The Portland Pilots women’s basketball team is preparing for its final home games of the regular season, hosting the Pepperdine Waves on Thursday, February 26 at 6 p.m. and the Gonzaga Bulldogs on Saturday, February 28 at 5 p.m. Both games will take place at the Chiles Center in Portland, Oregon. The men’s team will also play a doubleheader on Saturday against the San Diego Toreros at 1 p.m.
Thursday’s game will be available on ESPN+, while Saturday’s matchup with Gonzaga will be broadcast nationally on ESPNU. Saturday is designated as Senior Night, honoring student-athletes in their last year with the program.
Portland enters this week with a record of 16-12 after splitting games last week—falling to Oregon State but defeating Seattle U. Lainey Spear led scoring efforts in both contests, while Nicole Anderson contributed significantly from beyond the arc and Dallow achieved a career-high in rebounds.
The Pilots have shown strong defensive statistics this season, leading their conference in blocks per game (5.6), turnovers forced per game (20.6), and steals per game (11.0). Nationally, they rank tenth in blocks per game and are among the top 35 teams for assists and steals per game.
Julia Dalan leads the nation in blocks per game despite missing significant time recently and is close to breaking Portland’s freshman record for blocks. Dyani Ananiev leads the conference in steals and is currently Portland’s top scorer.
Head coach Michael Meek is now in his seventh season with Portland, having led the team to multiple tournament titles and a regular season championship last year. Meek has recorded at least 20 wins in five of his six full seasons with Portland and holds a .775 winning percentage among active NCAA Division I coaches with at least five years of experience.
Last season was historic for Portland as they finished with a program-record 31 wins and shared the WCC Regular Season Title. They reached new highs across several statistical categories and advanced to the quarterfinals of the WBIT after notable road victories over Stanford and Seton Hall.
Pepperdine comes into Thursday’s contest with a 17-11 overall record under second-year head coach Katie Faulkner. The Waves defeated Portland earlier this season in Malibu by a score of 86-68.
Gonzaga leads the conference standings this year at 21-8 overall and has already secured key wins against Washington State and Pacific. Lauren Whitaker leads Gonzaga statistically, averaging nearly a double-double each game, while head coach Lisa Fortier ranks fifth among active coaches for win percentage.
Tickets for upcoming home events can be purchased through PortlandPilots.com/Tickets or via the Portland Pilots App. Information about group packages is available by emailing pilotsboxoffice@up.edu.
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For updates on University of Portland athletics programs, visit PortlandPilots.com or follow their social media channels.
