PORTLAND, Ore. – Before the start of the 2021-22 season, Portland Pilots women's basketball head coach Michael Meek admitted that there was a sense of "What if?" stemming from the untimely end to the 2019-20 season. The Pilots had qualified for the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1997 after winning the WCC Championship, only to have it ripped away by a global pandemic.
It's not as strong, but that pervasive feeling looms slightly over this year. Portland's season was heavily disrupted by a tragic injury suffered by Haylee Andrews on Feb. 3 against BYU. Andrews was an All-WCC First Team selection the year prior, a team leader and one of the best point guards in the WCC.