PORTLAND, Ore. – Heading into this season, the Portland State women's basketball team had two gapping holes to fill. The Vikings lost two seniors from last year's NCAA tournament team and both were instrumental in the Vikings going as far as they did.

Do-it-all point guard Claire Faucher and tough-nosed power forward Erin Yankus exhausted their eligibility last spring, leaving Vikings Head Coach Sherri Murrell looking for answers on how to replace the duo. Just eight games into this season, it appears she has her answers in a pair of transfers – Courtney VanBrocklin and Shauneice Samms.

VanBrocklin watched from the bench last season after transferring from Boise State and impressed coaches and teammates alike with her aggressive style of play in practice. She may be smaller than Faucher, but she fills up the stat sheet the same way the four-time all-conference guard did from 2006-10. VanBrocklin has tallied both of the Vikings' double-doubles this year, has reached double-figures in points in seven games and leads the squad in scoring and rebounding.

Samms, meanwhile, has had an instant impact as well after transferring from the College of Southern Idaho. She has replaced the rebounding and high-percentage shooting numbers that Yankus put up a year ago, while averaging 10.0 points per contest.

"Both Neice and Courtney are very aggressive and intense players. They work extremely hard and it all starts on the defensive end and works it way to the offensive end for them," said Murrell. "Not only are they aggressive but effective. They fit in perfectly with our style of play because we like to attack and that's what they do."

And attack they do. At 5-foot-7, VanBrocklin is a quick, slashing guard that likes to get to the rim. She is able to keep defenses honest with her three-point shooting, where she is hitting 44 percent of her shots. Samms uses her 6-foot frame to power her way to the hoop and is shooting a Big Sky leading 65.3 percent.

While the pair have obviously helped out the Vikings offensively, they are also getting the job done on the defensive end of the floor. VanBrocklin leads the team in steals with 11 and Samms has a team-leading 13 blocked shots.

Murrell knew she was getting two players that could contribute right away and that the Vikings would need both players if they were to make a repeat trip to the NCAA tourney.

"Since the day Courtney stepped on the court as a redshirt she quickly increased the level of competition on our team," Murrell said. "She is scrappy, she has a good sense of where the ball is on rebounds and usually comes up with them and she's a lock-down defender, and she's a scorer from inside and out – pretty much is an all-around player. When I saw her play in high school for the very first time I knew I wanted her in a Viking uniform.

"We recruited Neice to contribute right away," she continued. "When you recruit junior college players they better be able to do that. Neice has a good feel around the basket and doesn't take bad shots. That's the reason why she has the highest shooting percentage on our team. I love how long her arms are – it really is deceiving for teams and she can get in there against some of the tallest post players and come up with a block or a rebound."

Both players were on Portland State's radar as high school standouts in the state of Washington, VanBrocklin at Mount Baker and Samms at Mt. Tahoma.

VanBrocklin narrowed her final college choices to Boise State and the Vikings, eventually settling on the Broncos. But after just one season, she asked for her release and one of her first calls was to Murrell.

Murrell thought VanBrocklin was a lock to join the team out of high school because she fit in so well. When VanBrocklin finally did call after getting released from Boise State, Murrell said it "was one of the best phone calls" she has ever received while on the Park Blocks.

Samms was set to attend Pepperdine coming out of Mt. Tahoma, but errors made by her high school on her transcripts forced her to go the junior college route. Through her Northwest connections, Murrell heard Samms was "tearing it up at CSI," and sent out associate head coach Peg Swadener to watch. It only took Swadener one game to know that Samms would be a perfect fit for the Vikings.

Both players took winding routes to get to Portland State and in the end it has worked out for everyone involved. Murrell has two players that filled holes on the roster and that have contributed immensely in just a short period of time, and the Vikings as a team have two more student-athletes in their always-close 'family.'

"I've meshed with the team pretty well, we're a huge family," said VanBrocklin. "On the court we all like to just play hard and have fun. Off the court we love hanging out whenever we can.

Added Samms: "I've definitely meshed with the team well, we all get along on and off the court. What we have as a team is rare because we are able to get along through adversity, whether it is on or off the court. Other teams grow to hate each other, but we will continue to grow closer."