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Portland State University Athletics

PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS
Stephanie Egwuatu 2010-11
Steve Brenner
Stephanie Egwuatu had seven points and a career-best eight boards at NAU on Saturday.

Women's Basketball by Ryan Borde

Vikings Cure Road Woes With 56-48 Win At NAU


Box Score (PDF)  |  Box Score (HTML)

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. –
Eryn Jones continued her hot play of late and Portland State cured its road woes with a 56-48 victory at Northern Arizona on Saturday night in Big Sky Conference action.

Jones led all scorers with 17 points and went 3 of 6 from long distance in helping Portland State snap an eight-game road losing streak. The Vikings moved to 9-9 overall and 2-3 in the Big Sky with the victory.

Two nights after missing out on several opportunities to win late in a game at Weber State, the Vikings came out on fire and hit seven of their first eight shots to set the tone against the Lumberjacks. After missing their first shot from the floor, the Vikings connected on their next seven field goals.

NAU got on the scoreboard first on a 3-pointer by Amy Patton, before Jones answered with a three of her own to kick start things for the Vikings. The Lumberjacks went back in front on a Patton jumper, but PSU responded with an Allie Brock layup. Jones hit a jump shot to give the Viks the lead and then NAU's Trinidee Trice tied the game up at 7-7.

From there, PSU used a 13-0 run to take control.

A basket by Brock started the run, before Lexi Bishop, Courtney Cremer and Jones hit 3-pointers in succession. After Karley Lampman hit a shot at the 12:49 mark of the first half, the Vikings found themselves up 20-7.

Portland State eventually held a 29-20 lead at the half.

Coming out of the break, the Vikings quickly pushed their lead to 37-26 on a layup by Lampman. Stephanie Egwuatu later gave PSU a 39-28 lead, before Northern Arizona rallied.

The Lumberjacks were able to get within four, at 39-35, as Portland State missed six straight field goals and committed four turnovers in a four minute span of action.

An Egwuatu layup stemmed NAU's rally and at the 6:37 mark Jones hit her final 3-pointer to make it 46-37.

Northern Arizona wasn't done, though. The Lumberjacks scored eight of the next 10 points to get within three, 48-45, with 3:34 remaining.

At that point it appeared Northern Arizona had the momentum, but PSU picked up its defense and held the Lumberjacks scoreless for over three minutes while going 8 of 10 at the free-throw line in the closing minutes.

Vikings Head Coach Sherri Murrell said after the game that the win was much needed and she was proud of what she saw from her team, which was missing several players.

"I'm so proud of everyone who stepped up and played when we were shorthanded," Murrell said.

Jones was the offensive catalyst once again for the Vikings despite battling foul trouble. She has averaged 19.3 points and gone 12 of 18 from behind the arc over the past three games.

Brock just missed a double-double, tallying 11 rebounds and eight points, while Courtney VanBrocklin added nine points and seven rebounds for the Vikings.

Also for PSU, Egwuatu had one of the best performances in her three seasons on the Park Blocks, scoring seven points and pulling down a career-high eight rebounds.

Patton led the Lumberjacks with 14 points and 12 boards, but was just 6 of 21 from the floor.

PSU returns home for its next game, hosting Eastern Washington on Thursday, Jan. 27, at 7 p.m.

NOTES: The Vikings have won seven of the last eight in the series and are 6-1 against NAU under Murrell ... PSU is just 4-12 all-time in Flagstaff, but three of those victories have come with Murrell as the head coach ... Portland State improved to 1-3 in Big Sky road games ... Lampman had a career-best seven rebounds ... PSU outrebounded NAU, 52-46. That comes after getting outrebounded by 19 at Weber State on Thursday ... Courtney Cremer had three of PSU's five blocked shots ... Neither team shot well, with PSU connecting on 32.8 percent of its shots and NAU shooting just 27.5 percent. PSU held the Lumberjacks to 14.3% (3 of 21) shooting from 3-point range ... Northern Arizona fell to 7-12, 1-4 Big Sky.
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