Date: Saturday, Jan. 8, 2010

Location: Portland, Ore.

Tip: 2:00 p.m.

Arena: Chiles Center (4,852)

Live Video/Audio/Stats: PortlandPilots.com

Series: GU leads 33-27

Last Meeting: GU 70, @POR 58 (Feb. 6, 2010)          

 

The Portland Pilots (9-6, 0-0 WCC) will look to snap a three-game losing skid this weekend as they open play in the West Coast Conference against the Gonzaga Bulldogs (12-4, 0-0 WCC) at the Chiles Center. Tip-off between these two Pacific Northwest rivals is set for 2:00 p.m. on Saturday.

 

New for 2010-11 is UP’s GameCentral, a free internet portal that combines free video, audio and livestats in one location, making following the Pilots easier and more accessible than ever before. All home, non-televised men’s and women’s soccer games, volleyball matches and men’s and women’s basketball games will be available through the free service, which is also available on your iPhone, iPad, or iTouch. To access GameCentral, simply visit PortlandPilots.com.

 

Fans can now follow the Portland Pilots like never before. Just visit Twitter (@PortlandPilots), facebook (facebook.com/PortlandPilots) and YouTube (youtube.com/UPPurplePride) for access to everything Pilots.

 

The Pilots dropped two close games last week, losing 64-62 at Portland State on Dec. 28 and 71-66 at home to Idaho on the 30th. The Pilots had the final possession against the Vikings, but the potential game-tying shot was blocked as the clock expired. Senior Tara Cronin scored a team-high 14 points, while senior Jessica Clemens and junior ReZina TecleMariam each had a team-best seven rebounds. TecleMariam added 11 points, while senior Lauren Angel reached double figures with 10.

UP trailed the Vandals most of the game before pulling within one during the final minutes. But Idaho made enough free throws down the stretch to preserve the win. TecleMariam had 13 points and five assists, while freshman Cassandra Brown registered a career high with 12 points. Brown also had a career-high five steals, while matching a career best six rebounds. Freshman point guard Alexis Byrd also matched a career high in scoring with nine points, while also swiping a career best five steals.

 

The Bulldogs have won 10 of their last 11 games, with their only set-back coming against No. 14 Notre Dame on Dec. 29. The Irish held off the Zags 70-61 in Seattle. Most recently, GU defeated Southern Utah 102-61 in Spokane on Monday. Senior guard Courtney Vandersloot, who leads the nation in assists with a per game mark of 9.4, registered a double-double against the Thunderbirds with 20 points and 12 assists. Vandersloot is averaging 16.9 points per game, while junior wing Katelan Redmon is putting up a league-best 17.7 points per contest. Junior forward Kayla Standish (8.3 rpg) leads the team in rebounding. Former UP assistant coach Kelly Graves is in his 11th year as head coach at GU. 10 letterwinners and two starters returned from last year’s NCAA Sweet 16 team, which finished 25-5 overall and 14-0 in the WCC.

 

Overall: GU leads 33-27   

Here: Tied 14-14 (Neutral UP 3-1)  

There: GU leads 18-10 (last UP W in 2009) 

First Meeting: GU 78, @POR 72 (1980-81)

Last Meeting: GU 70, @POR 58 (2/6/10)

Last 5: GU 4-1

 

The Pilots face their first WCC road trip next week as they travel to Los Angeles, Calif., for a pair of games. On Thursday, Jan. 13, Portland will face the Loyola Marymount Lions at 7:00 p.m. at Gersten Pavilion. Then on Saturday, the Pilots will make the short trek to Malibu for a 2:00 p.m. game against the Pepperdine Waves at Firestone Fieldhouse. UP returns home the following week to host San Francisco (Jan. 20) and Santa Clara (Jan. 22) at the Chiles Center.

 

The Pilots opened the season at 4-0 for just the third time in program history and for the first time since 2001-02. UP also won its first six games on the road to open with a 6-0 record away from the Chiles Center for the first time in program history. Portland began its women’s basketball program in 1977 and began competing at the NCAA Division I level in 1986.

 

Portland is getting tremendous production off of its bench this season, which includes Natalie Day’s team-high 14.5 points per game. So far, 40.8 percent (439 of 1076 points) of UP’s total scoring has come off of the pine.

