2023-2024 Schedule/Season

I am told the Pilots will be in the Las Vegas Orleans Arena for Thanksgiving weekend...apparently playing the Friday and Saturday after Thanksgiving in a four team/two game tournament with matchups and times still to be determined.

Rhode Island
Northern Arizona
Youngstown St.
Portland

DoubleDipper wrote:I am told the Pilots will be in the Las Vegas Orleans Arena for Thanksgiving weekend...apparently playing the Friday and Saturday after Thanksgiving in a four team/two game tournament with matchups and times still to be determined.

Rhode Island
Northern Arizona
Youngstown St.
Portland

UP will play Northern Arizona and Rhode Island at November 24 and 25...both games begin at noon.

Mark your calendars and buy your tickets, the women's preseason schedule is out, and it's a very competitive one:

Thats a great schedule! Some really good competitive and interesting matchups. Now just have to win lotto and come spend the season over there

https://portlandpilots.com/news/2023/8/25/wcc-announces-womens-basketball-conference-schedule-for-2023-24-season.aspx

A day with WBB...

https://twitter.com/i/status/1710673445313470956

The WCC coaches picked the Pilots to finish second behind GU this coming season, with Maise Burnham and Emme Shearer selected to the All-WCC Preseason Team...

https://portlandpilots.com/news/2023/10/11/womens-basketball-burnham-shearer-named-to-all-wcc-preseason-team-pilots-picked-second.aspx

The downside of UP beating GU in the WCC Tournament is 1.) the departure of Alex Fowler because she had met her goal of winning the tournament and no longer had to "do it for Haylee," and 2.) the return of stars Kayleigh and Kaylynne Truong to the GU roster because they did not meet their goal of winning the tournament.

DoubleDipper wrote:

The downside of UP beating GU in the WCC Tournament is 1.) the departure of Alex Fowler because she had met her goal of winning the tournament and no longer had to "do it for Haylee," and 2.) the return of stars Kayleigh and Kaylynne Truong to the GU roster because they did not meet their goal of winning the tournament.

We might  give Alex credit for wanting to attain her degree before departure, which she did. Alex remained a student athlete throughout. Otherwise, she might have left earlier.

UP's November 10 opponent, Villanova, was picked to come in 4th in the Big East by the coaches, and junior guard Lucy Olsen was named to the Preseason All-Big East team.

The Wildcats tallied a 30-7 overall record and a 17-3 Big East Conference mark last year and advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.

Coach Meek has said this year's preseason schedule will be a very tough test but will better prepare the Pilots for WCC action.
 
https://villanova.com/news/2023/10/24/womens-basketball-lucy-olsen-named-to-the-preseason-all-big-east-team.aspx

Not to be outdone by the men going to Seattle for the team's recent "secret scrimmage," the women were in Ashland this past weekend for a night out together and a scrimmage against Sacramento St.

None of the SOU cleaning staff could find a crumpled-up box score in the trash, but they'd heard the Pilots won by "something like 20 points," and everyone** played.

**Everyone except Melika who had her knee surgically repaired this past Friday and expects to be "full speed ahead" for the 2024-25 season with three years of eligibility remaining.

OldGuy wrote:Game day.  So excited to see how the team has developed.  I wonder how the Freshman will be used and how much time they will get.

Tonight's game against rebuilding San Diego St. should be a good "first game" for the Pilots playing without Alex Fowler for the first time in four years...

Because of UP's up-tempo style of play, I think all the freshmen will get some minutes depending upon the score.  

About SDSU:

• The Aztecs finished last season with a 23-11 record and a 12-6 record in Mountain West play.
• They qualified for the postseason WNIT last year, losing in the first round 55-45 to UC Irvine.
• Last year, they defeated the Pilots 55-53 in San Diego off a last-second shot from now graduated Sophia Ramos.
• Difficult to say what SDSU's rotation will be, but the Pilots are taller overall.
• There are 5 freshmen on the Aztecs roster.
• SDSU has a lot of experience on its rebuilt roster with six transfers...from Michigan St., Mercer, Marist, Notre Dame, Utah St., and Portland St.

Remember, it's a 5 o'clock tipoff.

