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LONG BEACH, Calif. \u2013 The Portland Pilots are back on the road, heading to sunny California for a showdown against Long Beach State. The two teams play on Thursday, Dec. 11 at 6 p.m. at the LBS Financial Credit Union Pyramid. Check PortlandPilots.com for live stats and video options.
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MEEK AT THE HELM<\/p>\n
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Get Your Tickets Now! Donate Today\u00a0 Follow Along With the Action
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\nOPPONENT INFORMATION
\nOpponent:\u00a0Long Beach State Beach (0-8, 0-2 Big West)
\nDay:\u00a0Thursday
\nDate:\u00a0Dec. 11, 2025
\nTime:\u00a06 PM
\nPlace:\u00a0Long Beach, Calif.
\nArena:\u00a0LBS Financial Credit Union Pyramid
\nVideo:\u00a0ESPN+<\/a>
\nStats:\u00a0PortlandPilots.com<\/a>
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\nPOR vs. LBSU
\nOverall:\u00a0N\/A \u2022 Last 5\/10:\u00a0N\/A
\nH:\u00a0N\/A \u2022\u00a0A:\u00a0N\/A \u2022 N:\u00a0N\/A
\nLast:\u00a0N\/A
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\nPEEK INTO THE PORT<\/p>\n
\n\tThe Portland Pilots are 4-5 on the season after falling to the BYU Cougars 87-53.
\n\tThe Pilots were led by freshman Julia Dalan, who had 13 points, four rebounds and five blocks in the contest.
\n\tDalan has 32 blocks this season and is averaging 3.6 blocks per game, ranking second and first nationally in both categories. Dalan’s block total is the second highest among freshmen as well.
\n\tThrough just nine games this year, Dalan has the most blocks by any Pilot freshman since Alex Fowler in the 2019-20 season. Fowler reached 32 blocks over the course of a whole season.
\n\tAnchored by Dalan’s stout interior defense, the Pilots rank second in the conference in blocks per game and 12th nationally (6.4).
\n\tThe Pilots currently lead the WCC in both steals per game (11.4) and turnovers forced per game 22.00). They are 46th and 27th nationally in the two respective categories.
\n\tDyani Ananiev has 26 steals at 3.3 per game to lead Portland in the category. Her steal total ranks second in the conference and her average first.
\n\tAnaniev’s 10.8 points per game and 86 points total both lead the Pilots. Nine different Pilots are currently averaging five points or more.
\n\tFlorence Dallow is the only other Pilot averaging over 10 points a game at 10.1 points.
\n\tThe Pilots were picked to finish fourth in the WCC this season, with Dyani Ananiev named to the All-WCC Preseason Team.
\n\tAnaniev played in just 10 games last season, averaging 7.4 points per contest along with 1.8 steals. She was a 2023-24 All-WCC Freshman Team selection.
\n\tThe Pilots return eight players from last year and add seven newcomers.
\n\tOf the eight returners, none started a game last year. Rhyan Mogel and Lainey Spear are the only two players to have played in every game, with Mogel’s 20.6 minutes leading all returning players.
\n\tFlorence Dallow, Natalie Fraley, Tiffany Barbosa, Ella Zimmerman and Caitlin Monahan\u00a0also all return.
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\nA LOOK BACK AT HISTORY<\/p>\n
\n\tThe Pilots had a historic season in 2024-25, finishing 31-5 overall and 17-3 in WCC play to win a share of the 2024-25 WCC Regular Season Title. It’s their fourth title, either tournament or regular season, in six seasons.
\n\tTheir 31 wins were a program record and their 17 wins in WCC play were also a new high for the program.
\n\tLast year, they made the WCC Championships final for the fourth time under head coach Michael Meek and also qualified for the WBIT for the first time in program history.
\n\tIn the WBIT, they beat the Stanford Cardinal and the Seton Hall Pirates on the road to advance to the quarterfinals before falling to Villanova Wildcats in that round. The wins were the first ever road playoff wins for the Pilots, the first win ever over Stanford and the first ever over a Big East squad.
\n\tPortland led the way in numerous statistical categories last season, leading the conference in points per game (75.7), scoring margin (12.4), steals per game (10.3), turnover margin (4.56), free throws made (16.44), free throw percentage (16.44), free throw attempts (21.08), assists per game (17.3) and assists-to-turnover ratio (1.16).
\n\tNationally, they were fifth in free throws made per game, 16th\u00a0in free throw percentage, 21st\u00a0in assists per game and free throw attempts, 34th\u00a0in assist-to-turnover ratio and steals per game and 35th\u00a0in points per game and turnovers forced per game (19.47).
\n\tThe Pilots set numerous program records at the Division I level, with the most points (2,726), points per game (75.7), field goals made (946), free throws made (592), free throw percentage (.780), rebounds (1,288), defensive rebounds (844), offensive rebounds (444) and assists (620).
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\n\tMichael Meek is in his seventh season as head coach of the Portland Pilots.
\n\tMeek has been dominant through six seasons, winning WCC Tournament titles in 2020, 2023 and 2024 and the regular season title in the 2024-25 season.
\n\tMeek has won at least 20 games in five of his six full seasons as head coach of the Pilots, including a program record 31 wins overall and 17 WCC wins in the 2024-25 seasons.
\n\tMeek is 364-101\u00a0in his career dating back to his time at George Fox. He is 134-67\u00a0in his time with Portland.
\n\tMeek ranks eighth\u00a0among all active coaches in NCAA Division I with at least five seasons of experience in winning percentage at .781.
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\nABOUT THE BEACH<\/p>\n
\n\tLong Beach State sits at 0-8 currently and 0-2 in the Big West, most recently losing to the UC San Diego Tritons 75-45 on the road.
\n\tLast season, the Beach went 16-14 overall and 12-8 in the Big West, taking sixth in the conference.
\n\tThe Beach were picked to finish sixth again in the annual Big West Preseason Coaches Poll.
\n\tJaquoia Jones-Brown is the leading scorer for the Beach at 16.2 points per game.
\n\tAmy Wright is in her third season as head coach of the Beach. She is 31-40 in her three seasons so far.
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