UP Women's Basketball March Madness Coverage

SELECTION SUNDAY ON THE BLUFF:

The anticipation in the Pilot House was palpable during the NCAA selection show on Sunday, March 17. As the name of each team was called, the University of Portland’s women’s basketball team’s excitement grew.

After defeating Gonzaga University in the 2024 West Coast Conference championship game, the Pilots secured their bid to the NCAA tournament. It wasn’t until today that their fate was decided on what team they would play against first.

Surrounded by fans, friends and family, the women’s basketball team was awarded the 13th seed in the NCAA March Madness tournament. The Pilots will be facing off against the fourth-seeded Kansas State. The game is set to take place in Manhattan, Kansas, with the date and time yet to be determined.

This is the second consecutive year that the women’s basketball team is headed to the NCAA tournament.

With last year’s experience under their belts and their next opponent on the horizon, the Pilots are ready for what’s next.

“I don’t think there’s any question that these last four games were the best this team has played together this season,” said head coach Michael Meek. “We’ve been to a tournament once — now, the goal is to try and win some games over there.”

The players are just as excited as Meek about continuing their successful season.

“It’s so exciting,” captain Emme Shearer said. “The trajectory of UP women’s basketball over the last couple of years, we just keep getting better and better.”

Continue following along with the women’s basketball postseason run at the Portland Pilots webpage.

NEXT UP: OFFICIAL DATE AND TIME OF PILOTS NCAA FIRST ROUND GAME RELEASED:

Tipoff of the first round of the NCAA Tournament for the University of Portland women’s basketball team has officially been scheduled for 1:30 p.m. PST on Friday, March 22. The faceoff between the No. 13 seeded Pilots and the No. 4 seeded Kansas State Wildcats is set to take place in Manhattan, Kansas.

According to an email sent to The Beacon by Kyle Garcia, the athletics communications point of contact, the Pilots depart for Manhattan on Wednesday, March 20 where they will continue preparation for Friday’s matchup. A sendoff for the team will be taking place in the Chiles Center service lot promptly at 10:45 a.m. on Wednesday, March 20 as they depart campus.

The No. 5 seeded University of Colorado will be joining the Pilots in Manhattan on Saturday, March 23 to take on No. 12 seeded Drake University.

If the Pilots are victorious against the Kansa State Wildcats, they will move on to play the winner of the Colorado/Drake game in the second round of the tournament, scheduled to take place Sunday, March 24. If the Pilots lose to Kansas State in the opening round game, their postseason run will come to an end.

According to an email sent to The Beacon by Kyle Garcia, there are several opportunities both on and off campus to watch the game between the Pilots and Kansas State. The game will be streamed in the Pilot House on campus for fans, as well as, at off-campus locations, Chill N Fill and The Sports Bra PDX.

If you’re not able to attend any of these events, you can also support the Pilots by catching the game on ESPNEWS.

LET THE MADNESS BEGIN:

College basketball in March is all about madness, and the Pilots are going dancing.

All eyes are on Manhattan, Kansas where the University of Portland women’s basketball team prepares to take on the Kansas State Wildcats in the first round of the NCAA tournament. This highly anticipated matchup is scheduled to tip off at 1:30 p.m. PST on Friday, March 22.

This marks the first-ever face off between the two teams. The 13th seeded Pilots enter Friday’s game with an overall record of 21-12 this season, compared to 4th seeded Kansas State’s record of 25-7.

On March 12, the UP’s women’s basketball team secured a victory against Gonzaga University (67-66), claiming the title of West Coast Conference champions for the second year in a row.

After a first-round exit in last year’s NCAA Tournament, losing to the University of Oklahoma 85-63, the Pilots feel better equipped in their approach this year to secure a victory against Kansas State.

“We have a little better feel of what the tournament is going to be like [this year],” head Coach Michael Meek said. “How physical the game is going to be and how competitive.”

On the flip side, Kansas State fell short on March 11 in the Big-12 conference tournament, losing to the University of Texas in the conference semifinals. However, their impressive record speaks volumes to the talent on their team, and Meek doesn’t believe this recent loss is any reason to underestimate Kansas State.

“We’re playing a really great team,” Meek said. “Kansas State is a team that, before they had some injuries, were ranked number two in the nation.”

Specifically, Meek and the Pilots will be focused on containing Kansas State’s powerhouse player, Ayoka Lee. Standing at 6 feet 6 inches tall, the Wildcats’ senior center boasts an impressive record. As a three time All-American who also holds the NCAA Division 1 scoring record for points in a single game with 61, Lee will definitely be one to watch during Friday’s faceoff.

