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The Pilots celebrating their win over Gonzaga.

Women's Basketball

Pilots Open WCC Tournament With Third-Round Matchup Against Washington State

LAS VEGAS – March is here, and Portland Pilots Women's Basketball is set for their matchup against the Washington State Cougars in the third round of the 2026 Credit Union 1 WCC Women's Basketball Championships. The two teams play on Saturday, March 7 at noon on ESPN+ at the Orleans Arena. Check PortlandPilots.com for live stats and video options.
 
GAME INFORMATION
Opponent: Washington State Cougars (9-24, 6-12 WCC)
Day: Saturday
Date: Mar. 7, 2026
Time: 12 PM
Place: Las Vegas, Nev.
Arena: Orleans Arena
TV: ESPN+
Audio: PortlandPilots.com
Stats: PortlandPilots.com
 
POR vs. WSU
Overall: 11-2 •  Last 5/10: 5-0/9-1
H: 5-2 •  A: 5-0 • N: 1-0
Last: POR 68, WSU 61 (1/2/2026)
 
PILOTS AT THE TOURNEY
All-Time: 25-30
 
Best Finish: Champions in 1994, 2020, 2023 and 2024
 
2025 WCC Tournament Results:
W, POR 72, WSU 57 (Semifinals)
L, POR 46, OSU 59 (Championship
 
LAST WEEK FOR PORTLAND
• The Portland Pilots are 17-13 on the year after splitting the action in their last two games against the Pepperdine Waves and the Gonzaga Bulldogs
• Against the Waves, Portland fell 70-63 at the Chiles Center despite numerous players putting together career games.
• Florence Dallow put up a historic stat line with 15 points, 15 rebounds, five assists and five rebounds to become the fourth Pilot to record a double-double this year.
• Dallow is the only WCC player to reach all those marks in a single game in the 2000s at least and one of just 38 players in the NCAA since that time as well.
• Dallow's 15 rebounds and five steals were also both career highs. She's the first Pilot to grab at least 15 rebounds in a game since Alex Fowler in 2021.
• Tiffany Barbosa had a career night with 19 points, five rebounds and five 3-pointers. Her 19 points are a career high as well as the five made 3-pointers.
• Barbosa is just the second Pilot to hit at least five 3-pointers in a game this season. Since entering the starting lineup, Barbosa is averaging 10 points, six rebounds and 2.7 steals per game.
• Julia Dalan made history as well on Thursday, recording four blocks in her return to action. With her four blocks, she set the program record for blocks in a season by a Pilot true freshman at 69.
• Dalan recorded those four blocks in just nine minutes, marking the 10th time she's posted that many blocks in a game this season. She's one of just five players in the NCAA this season to have that many blocks in that few minutes.
• Dyani Ananiev also had a career-high four blocks in the game along with three steals. She's one of just four WCC players to have reached those marks in a game this year.
• Against the Zags, the Pilots played in their first overtime game of the season, taking down the Bulldogs 92-91 for their first win over the Zags since 2009 in the regular season.
• The win is also Portland's first at the Chiles Center since 2001 against Gonzaga.
• Nicole Anderson scored a season-best 20 points in the effort, with eight of those 20 points coming in overtime. Anderson hit the first two shots of overtime, both 3-pointers, to put the game away.
• After being held scoreless through the first three quarters, Dallow hit four 3-pointers and scored 15 points total in the fourth, with her final 3-pointer being the game-tying shot at the end of regulation.
• Along with Dallow, Dyani Ananiev and Lainey Spear each had 15 points.
• The Pilots had to play shorthanded to close it out, with four players fouling out in the contest.
• Portland's 13 3-pointers in the game were the most in a game this season, as well as their 27 made free throws.
• The Pilots also had 26 forced turnovers and 15 steals in the contest.
 
TOURNEY TIME FOR THE PILOTS
• The 2026 Credit Union 1 West Coast Conference Women's Basketball Championships are upon us, a tournament that the Pilots have achieved great success in under head coach Michael Meek.
• In 2020, Meek's first season, he led the Pilots to their first WCC Tournament championship since 1994 and just their second in program history. Alex Fowler was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player that season.
• That season, Haylee Andrews hit game-winning shots late against both the Gonzaga Bulldogs in the semifinals and the San Diego Toreros in the final to propel the Pilots to a win.
• In 2023 and 2024, the Pilots did it again, beating Gonzaga both times in the final on their way to victory. They were the first back-to-back champs not named Gonzaga to repeat since Pepperdine in 2003.
• With their win in 2023, the Pilots earned the chance to compete in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1997. The Pilots were unable to compete in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
• Overall, the Pilots are 25-30 as a program with four tournament titles.
 
PEEK INTO THE PORT
• The Pilots lead the conference in blocks per game (5.6), turnovers forced per game (20.7) and steals per game (11.1) and ranks second in assists per game (17.0) and bench points per game (23.1).
• Nationally, Portland's 10th in blocks per game, 25th in turnovers forced per game, 30th in steals per game, 31st in assists per game and 50th in bench points per game.
• Julia Dalan is 11th in total blocks nationally and is averaging 3.3 blocks per game, with both numbers leading 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.
• Ananiev currently leads the conference at 69 steals and 2.5 steals per game. Her 2.5 steals per contest ranks 47th nationally.
• Ananiev is the leading scorer for the Pilots at 11.0 points per game, followed closely behind by Dallow at 10.4 points per game.
• Spear has also racked up the takeaways this year at 1.9 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 1996-99 and reached nine steals in a game in 1997.
• Anderson makes nearly two 3-pointers a contest off the bench primarily, averaging 1.9 per game to rank eighth in the WCC.
• Anderson averaged 9.4 points per game in conference play alone and shot 38.4% from 3-point range. Her 56 3-pointers overall most 3-pointers 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 both total assists (134) and 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 times.
• 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 377-110 in his career dating back to his time at George Fox. He is 146-74 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 .775
 
ABOUT THE COUGARS
• The Washington State Cougars are 9-24 on the season and finished 6-12 in WCC play to take ninth officially in the conference.
• The Cougars had to earn two wins to make the third round of the WCC Tournament, beating the Seattle U Redhawks in the opening round and the Pacific Tigers in second round.
• Last season, the Cougars finished third in the WCC with a 21-14 record overall and a 14-6 WCC record. The Pilots and Cougars played each other in the 2025 WCC Tournament Semifinals, with the Pilots winning 72-57 after trailing by double-digits at halftime.
• This year, the Cougars were picked to finish third in the WCC in annual coaches preseason poll and had one player – Eleanora Villa – named to the All-WCC Preseason Team.
• Villa was the lone Cougar to earn All-WCC honors, making the second team after averaging 16.5 points per game to lead the team.
• Kamie Ethridge is 208-172 for her head coaching career and 125-128 in her time with the Cougars.
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