The Pilots’ bench has been outscored only once this season (23-18 by Oregon on Nov. 22), while the UP subs outscored Montana State’s by a ridiculous 60-6 margin on Dec. 10. Portland also posted an impressive 23-2 advantage in bench points against Hawai’i on Dec. 4 and outscored Pacific’s bench 48-16 on Dec. 19.

 

Portland’s game against Oregon on Nov. 22 was Jim Sollars’ 700th game as UP’s head coach. In 25-plus years, Coach has compiled a 344-366 (.485) overall record with the Pilots.

Last season, coach Sollars notched career win No. 500 when the Pilots defeated the Idaho Vandals 67-56 on Nov. 11 in Moscow, Idaho. In 35-plus years as a head women’s basketball coach, Sollars has compiled 521 wins at three different schools. He began his head coaching career in 1976 at Wenatchee Valley Community College, where he tallied 154 wins in seven years. During three years (1983-86) at the helm of Portland State, Sollars added 23 more wins to the resume before moving to The Bluff.

With 149 WCC wins, Sollars has won more league games than any other coach in the 23-year history of the conference.

 

During Portland’s 91-80 win over Washington State on Nov. 18, juniors Natalie Day and Nakeisha Brown became to first UP teammates to score at least 20 points in the same game since 2005. Day scored 25 against the Cougars, while Brown registered a career-high 22. During a win against UC Davis on Nov. 27, 2005, Whitney Grant (25) and Rose Sauer (20) both reached the 20-point mark.

 

Back for her second season with the Pilots is transfer Natalie Day, who is Portland’s top returning scorer. Day, a wing who came to The Bluff from Howard University prior to the 2009-10 season, averaged 11.2 points per game last year.

Now a junior, the native of Germantown, Md., is putting up a team-best 14.5 points per game, which ranks sixth in the WCC, and she has scored in double figures during 12 of 15 games. Day has two games of 25 points and she registered her first career double-double with 25 points and 11 boards against Oregon on Nov. 22. She’s also been active on the glass, averaging 5.3 rebounds per game, good for 12th in the conference.

 

Returning to run the point this season is veteran guard ReZina TecleMariam, who is now a junior for the Pilots and is second on the team in scoring (11.2 ppg). TecleMariam has two games this season with 10 assists and is second in the WCC and 22nd nationally in assists per game (5.6). Against Washington State on Nov. 18, Z registered her first career double-double with 16 points and 10 assists. She nearly posted back-to-back double-doubles in unorthodox style, putting up 16 points and a career-best seven steals against Air Force on Nov. 20. On Dec. 19, TecleMariam set another milestone with a career-high 20 points against Pacific.

TecleMariam had a break-out year last season, finishing fourth on the team in scoring (9.2 ppg) and second in both rebounding (5.6 rpg) and assists (3.8 apg). The native of Puyallup, Wash., started all 31 games and averaged 10.5 points per game during WCC contests.

 

After missing the majority of her first two years on The Bluff with leg injuries, junior guard Nakeisha Brown is making the most of her health this season. Brown, who has started all 15 games, is third on the team in scoring with an 9.2 points per game mark.

During UP’s 91-80 win over Washington State on Nov. 18, the native of Houston, Texas, careered, going for 22 points on eight of nine shooting. She hit all four of her three-pointers against the Cougars, and she’s reached double figures in scoring seven times this season. Prior to this year, Brown had played in only 19 games, averaging 2.0 points per contest.

 

The current crop of Pilots is starting to appear in the UP career record books. Senior Tara Cronin is fourth all-time in career free throw percentage (.790), ranks seventh in career three-pointers (85) and is eighth in three-point percentage (.356). Junior Alexis Gannis is fourth all-time with a career field goal percentage of .497, while junior guard ReZina TecleMariam’s career three-point percentage of .358 ranks seventh. Natalie Day’s career average of 12.4 points per game sits just out of the top 10 at No. 11.

 

Redshirt-freshman Sarah Griffin has taken on blogging duties for the women’s hoops team, and she’ll be checking in from time-to-time with her thoughts and some updates on the season. Make sure to bookmark www.portlandpilots.com/GriffinBlog and follow Sarah and the Pilots all season.