Some impressions:

This was a turnover fest for both squads. Portland led the way with 23; the Aztecs added 20. For us the press was effective; while  the Aztecs have their share  of ball hawks, there was some  getting used to among  our players, some forced passing, even a few careless passes. We need to improve our turnover rate if we want  to keep winning.

Thought  the two newcomers who played acquitted  themselves well. Rhyan Mogel can run the point and is a ball hawk herself. Ananiev looked as tall as advertised, quite thin, with an ability to hit the  three. Both, barring injuries, should see the court a fair amount this  year. Rhyan may need to put more arc in her free throws.

Mikelle Meek is an able point. Shearer had a nice game on both ends of the court.

Kennedy Dickie had a rough start but finished strong. Good  things to come.

Natalie Frahley can shoot. She looks to be a player whose playing time is likely to increase. If this game was indicative, we can shoot. The three ball may be a big weapon for.us.

Lainey  Spear did not suit up. Did not appear injured. Is she redshirting?

Fun opening game.

wrv wrote:Lainey  Spear did not suit up. Did not appear injured. Is she redshirting?

Nope!

Illness will keep her on the sidelines for another week to 10 days.  She may be able to get some playing time against Seattle next Tuesday, and should see plenty of action when Warner Pacific visits the Chiles Center at 11am on Thursday November 16.

Next up for the Pilots is Villanova from the Big East this coming Friday, November 10, at 6pm.

It will be the first game of the season for the Wildcats, and here's a preview of the game from The Villanovan, the Villanova student online paper.

https://villanovan.com/24025/sports/wbb-preview-portland-and-oregon-state/

The article mentions Alex now playing for the University of Canberra...remember, the U of C is a professional team!

Yes, often gets confused... naming rights sponsor so the team is the Capitals. Along the lines of if they were instead sponsored by Mazda, theyd be the Mazda Capitals.

Alex was in the starting five for the Capitals in her debut WNBL game and their forst game of the season, second top scored with 19 points!

DoubleDipper wrote:Next up for the Pilots is Villanova from the Big East this coming Friday, November 10, at 6pm.

I saw the Pilots lost by 22 to Villanova...any thoughts or comments from those who watched the game?

StudentPilot wrote:I saw the Pilots lost by 22 to Villanova...any thoughts or comments from those who watched the game?

The Pilots turned to ball over 20 times...which is obviously too many, but Villanova helped raise that number with their very quick hands and constant "ball-hawking."

Lucy had something like 6 blocked shots and 8 rebounds, which earned her "Player of the Game," but the Pilots were never close in this one.  The highlight for me was the first collegiate appearance of Flo Dallow who immediately picked up 3 fouls in her excitement and was sent to the bench.  But then, Flo came back in the second half and scored 9 points in about 9 minutes, all on drives to the basket and a free-throw.  

We know Flo can shoot from outside, so to see her long strides going to the basket bodes well for the team moving forward.

Next up: at Seattle U. on Tuesday evening.

Crazy 3 point performance! Hope that continues!

up7587 wrote:The Pilots ran out to an 18 point 1st qtr lead, a 35 point halftime lead, and cruised home to a 89-61 victory.  They shot 14-27 on 3P (51.9%!).  Burnham scored 17 points in 16 minutes, with 4 rbs and 4 assists.  And Ananiev played 15 minutes off the bench and got 20 points.  She was 6-8 on 3Ps.

» The Pilots recorded an assist on 82 percent of made field goals and 27 assists total.
» The Pilots turned 24 turnovers into 36 points. They also had 15 steals.
» UP's 61 points in the first half is the most the team has ever scored in a half against a D1 team.
» Dyani's six threes are the most by a Pilot since 2021 and the most by a Pilot freshman since 2005.
» Maisie is just two points away from breaking 1,000 points for her career.

In just a few hours, at 11:00 am, Warner Pacific comes to the Chiles Center, and it would sure be nice to see a bunch of noisy and rambunctious kids attending the game.

The teachers are on strike and kids are admitted FREE!

Pass it on!

Last night Portland State beat Warner Pacific 74-62, but at one point WP went on a 26- 7 run to include 18 straight points at one juncture.  So, they can play!

3am here... what game snacks work for 3am?