The WCC title, which included a win over No. 11 Gonzaga in the semifinals, gave the Pilots their first berth to the NCAA Tournament since 1997. Unfortunately, the NCAA Tournament was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
2019-20 was full of milestones as Meek led the team to a 21-11 overall record, good for fourth in the WCC after the coaches picked the Pilots to finish 10th in the league’s annual preseason poll. It’s the first 20-win for the program since 1996-97, and the 11-7 mark in the WCC gave Portland their most conference wins since that same 96-97 season.
Other achievements in 2019-20 include:
• The fourth-place finish is the highest in conference since 2010-11 (4th).
• The Portland faithful flooded to the Chiles Center to support the Pilots, and the season featured two of the biggest crowds in program history.
• The 1,772 that came to the game vs. San Francisco on Feb. 15 was the fifth biggest crowd ever, and the contest with Gonzaga on Feb. 29 featured the sixth largest crowd at 1,709.
• The Pilots began the season 4-0 for only the third time ever in program history, and it was the first time since 2010-11.
• Portland’s five-game winning streak from Jan. 11 to Jan. 25 was their longest since 2009-10.
• The Pilots swept the regular season series vs. Saint Mary’s for the first time since 2008-09.
• On Jan. 4, the Pilots won 57-48 at BYU, ending a 20-game losing streak to the Cougars; it was the first win for Portland over BYU since the 1998-99 season.
• The wins at USF and SCU (Jan 16-18) marked the first WCC weekend road sweep for the Pilots since 2009-10 (also at USF & SCU).
Following the historic regular season, the Pilots made a magical run through the WCC Tournament, defeating Pacific in the quarterfinals, Gonzaga in the semi’s, and San Diego in the Championship game. Haylee Andrews hit the game winner with just 3.8 seconds left against the Zags, and the victory was the Pilots first in the series since defeating Gonzaga in 2009 in Spokane, a stretch of 23 straight Bulldog wins. It was also the first win over a ranked opponent since topping the No. 24 San Diego Toreros at the Chiles Center in 2014.
In the years since the historic 2019-20 season, the Pilots have continued their rise through the WCC. Portland finished above .500 in 2020-21 at 14-13. It was the first time the Pilots put together back-to-back seasons finishing above .500 since the 2010-11 season. The Pilots also played postseason basketball for the first time since 2010, qualifying for the Women’s Basketball Invitational.
At the WBI, the Pilots earned their first playoff win as a Division I program when they defeated the Abilene Christian Wildcats 67-42. The Pilots followed that up with a historic 80-65 win over the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks, a game that saw Alex Fowler become the fastest Pilot to 1,000 points and Maddie Muhlheim become the all-time leader in three-pointers made. Muhlheim hit six threes, leading the Pilots in points with 22 while Fowler scored 17 points and grabbed eight rebounds.
The Pilots advanced all the way to the final against the Cleveland State Vikings, ultimately losing 67-64 in a tightly contested championship game.
The following year, the Pilots put together an impressive 20-11 record to finish fourth in the WCC, their third straight top-five finish in the conference. It was just the fifth 20-win season for the Pilots as a Division I program.
For the third season in a row, Portland qualified for postseason play, earning an invite to the Women’s National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) for the first time since 2009. They earned their first win ever in the WNIT and their first ever home playoff win with a 72-63 win over the Colorado State Rams. The Pilots advanced to the second round of the tournament, ultimately falling to the Oregon State Beavers.
With a career collegiate coaching record of 285-70 (.803), Meek ranks 10th in career winning percentage among active Division I coaches with 10-plus years of experience.
Prior to Portland, Meek led the George Fox Bruins to remarkable results including NCAA Division III championship game appearances in 2012 and 2015. He guided George Fox to eight NCAA Tournament appearances – including the last six seasons – six Northwest Conference (NWC) championships, and his teams were ranked at the end of the year seven times.
He was named the D3hoops.com NCAA Division III National Coach of the Year in 2012 and was three times named the NWC Coach of the Year, including in 2019. He coached four players to All-America recognition, while Hannah Munger also earned Academic All-America honors in 2012.
The Bruins have been a historical Division III power in women’s basketball and Meek was the fastest coach in program history to reach 100 wins. He succeeded current Oregon State head coach Scott Rueck at George Fox.
Before George Fox, Meek was head coach at Southridge High School (Beaverton, Ore.) for 10 seasons. He led Southridge to a record of 213-58 (.786) and five Oregon state titles over a six-year span between 2005 and 2010. Meek guided the Skyhawks to Oregon 4A titles in 2005 and 2006, the top classification at the time, and then to the Oregon 6A championships in 2007, 2008 and 2010.
He was named the 2006 MaxPreps.com National Girls’ Basketball Coach of the Year, four times earned Oregon Athletic Coaches Association Coach of the Year honors (2005, 2006, 2007, and 2010), and was league coach of the year six seasons. A total of 20 players went on to play college basketball from those rosters. Eleven student-athletes played at the Division I level, while all five starters on his 2006 squad signed with schools currently in the Pac-12.
Meek developed and hosted one of the top national high school basketball tournaments in the nation while at Southridge High School – the NIKE Northwest Girls Basketball Invitational (2006-10).
A Puyallup, Wash. native, Meek played basketball at Tacoma Community College and Eastern Oregon University, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in physical education and health in 1999. He earned his Master of Arts in Teaching from Grand Canyon University in 2004.
Meek and his wife, Lisa, reside in Beaverton with their daughters McKelle and Audrey.
