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THIS WEEK: The Portland State women's basketball team returns home to conclude the regular season by hosting Montana and Montana State this week. The Vikings still have a shot at their first conference title and start by taking on the Lady Griz on Thursday at 7 p.m. The Viks then host Montana State on Saturday at 2 p.m., in what will be Senior Night for four PSU seniors.

GAME NO. 28
Portland State (17-10, 10-4 Big Sky) vs. Montana (14-13, 9-5 Big Sky)
Thursday, March 3  •  7 p.m. PT
Portland, OR  •  Stott Center

GAME NO. 29
Portland State (17-10, 10-4 Big Sky) vs. Montana State (16-12, 10-4 Big Sky)
Saturday, March 5  •  2 p.m. PT
Portland, OR  •  Stott Center

COVERAGE
Internet Audio: GoViks.com
Play-by-Play: Teri Mariani
Video: Big Sky TV
Live Stats: GoViks.com

PORTLAND STATE vs. MONTANA STORYLINES
• With their 70-65 win in Missoula this past Thursday, the Vikings have now won four in a row over Montana for the first time in history.
• The Vikings have a chance to sweep the season series for just the third time ever. Last year, the Vikings accomplished the rare feat, winning 49-47 in Portland, and 72-60 in Missoula. PSU also defeated the Lady Griz, 62-47, in the semis of the Big Sky tourney.
• PSU has won three straight at home in the series for the first time in history.
• Sherri Murrell owns a 5-2 regular season record against the Lady Griz and is 6-4 overall.
• The Vikings are 11-1 at home this year, including 6-0 in conference games. Montana is 6-4 on the road, including conference-best 5-1 in Big Sky play. The Lady Griz have won five straight away from Missoula.
• Last season, the Vikings' 49-47 victory at home over the Lady Griz tied for their lowest scoring output of the season at the Stott. It was also the fewest points that PSU scored in any conference game.
• Both teams are ranked 97th nationally in turnovers per game (16.6).
• Montana leads the Big Sky in scoring defense in conference games, giving up just 59.5 points per game, while PSU is second in scoring offense in conference contests, averaging 72.5 points per game.

PSU-MONTANA SERIES NOTES: The Vikings are the only Big Sky team to have a winning record against Montana since the 2007-08 season. PSU has won five of the seven regular season meetings over that span ... the Vikings have more wins over the past three seasons (6) against Montana than they did in the eight seasons prior to 2007-08 (2). From 1999-00 to 2006-07, the Lady Griz were 15-2 against PSU, including a victory in the 2001-02 BSC Tournament ... PSU has held Montana to less than 50 points just three times since joining the Big Sky for the 1996-97 season and two of those instances came last year. The Vikings won 49-47 in Portland and 62-47 at the conference tourney. The first time was a 68-49 win in the final game of the 1998-99 season ... Kelli Valentine has averaged 9.8 points and 4.5 rebounds in her career against Montana ... Eryn Jones is averaging 15.8 points and 2.5 steals over the past four games. She is also shooting 44.4% (12-27) from 3-point range, and 52.3% (23-44) overall during that span ... Lexi Bishop is shooting 40.5% (15-37) from behind the arc in her career against the Lady Griz.

PORTLAND STATE vs. MONTANA STATE STORYLINES
• The Vikings have won five of the last six meetings, including wins in the 2009 and 2010 Big Sky tourneys.
• Portland State took two of three games from MSU last year, including a 62-58 victory in the Big Sky Championship title match that sent the Vikings to their first-ever NCAA tournament.
• Montana State is the only conference school that has a winning record during the regular season against Sherri Murrell. The Bobcats won the first three regular season meetings, but PSU has taken three of the past four. MSU leads 4-3, but the Vikings lead the overall series, 5-4, with their two victories in the Big Sky tourney.
• The Vikings are 11-1 at home this year, including 6-0 in conference games. Montana State is 7-6 on the road and 4-2 in Big Sky road games. The Bobcats have lost two of their last three away from Bozeman.
• Both teams like to shoot the 3-pointer. Montana State ranks 35th in the country in 3s attempted per game (7.0), while Portland State is 72nd (6.4). The Viks are also 34th in 3-point FG percentage (35.4%) and MSU is 55th (34.5%).
• These two teams rank 1-2 in scoring offense during conference action. Montana State is averaging 74.1 ppg over 14 Big Sky contests to rank first, while Portland State is averaging 72.5 ppg over 14 Big Sky games to rank second.

