PORTLAND, Ore. --- The Portland Pilots women's basketball team will play it's only exhibition game of the season on Saturday night when they host the Western Oregon Wolves at 7:30 p.m. at the Chiles Center. The game is part of a hoops doubleheader on The Bluff as it will follow the men's game against Lewis & Clark, which is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
 
"The expectation is to come out and show where our work is," said fourth-year head coach Cheryl Sorenson. "We're trying to play more up-tempo, we're trying to be more physical, and certainly some of the other team goals that the girls have come up with on their own. This is the first time to establish how committed we are to these goals, where we're at, and how do we need to grow in this process."
 
The Pilots feature seven newcomers this season, while returning seven letterwinners, which includes the return of redshirt-senior Rachelle Owens. Owens, a point guard, missed all of last year with an injury, and she's one of three seniors, joining posts Ashley Gray and Sara Zaragoza.
 
Junior Julie Spencer is also back, and the forward is coming off a breakout year for the Pilots as she averaged career bests of 9.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per contest. She also claimed four double-doubles and is the team's top returning scorer and rebounder. Junior scorer Darian Slaga returns 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 Washington Huskies.
 
Western Oregon is an NCAA Division II program that competes in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC). This season the Wolves return all five of their starters from 2016-17, and their top six scorers are also back. The Wolves defeated Lewis & Clark College 94-59 in an exhibition contest on Oct. 29.
 
Holli Howard-Carpenter is in her fifth year as head coach at Western Oregon, which is located in Monmouth, just outside of Salem.
 
Portland's regular season opener is scheduled for Friday, Nov. 10 against Hawai'i at the Chiles Center. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m., and the game is one of eight non-conference home contests for the Pilots this year.