PORTLAND PILOTS (3-0, 0-0 WCC)
WEEK 2: at UC Irvine (1-1, 0-0 Big West)
Day: Friday
Date: Nov. 17, 2017
Place: Irvine, Calif.
Time: 7:00 PM
Gym: Bren Events Center
Live Video: UCIrvineSports.com
Live Stats: UCIrvineSports.com
 
POR vs. UCI
Overall: 3-2  •  Last 5/10: 3-2/3-2
H: 2-0  •  A: 0-2  •  N: 1-0
Last: @POR 64, UCI 56 (11/13/11)
 
THIS WEEK
• The Pilots play their first road contest of the year when they travel to Southern California to play the UC Irvine Anteaters on Friday night at the Bren Events Center, with tip-off set for 7 p.m.
 
LAST WEEK
• The Pilots opened the year with three straight wins at home, posting big wins over Hawai'i and Willamette before overcoming Utah Valley in overtime.
• Against the Rainbow Wahine on Friday night, Julie Spencer was one of six Pilots to score in double figures with 15 points and 10 rebounds as Portland cruised to a 76-47 win.
• Lisa-Marie Kaempf paced the Pilots with 19 points on Sunday during a 72-52 win over Willamette.
• On Tuesday, the Pilots overcame a 10-point deficit at half, tied the game late on a pair of free throws from Maddie Muhlheim, and out-scored the Wolverines 12-5 in overtime to claim a 71-64 win; Muhlheim hit four three's to finish with a career-high 19 points, while adding a career-best nine boards.
 
NEXT WEEK
• The Pilots return to Southern California during Thanksgiving weekend to face the Cal State Fullerton Titans on Saturday, Nov. 25, at 2 p.m.
• Portland then comes back to the Chiles Center to host crosstown rival Portland State on Tuesday, Nov. 28.
• Tip-off with the Vikings is set for 7 p.m., and the game will be televised live in the Portland area on NBC Sports Northwest.
 
ABOUT THE PILOTS
• At 3-0, Portland is off to its best start to a season since the 2010-11 squad opened the campaign 4-0.
• The Pilots are a young squad with seven newcomers, which features six true freshmen and a junior transfer.
• A newcomer has led the Pilots in scoring twice this year, with junior transfer Lisa-Marie Kaempf dropping 19 points on Willamette and freshman Maddie Muhlheim scoring 17 against Utah Valley.
• Portland also return seven letterwinners from a year ago, including three seniors.
• Portland's top returning scorer and rebounder is junior forward Julie Spencer, who is coming off a break-out year; she averaged career bests of 9.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per contest as a sophomore, she claimed four double-doubles, and she corralled 18 rebounds during a game, which was the most boards by a Pilot since 2013.
• Spencer opened this season with a double-double (15 pts, 10 rebs) against Hawai'i.
• Making her return to Portland's backcourt is redshirt-senior Rachelle Owens, who only appeared in one game last year before an injury cut her season short; as a junior transfer in 2015-16, Owens appeared in 25 games, all off the bench.
• Against Utah Valley, Owens collected career highs of 13 points and seven assists.
• Junior guard Darian Slaga, who was third on the team in scoring last season, is also back after averaging 8.6 points per game as a sophomore; twice Slaga scored more than 20 points last winter, which included a 24-point outburst against the No. 24 Washington Huskies.
• Slaga is currently unavailable due to an injury.
• The Pilots were selected to finish 10th in the WCC, finishing just two points behind ninth-place Pepperdine in the preseason coaches' poll; Gonzaga was selected as the league favorite.
• 2017-18 marks the fourth year for head coach Cheryl Sorenson, who was previously an assistant for the Pilots; she assumed the reins of the program after long-time head
coach Jim Sollars retired following the 2013-14 season; Sorenson is approaching her 100th game as head coach.
• Sorenson, who starred collegiately at the University of Washington, was a high school
All-American at nearby Clackamas High School.
• Back on the Portland bench are fourth-year assistant coaches Steve Lowe and Brianna
Chambers, while assistant coach Drew Muscatell returns for his third year on the Portland bench.
• Portland has been to four NCAA Tournaments (1994-97), two WNIT's (1998 & 2009) and one WBI (2010).
 
ABOUT THE OPPONENT
• UC Irvine opened the season with a last-second 87-84 win over Utah State at home before dropping a 73-54 decision at UNLV.
• The Anteaters only returned four letterwinners from a year ago, but that includes All-Big West selections Andee Ritter (Honorable Mention) and Brooke Bayman (Freshman Team).
• Yazzy Sa'Dullah, a transfer from West Virginia, leads UC Irvine in both scoring (12.5 ppg) and rebounding (7.0 rpg).
• Tamara Inoue is in her second year as head coach of the Anteaters.
• Portland holds a slight 3-2 edge in the all-time series with UC Irvine, and the Pilots won the most recent match-up 64-56 in 2011 at the Chiles Center.
• The Pilots are 0-2 all-time at UC Irvine.