PSU-MONTANA STATE SERIES NOTES: PSU has won three of the last five in Portland, including a 69-62 victory last year. In that game, Claire Faucher scored 25 second half points as the Vikings rallied from a 15-point halftime deficit. PSU also trailed by 20 at one point in the first half. It is believed to be the biggest comeback in Portland State history and the second-largest halftime deficit they have overcome. On Feb. 23, 1992, at Sac State, the Viks were down by as many as 19 points in the second half after trailing 45-29 (16 points) at halftime. Last year, PSU was down 55-40 with 10:06 left, but went on a 23-7 run to take over the lead, 63-62, at the 2:33 mark ... Montana State handed the Vikings their only home conference defeats in both 2007-08 and 2008-09. Last year, they were one of just two Big Sky teams to win at the Stott ... the Bobcats are the only team in the Big Sky that Sherri Murrell doesn't have a winning record against during the regular season. Murrell's teams are 3-4 against MSU, but the Vikings have won three of the past four ... the teams have split the regular season series in each of the past two years ... PSU leads the regular season series, 6-5, over the past five-plus seasons. Prior to that, MSU swept the season series four straight years (2001-02 to 2004-05) ... the Vikings held Montana State to just 58 points in the Big Sky tourney title game on March 13, 2010, marking the fewest points they had given up to the Bobcats since a 55-53 win on Feb. 3, 2007 ...  Kelli Valentine has averaged 12.3 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.4 steals against MSU in her career ... Eryn Jones has averaged 11.3 points and shot 93.3% (14-15) at the free-throw line over the past four games in the series ... Lexi Bishop has shot 51.2% (21-41) from the field and 50% (11-22) from 3-point range vs. Montana State.

SATURDAY IS SENIOR NIGHT: Saturday's game against Montana State will mark the final regular season home game for four PSU seniors. Playing in their last contest at the Stott Center will be Lexi Bishop, Courtney Cremer, Kelly Marchant and Kelli Valentine. All four players will be honored prior to tip off. The four have combined for 474 career games and been a part of the Vikings' most successful seasons at the NCAA DI level. They have made two straight postseason appearances, including advancing to the NCAA tournament last spring, and are 80-44, 44-18 Big Sky heading into this weekend. At the Stott, the four have a record of 47-8, including 26-4 in Big Sky games. All four players also are in the Viking record book in various categories. For a complete look at the record book, see pages 33-34.

IT ALL COMES DOWN THE LAST WEEK: After eight weeks of conference games, it all comes down to the final week of play to determine who will be the 2011 Big Sky Conference regular season champion. At 11-3, Northern Colorado is in first place, one game up on Portland State and Montana State, both of which are 10-4. Montana is in third place at 9-5. The Bears close by hosting Idaho State tonight, then travel to play at ISU on Saturday. The Montana schools play at PSU and Eastern Washington this week. For the Vikings to claim their first regular season title, they will need to win out and have UNC lose at least once.

BISHOP EARNS BIG SKY PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS (FEB. 28): Senior guard Lexi Bishop capped a career-best week by being named the Big Sky Conference Women's Basketball Player of the Week on Monday. A native of Spokane, Wash., Bishop set career-highs for 3-pointers made in consecutive games, helping the Vikings defeat Montana and Montana State on the road for the first time in school history. Bishop averaged 16.0 points and added five assists and five steals while committing no turnovers in a combined 57 minutes of action. She shot 50 percent (9 of 18) from the field, including 56.3 percent (9 of 18) from 3-point range, and 83 percent (5 of 6) at the free-throw line. Against Montana on Thursday, Bishop scored 15 points and set what was then a career-high by sinking four 3s in PSU's 70-65 victory. She added three rebounds, three steals and two assists. On Saturday, Bishop led the Vikings with 17 points in their 81-77 victory at Montana State. She upped her career-best by making five 3-pointers, shooting 5 of 9 in the game. She also registered three assists and a pair of steals. This is the first career weekly honor for Bishop and the third of the season for Portland State.

CLIMBING BACK INTO THE BIG SKY RACE: Even with their loss at Idaho State on Feb. 10, the Vikings have still thrust themselves back into the Big Sky race with improved play the past six weeks. They won have four in a row and 10 of their last 12 to climb up to a tie for second place in the conference with Montana State at 10-4. They are one game back of first-place Northern Colorado (11-3). Portland State started out conference play by getting swept on the road by Eastern Washington and Northern Colorado and was 1-3 at one point. But since then, the Vikings have won four of five road games and gone 5-0 at home.

WINNING AT HOME: Over the past three-plus seasons with Sherri Murrell as the head coach, the Vikings have posted a 47-8 overall record (.855) and 26-4 Big Sky mark (.867) inside The Stott Center. Even more impressive, Portland State has won by an average of 14.0 points at home overall and by 14.7 points in conference games. The Vikings have won 31 contests by a double-digit margin, including 13 victories by at least 20 points. This year, PSU is 11-1 at home and winning by an average of 16.2 points. The Vikings have posted a winning record at home during conference play in each of the past five years and are 6-0 at the Stott this year. They are 34-9 in conference home games since the start of the 2005-06 season.