“They [Kansas State] have one of the top scoring and rebounding post players in the nation,” Meek said. “That’s going to be a good matchup for Lucy [Cochrane] down low.”

Lucy Cochrane, UP women’s basketball program’s current all time leader in blocks, will be matched up against Lee on Friday. Also standing at 6 feet 6 inches tall, Cochrane will be using her defensive strengths in efforts to minimize Lee’s scoring impact on the Pilots.

On the offensive end, Kennedy Dickie, a graduate transfer from the University of San Francisco, is expected to have a significant impact on the Pilots’ scoring ability in this year’s NCAA Tournament. After being named the Most Outstanding Player of the 2024 West Coast Conference tournament, where she averaged 18.3 points and 6.7 rebounds, Dickie is ready to lead her team to victory on the national stage.

First-year Dyani Ananiev, from St. Andrews, Australia, is another Pilot anticipated to make a considerable impact on how the matchup unfolds. Upon joining the team in 2023, Ananiev quickly made her mark on the court. She accumulated an impressive seven WCC freshman of the week honors this season, securing her spot on the WCC All-Freshman Team.

Since securing the title of WCC champs, the city of Portland has rallied around their home team. There are now numerous ways for fans to show support for Friday's game. For those on campus, the University of Portland’s Pilot House will be streaming the event live. Fans can also venture off campus to Chill N Fill and the Sports Bra PDX, two local vendors who will also be hosting watch parties.

If you cannot attend any of these events, the game will also be available for streaming via ESPNEWS.

If the Pilots defeat the Wildcats on Friday, they will then face off against the winner of the No. 5 University of Colorado/No. 12 Drake University game in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. This game is scheduled to take place Sunday, March 24.

THE UNIVERSITY OF PORTLAND WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TEAM'S POSTSEASON RUN COMES TO AN END:

The Pilots' time in Kansas has come to a close after suffering a loss to the No. 4 seeded Kansas State Wildcats in the opening round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament. In a battle of momentum swings and physicality, the Pilots came up short to the Wildcats, 78-65.

It was a slow start in the first quarter for the 13th seeded Pilots, and a hot one for the 4th seeded Wildcats. In this quarter, the Wildcats boasted their largest lead of the game (20 points), and ended the first quarter with a score of 25-10.

The Wildcats kept the Pilots at arm’s length for much of the first half, until the Pilots made a push late in the second quarter to cut the lead to 12. After going on a 14-6 run to end the half, the Pilots headed to the locker room trailing the Wildcats 40-28 at halftime.

The Wildcats standout center, Ayoka Lee, was held to a slim eight points in the first half. However, this left room for guard, Serena Sundell, to step up for Kansas State, where she led all scorers for both teams with 12 points at halftime.

The Pilots’ second-quarter momentum carried into the third, where they quickly cut the lead to eight, this would end up being the closest score of the game.

Foul trouble cut this run short for the Pilots’ when Emme Shearer, leading scorer of the season and captain, picked up her fourth foul early in the third. The foul trouble for the Pilots was contagious, with four out of their five starters getting into foul trouble in the third quarter.

Taking advantage, Lee began to heat up for the Wildcats. After only scoring eight points in the first half, Lee added 11 to her point total in the 3rd quarter alone. But Lee wasn’t the only one putting up points for the Wildcats in the third. Serena Sundell and Gabby Gregory had both notched double digit point totals for the Wildcats by the end of the quarter.

The fourth quarter was all Maisie Burnham for the Pilots. After starting the quarter on a six point run of her own, Burnham set her season high in points with 21.

Although the Pilots were able to cut the lead to single digits with two minutes left in the game, this was not enough to propel them to a comeback win against the Wildcats. The Pilots fell to the Wildcats 78-65 in the first round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament.

Maisie Burnham finished the game with an impressive stat line of 21 points, eight rebounds and three assists. Kianna Hamilton was the only other Pilot to score double digits in this match up, finishing with 12 points of her own.

This was the last time seniors Lucy Cochrane, Kennedy Dickie and Kianna Hamilton sported their University of Portland jerseys, as this marks the last year of NCAA eligibility for the trio.

This concludes yet another successful season for the University of Portland women’s basketball team – claiming the title of back-to-back West Coast Conference Champions and making their second consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance.