PORTLAND PILOTS (2-9, 0-0 WCC)
WEEK 8: vs. Pacific / at Pepperdine
 
Pacific Tigers (4-7, 0-0 WCC)
Day: Thursday
Date: Dec. 29, 2016
Place: Portland, Ore.
Time: 7:00 PM
Gym: Chiles Center
Video: TheW.tv
Stats: PortlandPilots.com
 
POR vs. PAC
Overall: 7-8  •  Last 5/10: 0-5/4-6
H: 3-3  •  A: 3-4  •  N: 1-1
Last: PAC 87, @POR 38 (2/18/2016)
 
Pepperdine Waves (2-9, 0-0 WCC)
Day: Saturday
Date: Dec. 31, 2016
Place: Malibu, Calif.
Time: 1:00 PM
Gym: Firestone Fieldhouse
Video: TheW.tv
Stats: PepperdineSports.com
 
POR vs. PEPP
Overall: 26-36  •  Last 5/10: 3-2/7-3
H: 17-12  •  A: 8-22  •  N: 1-2
Last: @POR 81, PEPP 79 (2/4/2015)
 
THIS WEEK
• The Pilots open play in the West Coast Conference this week when they first host the Pacific Tigers on Thursday night at 7 p.m. at the Chiles Center.
• Portland then hits the road for a WCC contest against the Pepperdine Waves on Saturday in Malibu, Calif., with tip-off set for 1 p.m. at Firestone Fieldhouse.
 
LAST WEEK
• The Pilots last took the court on Sunday, Dec. 18, in Boise, Idaho, where the Boise State Broncos held off Portland 74-60.
• Darian Slaga scored 18 points and Ashley Gray collected a career-best 12 rebounds, but the Broncos out-scored the Pilots 23-15 in the fourth quarter to claim the win.
• Corissa Turley added 12 points for the Pilots.
 
ABOUT THE PILOTS
• Sophomore Julie Spencer is enjoying a breakout year for the Pilots as the sophomore has scored a career-high 14 points during three of Portland's last five games.
• The forward also recorded her first career double-double and the first double-double by a Pilot this season with 14 points and 12 boards during a win over Portland State on Nov. 30.
• Fellow sophomore Darian Slaga is also having a stellar second season on The Bluff, leading the team in scoring with an 11.9 points per game mark.
• Slaga, who has come off the bench every game this season, scored a career-high 24 points against UW on Nov. 27; that's the most points scored by a Pilot since Cassandra Brown scored 26 in February of 2015.
• Senior Holly Blades matched a program record when she buried seven three-pointers, out of just 10 attempts, during Portland's win over UAA at the Great Alaska Shootout on Nov. 27; Jennifer Wassom is the only other Pilot to notch seven three's in 2005.
• Blades was named to the Great Alaska Shootout All-Tournament Team after the Pilots advanced to the title game, with the help of her career-high 21 points against UAA.
• Portland returned a veteran squad in 2016-17 as the Pilots feature a group of 10 returning letterwinners after losing just one player to graduation last season.
• Headlining the returners is a deep supply of guards, led by senior point guard Kaylie Van Loo; last season Van Loo averaged 7.9 points per game and 2.7 rebounds, and she ranked fifth in the WCC in assists, handing out 3.7 dimes per contest en route to All-WCC Honorable Mention.
• Van Loo also throws the javelin for the UP track & field team, and she was the first thrower in Portland women's track & field program history to compete at NCAA Nationals last spring; she earned All-American Honorable Mention with an 18th-place finish at the 2016 NCAA's.
• Van Loo just missed qualifying for the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials by one spot.
• Van Loo is currently third in the WCC in assists (4.8) and minutes played (35.9 mpg), Slaga is third in free throw percentage (.862), and Blades ranks fourth in three-pointers (21).
• Blades buried a team-high 50 three's last year, which is the 10th most three-pointers during a season in program history.
• Third-year head coach Cheryl Sorenson, who was previously an assistant for the Pilots, assumed the reins of the program after long-time head coach Jim Sollars retired following the 2013-14 season.
• Sorenson starred collegiately at Washington and was a high school All-American at nearby Clackamas High School.
• Joining Sorenson are third-year assistant coaches Steve Lowe and Brianna Chambers, while assistant coach Drew Muscatell returns for his second year on the Portland bench.
• Two of Portland's opponents are currently ranked in the national polls, while four others are receiving votes.
• Portland has been to four NCAA Tournaments (1994-97), two WNIT's (1998 & 2009) and one WBI (2010).
 
ABOUT THE OPPONENTS
• The Tigers enter Thursday night's conference opener with a 4-7 overall record and are coming off a dominating 103-65 win over William Jessup (NAIA).
• Pacific is averaging a league-best 78.9 points per contest, and junior guard GeAnna Luaulu-Summers is one of three Tigers scoring in double figures with a 13.0 per game mark.
• Head coach Bradley Davis is in his second season at the helm of the program.
• Pepperdine has won two straight, defeating Cal State Fullerton and CSU Bakersfield.
• Three Waves are averaging double figures in points, led by sophomore forward Yasmine Robinson-Bacote (14.8 ppg), who is fifth in the WCC in scoring.
• Robinson-Bacote is third in the league in rebounding, with an average of 8.2.
• Ryan Weisenberg is in his fourth season as head coach at Pepperdine.