in a single season since Maddie Muhlheim in the 2019-20 season (60) and the eighth most in program history. 
• Mogel ranks fourth in the WCC in total assists (148) and fifth in assists per game (4.6) while also ranking third in assist/turnover ratio at 1.76. 
• Mogel was the fastest Pilot to 100 assists in a season since Haylee Andrews in the 2021-22 season. 

AWARDS SEASON 
• The Pilots had four different players rack up postseason honors at the conclusion of the 2025-26 regular season. 
• For the year All-West Coast Conference honors, Ananiev made the All-WCC Second Team, Dallow earned honorable mention and Dalan made the freshman team. 
• Ananiev earns All-WCC honors for the second time in her career, while Dallow and Dalan do so for the first time. 
• Anderson followed that up by earned WCC All-Academic First Team honors for her performance on the court and in the classroom. 
• Along with Anderson, Ananiev, Tiffany Barbosa, Dallow, Mogel, Spear and Zimmerman all earned WCC All-Academic Honorable Mention. 
  
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 379-111 in his career dating back to his time at George Fox. He is 148-76 in his time with Portland. 
• Meek ranks ninth among all active coaches in NCAA Division I with at least five seasons of experience in winning percentage at .774.
  
ABOUT THE LADY CARDINALS 
• The Lamar Lady Cardinals are 20-10 overall and finished 17-5 in the Southland this year, taking second in the conference and earning an automatic qualification for the WNIT. 
• They fell in semifinals of their conference tournament to the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks, who won the conference championship.
• Last season, they went 22-8 overall and 17-3 in conference play, also losing to the Lumberjacks in the semifinals of the Southland tournament last season. 
• Kamryn Wilson earned Second Team All-Conference honors for the Lady Cardinals, averaging a team-high 11.1 points per game.
• Aqua Franklin is in her seventh season in charge of Lamar. She's posted a 120-85 record over that span.

---

Get Your Tickets Now!
Secure your spot now for any upcoming Portland Pilots ticketed home event by visiting PortlandPilots.com/Tickets or by downloading the Portland Pilots App.  For group and fan experience package information, email pilotsboxoffice@up.edu.

Donate Today 
Fans interested in making a contribution to University of Portland Athletics can do so by clicking here. Your gift helps our over 300 student-athletes compete at the highest level – on and off the field - in the rapidly changing world of intercollegiate athletics. All gifts to Pilot Athletics are 100% tax deductible.

Follow Along With the Action
Get the latest news and information about your favorite University of Portland athletic programs by visiting PortlandPilots.com. You can also follow along for the most dynamic coverage and team-centric content by following us on Twitter, liking us on Facebook, and following us on Instagram.