2023 WCC Tournament

Yet another story at Oregonlive discussing Monday's game and suggesting Pacific will be a formidable opponent though we have beaten then twice. The excerpt alludes to Fowler's not winning POY.

This is the best chance UP has had since 2020. The 21 wins is the program’s most since the 1996-97 season. The Pilots swept the WCC season series from seven of their nine foes. They have forward Alex Fowler, only the second player in school history to score 2,000 career points.

Portland positioned itself for a run. By finishing second, the Pilots avoided all the preliminary tournament games that Pacific and BYU, which plays Gonzaga in Monday’s other semifinal, had to play. They’re fresh and ready to attempt to win two games.

In Fowler, the Pilots have a marquee talent. The 6-foot-2 Aussie — one of 10 players from Australia or New Zealand on UP’s roster — was the WCC’s co-scoring leader at 17.6 points a game this season. Fowler is as experienced as any in the conference, with 118 starts, 3,551 minutes, 2,070 points and 858 rebounds during her career.

That Fowler wasn’t the WCC player of the year rankled the Pilots.

“I don’t think anybody in this league over her time has impacted like she has,” Meek said. “She has the right to be disappointed, and I’m sure she is. I would imagine she’s motivated by that, but more than that, the great thing about Alex is she’s always more motivated about the team winning and trying to get back and win this tournament.”

Portland’s chances took a blow five weeks ago when Andrews was lost with a knee injury. Her loss is no small matter, as Andrews is a first-team all-WCC guard and a superior playmaker. But this is the second go-round for Portland having to play without Andrews. She missed most of last season and the first eight games of this season recovering from her first ACL tear.

“It allowed us some other kids to get experience,” Meek said. “Now we have a little more confidence coming into this situation.”

https://www.oregonlive.com/sports/2023/03/many-motivations-for-portland-womens-basketball-but-one-step-at-a-time-as-pilots-seek-rare-ncaa-tourney-berth.html

Let's hope tomorrow goes well.

up7587 wrote:BTW, that game showed who the real WCC Player of the Year is.

The O-live stories continue. Regarding Alex's effort:

The 6-foot-2 Fowler, one of five players to score 2,000 career points in WCC history, used the player of the year snub as motivation. She wasn’t alone.

“Portland got overlooked for a few different awards,” Fowler said. “I think we’ve always been overlooked the last four years (with) how much we achieved.”

Portland coach Michael Meek wouldn’t even go as far as to say Monday’s performance was Andrews’ best game of the season. He’s seen too many like it.

“The amazing thing about Alex is she’s so selfless,” he said. “She doesn’t want to be a scorer. She wants to be a great teammate. Everybody loves playing with her.”

Case in point was Monday. Fowler scored 29 points, but she took only 14 shots. During the fourth quarter, Fowler twice took a shot with the shot clock expiring. The results: a three-pointer and a three-point play.

Perhaps Fowler’s biggest play of the game came on defense. Trailing 75-72, Pacific had the ball with 25 seconds in search of a game-tying three. The Tigers put the ball into the hands of Liz Smith, their point guard and best shooter. Fowler, the forward, took on Smith, backing her off the three-point line, forcing indecision. By the time Pacific was able to work into its offense, most of the time had expired, and the Tigers were only able to launch a desperation heave that missed the mark.

“We talk about all the No. 1 leading scorer and field goal percentage, but she’s phenomenal defender,” Meek said. “Here she is guarding their point guard at the end of the game … it just shows how many things that she does.”

It includes this discussion about the game today, quoting Alex from the post game press conference:

Portland will not lack motivation Tuesday when it plays 16th-ranked Gonzaga. The Pilots lost both regular season games to the Zags, though both were competitive into the second half. Also, four players on Portland’s current roster were part of the 2020 team that lost an NCAA tourney berth because of historic circumstances.

“We have a chip on our shoulder,” Fowler said. “This is a game for many of our seniors, missing out on that tournament. This is something we’ve been working out for, for the last four years. Honestly, we finally have the right team to do it.”

https://www.oregonlive.com/pilots/2023/03/portland-outlasts-pacific-75-72-plays-gonzaga-for-wcc-womens-basketball-title-and-an-ncaa-tourney-berth.html

Beat the Zags.

Go Pilots.