2016-2017 Schedule

The women's schedule for the coming season is a VERY tough one, that includes UC Davis, Nevada, OSU, UO, UW, USC or Missouri St, Weber St. and Boise St.

As expected the WCC schedule is a mirror image of the men's schedule except on opposite days...

http://www.portlandpilots.com/schedule.aspx?schedule=328

Doesn't seem to be any interest in women's basketball on Pilot Nation....but it could be the team will need some support to get through the coming season:

Preseason predictions rom the WCC coaches today:

1. Gonzaga (5)
2. BYU (4)
3. Saint Mary’s (1)
4. San Diego
5. Santa Clara
6. Loyola Marymount
7. San Francisco
8. Pacific
T9. Pepperdine
T9. Portland

Did you see them play last season?

A_Fan wrote:Did you see them play last season?

Nope, but I saw them tonight and was pretty impressed....even though it was just an exhibition game.

Not yet grumpy old people (sorry, just guessing   ), they were very upbeat in their attitude and honestly seemed to be having a lot of fun as all 13 players got some court time in their 81-49 win over Willamette U.

I know some of the players from classes....and hope to meet more....so I plan to support them as much as school work allows this coming season.....regardless of their record.

Just a question:

Anyone who has been a loyal supporter and has been disappointed with the team's play the past couple of years must be:

1. Old
2. Grumpy

How can one take your posts seriously if you are going to generalize negatively about other members?

The members of Pilot Nation, like fans everywhere else are more involved when a team is winning. Probably not fair, but it is a fact of human nature. People like a winner or at least a competitive team. Look at the Women's soccer forum. It was the liveliest of forums for years but as their play became less competitive, posting on the forum has dropped significantly.

It has been pretty hard to have much good to say about the Women's Basketball team the past two years and so most members like me have taken to keeping quiet and hoping for a change in their record. It doesn't mean we aren't at the games and supporting the team. It just means we can't find much positive to post about when the team wins 4 games two years ago and 3 games last year. If the team is able to turn things around, the forum will once again be lively.

To be honest, the D1 wins last year were against PSU and Pepperdine. That's it.


They also beat D3 Willamette by 19 points and Warner Pacific by a couple in exhibitions, so I'm not sure a Willamette win tells us much.

StudentPilot wrote:Not yet grumpy old people (sorry, just guessing   ), they were very upbeat in their attitude and honestly seemed to be having a lot of fun as all 13 players got some court time in their 81-49 win over Willamette U.

Hey, I resemble that remark!

Good insight, StudentPilot, I think many of us can be grumpy old people, especially compared to you, and especially when our favorite UP team is having a bad run.

Thanks for reminding us we should be upbeat and supportive of the student-athletes who work so hard to succeed on and off the field or court of play.  Keep posting your thoughts....I think they are insightful, and for the most part, very well received!

Thanks, DoubleDipper....

I just hope a lot of fans show up to support the women against Warner Pacific on Satuday at 5 pm.

Plenty of time to go partying afterwards, and it will be the last chance to see WBB at home until November 27th.

StudentPilot wrote:.......they were very upbeat in their attitude and honestly seemed to be having a lot of fun as all 13 players got some court time in their 81-49 win over Willamette U.

Yes, this team is very upbeat, very supportive of one another, and seem to be genuinely having fun.

Last year they had to go on a 9-0 run and sink the winning 3-pointer with just 12 seconds left to pull out the win over Warner Pacific, but this year it was a different story with the Pilots prevailing 95-58 last night in the Chiles Center.

Having lost their top scorer from last year (almost 12 points per game) to transfer, this year's team appears to spread the ball much better, work quicker, and attack more.....something that has been lacking the last couple of years.

Last year the Pilots had 3 new JUCOs and 3 freshmen who had a difficult time adjusting to the speed and physical nature of D1 basketball, but now those players are "grown up" and will be better contributors.

It's difficult to say what kind of record they'll end up with after facing such a ridiculously difficult preseason and the very tough WCC teams, but I predict they'll hang tough throughout the season and even pull off a few upsets along the way.

Pilots victorious over the Vikings, 79-68.