GREAT TIME FOR A FIRST TIME: The Vikings picked a great time to secure their first ever road sweep of the Montana schools, doing so last week with a 70-65 win at Montana on Feb. 24 and a 81-77 victory at MSU on Feb. 26. Portland State hasn't had much success at either place in the past as they were a combined 7-36 overall and 6-22 in Big Sky games at UM and MSU entering last week. PSU's two victories kept them in the race for the Big Sky regular season title.

TEN, AGAIN: For the third time in four seasons under Sherri Murrell, the Vikings have reached the 10 win mark in Big Sky Conference play. Last year they just missed it as they went 9-7. The Vikings went 11-5 in 2007-08 and 14-2 in 2008-09. The only other team to reach the 10-win mark at least three times in the past four years is Montana. The Lady Griz have done so in each of the past three seasons and need one more win this year to reach the mark.

TOPS IN THE BIG SKY: The Vikings have overtaken Idaho State for the best overall record in the Big Sky this season. At 17-10, PSU has the most wins and the best winning percentage (.630) of any conference team. They are also tied with Idaho State with the fewest losses.

QUITE THE TURNAROUND ON THE ROAD: More than halfway through this season, the Vikings were struggling mightly on the road. Portland State lost seven straight road games at one point, before defeating Northern Arizona, 56-48, on Jan. 22 in Flagstaff. The Vikings are 4-1 in their past five road games, with their lone loss coming at Idaho State on Feb. 10. Some of their road woes can be attributed to their tough scheduling as six of their nine road losses have come to teams with winning records. Also, seven of those teams (Cal, UC Irvine, Nevada, BYU, EWU, ISU and UNC) are a combined 70-20 at home this year.

BIG SKY RECORDS WATCH: Lexi Bishop and Kelli Valentine have a chance this weekend to move into a tie for the most games ever played by a Big Sky Conference player. Both have appeared in 122 games, two off the record held by three players, and are tied for seventh all-time. Fellow senior Kelly Marchant is tied for 18th with 120 games played. Valentine needs 27 more field goals and 16 more field goal attempts to join the top 20. Also, Eryn Jones moved into a tie for 20th place on the single season chart for 3-pointers made with 65.

RECORDS WATCH – KELLI VALENTINE: Senior forward Kelli Valentine moved up from ninth to seventh this past week in points in the PSU record book. She now has 1,244 points and most likely will remain seventh as sixth place is 1,399 points. Valentine is also ranked in several other catgories. This past weekend she, and Lexi Bishop, also moved into a tie for first all-time in games played. They both have played 122 career games, tying Kelsey Kahle (2005-09). She is also fifth in games started (105). Valentine moved from seventh to sixth in field goals made (519), while also ranking sixth in field goal attempts (1,159). Finally, she is eighth in rebounds with 584 and needs 16 more to move up to seventh, and is now tied for seventh in 10-point games (62).

RECORDS WATCH – COURTNEY CREMER: Senior center Courtney Cremer is enjoying a resurgance defensively after recording only five blocked shots last season. In her first two seasons on the Park Blocks, Cremer had 23 and 27 blocks, respectively. This year, Cremer has a team-high 30 blocks and ranks seventh in the Big Sky, averaging 1.1 per contest. On Dec. 28, Cremer had two blocked shots against Portland, giving her 66 for her career and moving her into 10th place all-time at PSU. Then on Jan. 3, Cremer turned in a career performance against Corban, blocking six shots to finish one off the PSU single game record. She recorded one block against Weber State on Feb. 19 and moved up to seventh place, where she currently sits with 85 blocks. With seven more she'll move up one more spot. Cremer is a big reason the Vikings are currently second in the Big Sky in blocked shots per game, averaging 3.9 as a team.

RECORDS WATCH – LEXI BISHOP: Senior guard Lexi Bishop moved up in several career categoris this past week. Bishop, along with Kelli Valentine, tied ex-teammate Kelsey Kahle (2005-09) for most games played at 122. She also jumped up from 10th to eighth in 3s made (121) and into 10th in 3s attempted (326). Her stellar outside shooting last week vaulted her from 10th to seventh in 3-point FG percentage (37.1%). Finally, she sits just outside the top 10 for games played at 87 and needs three more to be ranked in that category.

RECORDS WATCH – ERYN JONES: Just a junior, Eryn Jones is making sure her name is all over the PSU career record book. She ranks in the top 10 of four categories, including second in 3-point percentage (42.0%) and free throw percentage (84.6%), fourth in 3-pointers made (141) and ninth in 3-point attempts (336). She needs 42 more 3s to move up one spot and needs one more 3-point attempt to bump up in the record book. Jones also moved up in the single season record book, jumping up from a tie for fifth in 3s made to fourth. She has sank 64 treys on the year and needs six more to move up into a tie for third. The single season record is 89, set by Michele Hughes during the 1989-90 season. If the season ended today, Jones would have the second best 3-point FG percentage in a season. She is shooting 46.7%, trailing P.J. Hall's mark of 47.0% during 1993-94.