Women's Hoops Blog with Kari Luttinen
Entry #5
Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2014

Hey Pilot Fans!
 
Kari here, reporting back after a few weeks of Pilot Basketball! Sorry for the delayed blog it's been a while since our last check-in! I hope everyone enjoyed a relaxing Christmas break and is getting back into the swing of things. I have a lot to update you on, so let's get to it!
 
Basketball-wise, we are getting deeper into conference play and have had some good match-ups thus far in the WCC. After a tough loss against Gonzaga earlier in the month, we bounced back with a game to defeat No. 24 San Diego. After that, our string of home games ended with a close loss versus BYU. Since then, we have been on two road trips back to the beautiful and sunny state of California, splitting both sets of games. In our recent trip to SoCal, we faced both Pepperdine as well as LMU. Starting in Malibu, we were tied at half with the Waves. Although a bit of a struggle on the offensive end, with solid defense and rebounding we claimed a 53-43 victory over Pepperdine. Three Pilots scored in double figures as Cassie, CB, and I scored 15, 14, and 12, respectively. Amy balled out on the boards and grabbed 11, and Cassie just missed a double-double, securing 9 rebounds.
 
LMU was up next on Saturday, as we were neck and neck with the Lions in WCC play. However, despite a late-game run, the Lions ended up with the win 78-64. This brings our overall record to 11-9 and 4-5 in WCC play. Five players scored in double figures, as JW lead the way with 14 points.
 
Road trips also mean staying busy with homework! Here is a shot of JW, JJ, Lexi, and CB all busy with some good old studying.


 
Furthermore, Coach Sollars has recently announced his retirement following this season, his 28th here at UP. Coach has brought in almost 400 wins with the Pilots and he has won 560 games overall as a collegiate head coach.
 
"It's been a wonderful experience and relationship between my family and the University of Portland," Sollars said. "My wife got her masters here, three of my four kids went to school here and we've just been blessed to be a part of the University community."
 
Although, as a team, it is sad to hear Coach is leaving after the season, it is also important to look back on all the experiences we have shared with him during our time at Portland. First and foremost, Coach Sollars has been such a loving and respected coach in our program for years and I know that we are all more than grateful for him and thankful to have had him make such a positive impact on all our lives. His ability to treat his players like his own daughters, as well as his absolute confidence in his players, has allowed us to grow stronger as a unit and as a team. Speaking for the team, we are looking to make Coach's last season as a Pilot a memorable one, both on and off the court. So, I interviewed a few of my teammates and asked them to share their favorite Coach Sollars memory or quote! 
 
JW: "My favorite memory with coach was going to WCC media day not because we got to spend a lot of time together, but because I got to miss school. JUST KIDDING.  It's always a good time traveling with coach because he has touched so many people. Everywhere I go someone knows coach and has great memories with him. His legacy is immense."
 
Me: "What I have personally found out about Coach, is that he has a connection with EVERYONE. Like, seriously, no joke. In the airports, at restaurants, in hotels, it seems like he knows everyone. Even on my recruiting visit he told me that his wife (Ms. Pam) used to babysit my senior homecoming date during some of his games… He has touched a lot of lives during his time at UP."
 
Amy: "My favorite memory of Coach Sollars is the fact that he is always so concerned with our lives off the court. He's always asking about our classes and has a genuine interest in our future. He is one of a kind and is probably the only Division 1 coach to schedule weekly meetings just to talk with each of his players. He has a plethora of "coachisms" which I hope will be documented by the end of this year!"
 
Erin: "My most memorable moment of coach was when he had us come in for weekly meetings to just check up on us and see how we were doing in school and basketball, and just wanting to talk with us."
 
Hannah: "I love when he always tells me that I am running around like a fart in a skillet! I also loved being able to go to Thanksgiving dinner with his family."
 

CB: "This is my favorite outfit (above) that I gave coach for Christmas, other than his swaggy p sweater vests on game days. My other favorite quote he says is 'You aren't moving, you look more like you are smokin' a cigarette out on the porch, not playing basketball!'"
 
Looking ahead, your Pilots are finally back and ready for some home games in the Chiles Center. This week we play both Thursday and Saturday and would love to see you Pilot fans out there to support! Thursday is a 7pm tip versus University of San Francisco and Saturday is a 1pm match-up versus Santa Clara. Come through and make some noise for the Pilots!
 
See you soon!
Kar

Previous Entries
- Entry #1 (Wednesday, Nov. 24, 2013)
- Entry #2 (Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2013)
- Entry #3 (Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2013)
- Entry #4 (Thursday, Jan. 2, 2014)