LOS ANGELES - Seventh-seeded LMU opens West Coast Conference Championship play at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas Thursday, March 3 against the 10th-seeded Portland Pilots. The teams face off in the second game of the tournament's first session, tipping off at approximately 2:00 p.m. The game will be broadcast nationally on BYUtv, stream free of charge on theW.tv and can be heard live on KXLU 88.9 FM.

FOLLOW THE LIONS
No. 7 seed LMU vs No. 10 seed Portland - Thursday, March 3 @ 2:00 p.m. - The Orleans Arena
WCC Championships Central
Live Stats
Watch on BYUtv.org
Watch on theW.tv
Game Notes

TOURNAMENT QUICK HITS
2016 marks the 35th year of the WCC Women's Basketball Tournament and the eighth straight year that the championships are being held at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas... the #7 seed Lions face the #10 seed Portland Pilots... LMU has faced the Pilots just twice in WCC tournament play... those meetings came in back-to-back season in 2003 and 2004... the Lions won both of those meetings and, in 2004, went on to win the WCC Tournament title... during the regular-season, LMU swept the home-and-home series against the Pilots... LMU is 14-20 all-time at the WCC Championship... the Lions' last tournament win was the 2015 first-round victory over Pepperdine... the Lions have advanced to the championship game three times, winning the WCC title in 2004 with a 61-58 final against Gonzaga.

INSIDE THE LIONS
• LMU closed out the regular season with an 83-77 win at Pepperdine, marking four straight against the Waves and 8-of-9 during fourth-year Head Coach Charity Elliott's tenure.
• The sweep of Pepperdine mark the third WCC home-and-home sweep for LMU. They also went 2-0 against Pacific and Portland.
• Senior Sophie Taylor became the second Lion this season to eclipse the 1,000 point marker on Feb. 27 at Pepperdine. She becomes the 15th member of the club, following classmate Deanna Johnson who became the 14th Lion member on Feb. 11.
• Sophie Taylor collected her ninth double-double of the season with 23 points and 14 boards at San Francisco on Feb. 20. The senior guard/forward combo ranks third in the WCC in double-doubles.
• Freshman Andee Velasco has dished an LMU rookie record 111 assists this season. That mark eclipses the previous LMU rookie single-season record of 99, set by Marlee Webb in 1992-93 -- three years before Velasco was born. Her season total also ranks 10th in LMU's single-season record book.
• LMU's 96-point effort in the double-overtime win over Pacific on Feb. 11 is the fourth most points scored in program history.
• The 83-77 win at Pepperdine on Feb. 27 marked the second time this season that LMU has won while allowing its opponent more than 70 points. The Lions are 8-4 when holding teams below the 70-point marker and now 2-15 when opponents have scored more than 70 points.

SERIES HISTORY VS PORTLAND PILOTS
The Lions have won the last three meetings with the Pilots, including a home-and-home sweep this year. LMU opened its 2015-16 WCC slate with a 62-52 win in Gersten Pavilion and later claimed a 77-62 win at the Chiles Center in Portland. This year's sweep has brought the all-time series record to 31-29 in favor of the Pilots. The teams have met just twice in the WCC Tournament and this marks the first meeting since 2004. LMU is 2-0 in WCC Tournament meetings as the Pilots are the only team LMU has never lost to in the WCC Tournament.

TAYLOR, WALLACE EARN ALL-WCC HONORS
Senior Sophie Taylor was named to the All-WCC Second Team and freshman Cheyanne Wallace was named to the WCC All-Freshman Team. Taylor leads the Lions with 12.7 points and 8.4 rebounds per game and has nine double-doubles, which ranks third in the league. She became the 15th member of LMU's 1,000-point club on Feb. 27 and, along with her 500+ career rebounds, is the seventh player to surpass both those marks. Wallace gives the Lions three straight years with a WCC All-Freshman Team honoree. The rookie has averaged 11.0 ppg and 5.3 rpg on the year. She has provided a strong defensive presence in the paint, leading the team and the WCC with 2.1 blocks per game. She has had 13 double-digit scoring outputs, has eclipsed the 20-point mark three times and recorded her first career double-double (11 points, 10 rebounds) on Feb. 11 in LMU's win over Pacific.

CLASSMATES SURPASS 1,000 POINTS
Senior Deanna Johnson became the 14th member of the 1,000-point club at LMU on Feb. 11 as her eighth point of the night gave her exactly 1,000 for her career. Classmate Sophie Taylor achieved the feat in the Lions' regular-season finale on Feb. 27 at Pepperdine as her third field goal of the game pushed her over the 1,000-point marker. The last time two players in the same graduating class eclipsed the 1,000-point mark was 2004 when both Kate Murray (1,566 career points) and Adrianne Slaughter (1,231 career points) achieved the feat. The only time previous to that was 1991 when three players achieved the feat together - Lynn Flanagan (1,436 points), Kristen Bruich (1,144 points) and Tricia Gibson (1,084 points).

1,000-POINTS, 500 REBOUNDS
Senior Sophie Taylor became just the seventh Lion in program history to achieve 1,000 points and 500 rebounds on Feb. 27 when she became the 15th member of the Lions' 1,000-point club. She had already surpassed the 500-rebound mark earlier this season. To date, she has 1,008 career points and 595 career rebounds. She has joined the ranks of Tricia Gibson (1988-91), Tanya White (1992-95), Bryn Britton (1998-02), Kate Murray (1999-04), Adrianne Slaughter (2000-04) and Alex Cowling (2008-13) as the only Lions to achieve the feat.

=""> Support LMU's 22 intercollegiate teams and it's student-athletes through scholarships and team support. Together WE ARE LMU Lions... join the pride today: Join the Lions Athletic Fund | This is LMU