Preview: Portland Pilots at Loyola Marymount Lions

LOS ANGELES (Interstat) — Two teams riding winning streaks and jockeying for position in the West Coast Conference will meet Thursday when the Portland Pilots visit the Loyola Marymount Lions in a women’s NCAA Division I basketball game.

The Pilots (11-8, 5-1 WCC) have won four straight, including a dominant 83-57 victory over Seattle last Saturday. Portland’s surge has been fueled by balanced scoring and defensive intensity. Guard Lainey Spear, a player to watch, led the way against Seattle with 17 points in 23 minutes. Over the last eight games, Spear has averaged 9.3 points, providing consistent backcourt production.

The Lions (11-7, 4-2) have won three consecutive games, most recently a 74-54 road win at Pacific. Loyola Marymount has shown resilience, playing in four overtime periods in its last six contests. Guard Andjela Matic is the engine for the Lions, averaging 11.8 points and 3.8 assists over the last seven games. She scored 20 points in an overtime win at Pepperdine on Jan. 8 and logged 48 minutes in a double-overtime loss at Gonzaga in December.

This matchup features two of the conference’s hotter teams. Portland’s current streak includes road wins at Santa Clara and Saint Mary’s. Loyola Marymount’s recent run includes a key home victory over Oregon State. Both teams sit just behind Gonzaga in the early WCC standings, making this a crucial game for postseason seeding.

The game will be played at Gersten Pavilion. Portland leads the all-time series, but Loyola Marymount won both meetings last season.

Key matchup: Portland’s backcourt of Spear and Dyani Ananiev, who had eight points and six assists against Seattle, against LMU’s backcourt duo of Matic and Jess Lawson, who combined for 27 points and seven assists in the win over Pacific.

Up next: Portland visits Pepperdine on Saturday. Loyola Marymount travels to San Diego on Saturday.