Can anyone tell me anything about this team? The last few seasons have been what we would have hoped. But, I am hopeful that our leading scorers are sophomores and juniors.

SouthCarolinaPilot wrote:Can anyone tell me anything about this team? The last few seasons have NOT been what we would have hoped. But, I am hopeful that our leading scorers are sophomores and juniors.

I think I fixed your post the way you meant it....

As Charles Dickens wrote, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.....," and that's how it can be watching the Pilots.

Last night's game is a good example. It was the best of times watching the Pilots go on scoring runs, one of which was an 18-0 run, but then it was the worst of times as the Vikings overcame a 23 point deficit and narrowed the margin to 7 points late in the game.

What I really like about this year's team is its quick crisp passing, it toughness, and its aggressiveness....no more gentile basketball relying on the 3-point shot.  The women seem to be very, very supportive of one another and also seem to be having fun playing together.  

Last night's win, the first over a D1 team this season, has to give them some confidence after facing a brutal schedule to this point in the season and beyond.  Their losses have been to UC Davis, Nevada, and Oregon State on the road, to USC in Anchorage, and to Washington at home....and they still have to play Weber St., Oregon, and Boise St. on the road before WCC play begins.  The difference between this year's team compared to others is they are competitive!!  The may not win a whole lot, but they can be fun to watch, and even if the other team is victorious, they will know they've been in a real battle.

The team will lose 5 seniors this year, including a very athletic Kaylie Van Loo, but there will still be a good core for next year that includes senior to be, Ashley Gray.....a real force inside at 6-1 and strong!!  It's difficult to tell where the scoring might come from game to game, but current sophomores Julie Spencer, Jojuan Carrington and Darian Slaga, should help propel the Pilots for the next couple of years.

Also, I like the coaching staff and what they are doing to make these young student-athletes not just better players, but a much better team that does NOT rely on just one player to do the bulk of the scoring.  I once heard someone say, "Coach Sorenson doesn't yell enough...she's too quiet."  That would just be a complaint about style, not about coaching, but last night that critic should have been silenced when Coach Sorenson called timeout when the Vikings were making a run, and loudly got into the faces of her players in no uncertain terms.  If there seems to be one characteristic that Coach Cheryl has developed best in her short tenure as a head coach, it is patience....something she's had to have a lot of.

DoubleDipper wrote:The team will lose 5 seniors this year...

Update: it looks as if senior Rachelle Owens will ask for a medical redshirt after tearing her ACL, and expects to return next season.

If that's the case, the Pilots will lose 4, not 5, seniors at the end of this season.

And that means we have a max of 12 active players, assuming no one else gets hurt.

The perils of underfunding by two scholarships.

StudentPilot wrote:Doesn't seem to be any interest in women's basketball on Pilot Nation....but it could be the team will need some support to get through the coming season:

Preseason predictions rom the WCC coaches today:

1. Gonzaga (5)
2. BYU (4)
3. Saint Mary’s (1)
4. San Diego
5. Santa Clara
6. Loyola Marymount
7. San Francisco
8. Pacific
T9. Pepperdine
T9. Portland

http://portlandpilots.com/news/2016/12/31/wbb-pilots-use-big-second-half-run-to-collect-71-61-win-at-pepperdine.aspx

Looks like Pilots broke the tie with a road win.

Kind of a strange start to the WCC season:

Favored GU, with only two preseason losses, loses to forecasted bottom-dwellers PU and then UOP in Spokane.

UOP, 4-7 in preseason, wins two, over UP and GU.

USF, predicted to be 7th, and 6-5 in preseason, has two wins...at USD and at home over SCU.

It's early, but the standings are:

T1. UOP
T1. USF
T3. USD
T3. BYU
T3. SMC
T3. SCU
T3. UP (The Pilots now have two D1 wins, PSU and PU)
T3. PU
T9. GU
T9. LMU

Pilot women win their 4th conference game this year with an OT win at Pacific. Congrats.

The women are in 10th place, one game behind UOP, PU, and USD. Pretty much the same standings as the men's table.

Julie Spencer is a very good basketball player as evidenced by her scoring 23 and pulling down 14 rebounds in the Pilots loss in Provo last night, but it's her life story that is compelling: