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THIS WEEK: Portland State plays twice this week, starting with a home contest against Eastern Washington on Thursday, Jan. 27, at 7 p.m. The Vikings then travel to Sacramento State on Saturday for a 1:05 p.m. contest.

GAME NO. 19
Portland State (9-9, 2-3 Big Sky) vs. Eastern Washington (8-9, 4-1 Big Sky)
Thursday, Jan. 27  •  7:00 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

SERIES INFORMATION
All-Time: EWU leads 28-22
BSC Games: PSU leads 16-13
At PSU: PSU leads 13-9
At PSU BSC Games: PSU leads 10-4
Streak: EWU 2
Last PSU Win: PSU 67, EWU 60; 1/30/10 @ PSU
Last EWU Win: EWU 70, PSU 62; 1/8/11 @ EWU

GAME NO. 20
Portland State (9-9, 2-3 Big Sky) at Sacramento State (3-16, 0-6 Big Sky)
Saturday, Jan. 29  •  1:05 p.m. PT
Sacramento, CA  •  The Nest

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

SERIES INFORMATION
All-Time: PSU leads 22-8
BSC Games: PSU leads 20-8
At Sac: PSU leads 10-5
At Sac BSC Games: PSU leads 9-5
Streak: Sac 1
Last PSU Win: PSU 95, Sac 86; 1/2/10 @ Sac
Last Sac Win: Sac 83, PSU 78; 2/5/10 @ PSU

PORTLAND STATE vs. EASTERN WASHINGTON STORYLINES
• Portland State and Eastern Washington meet up for the second time this season and renew the Dam Cup Series, a rivalry between the two Pacific Northwest universities.
• Eastern Washington has won the past two meetings after the Vikings had won five straight. The Eagles defeated PSU, 70-62, in the Big Sky opener for both schools on Jan. 8, in Cheney.
• The Vikings have been much tougher at home this year and are 6-1, including winning their past three. The Eagles are 2-5 on the road and 2-1 in Big Sky road contests.
• PSU has won five in a row over Eastern Washington at the Stott Center by an average of 9.6 points. They've also won seven of the past eight games in Portland.
• The Vikings are 5-2 against EWU under Sherri Murrell, including 3-0 at home.
• The Eagles held PSU to just 28.% shooting in their 70-62 victory on Jan. 8. Portland State shot well from 3-point range, going 7 of 17 (41.2%), and at the charity stripe, going 21 of 26 (80.8%). Kelly Marchant led the Viks with 17 points, making four treys, and Eryn Jones added 16.
• After a 1-6 start, Eastern Washington has won seven of their past 10 games, including five of their last six. PSU started strong at 3-1, but is 6-8 since then.

PSU-EWU SERIES NOTES: Portland State has a 10-4 record in Big Sky home games against Eastern Washington and has won five straight at the Stott Center in the series. PSU's 10-4 home Big Sky record is their second best against any conference foe ... Eastern Washington was picked to finish second in the preseason polls after winning their first regular season title a year ago. PSU was tabbed for third in both polls after finishing fifth last season ... Kelli Valentine has averaged 11.4 points in her career against EWU, including 16.0 ppg last season. Eryn Jones has averaged 9.2 points and is 12 of 12 at the free-throw line. From 3-point range, Kelly Marchant is shooting 50% (8-16) and Lexi Bishop is shooting 47.1% (8-17).

THE DAM CUP: The Portland State Vikings and Eastern Washington Eagles have begun a five sport rivalry cup called The Dam Cup this season. The Dam Cup will celebrate the friendly rivalry between the states of Oregon and Washington within the Big Sky Conference. The so-named rivalry refers to the four dams linking Oregon and Washington that one passes on the 339-mile drive from the Portland State campus to the Eastern Washington campus. Located along the Columbia River, they are Bonneville Dam, The Dalles Dam, The John Day Dam and the McNary Dam. The five sports competing for the cup are football, women's soccer, women's volleyball, women's basketball and men's basketball. The Dam Cup is based on a point system, with points only rewarded for regular season contests. Each women's basketball match between the Eagles and Vikings are worth two points apiece for a total of four points possible. Currently, PSU holds a 7-6 lead in points.

PORTLAND STATE vs. SACRAMENTO STATE STORYLINES
• Sacramento State ended an eight-game losing streak to the Vikings with a 83-78 victory in Portland on Feb. 5 of last year.
• The Vikings are 3-0 in Sacramento under Sherri Murrell and have won three straight at The Nest by an average of 10 points. Last season the teams met in the conference opener and PSU ran by Sac State for a 95-86 victory.
• PSU is 5-1 overall against the Hornets under Murrell and has won by an average of 9.2 points.
• Sac State is 2-6 at home, but 0-2 in Big Sky home games. The Vikings are 2-8 on the road, including 1-3 in conference road contests.
• The Hornets have lost 10 in a row, including four straight at home. The Vikings snapped a seven-game road losing streak with their 56-48 win at NAU on Jan. 22, but are still only 2-8 on the road.
• The Hornets like to run and shoot the 3. They are making 8.1 per game, which ranks ninth nationally, and putting up 28.6 attempts a game. Six players have shot more than 40 three-pointers, including two with at least 125 attempts. The Vikings are 95th in the nation in 3-pointers made per contest (6.1) and are averaging 17.9 attempts per game. PSU is shooting 33.9% from behind the arc to rank 78th in the country, while Sac State is shooting 28.3%.

PSU-SAC STATE SERIES NOTES: The Vikings' 11-3 Big Sky home record versus the Hornets is their best against any conference team. PSU won the first seven conference games at the Stott and had won four in a row at home before the Hornets claimed a 83-78 victory at the Stott last season ... The last two games at the Stott have been high-scoring affairs. PSU is averaging 79.5 points in the past two games, while Sac State is averaging 74.5 points ... Kelly Marchant had a career night against Sac State last year, pouring in 31 points in Sacramento. She is averaging 12 ppg and is 10 of 28 from 3- point range in her career against the Hornets. She is also 14 of 18 at the charity stripe. Kelli Valentine is averaging 12.5 ppg and 5.2 rpg against Sac State, and is shooting 51.7% (30-58) from the floor and 100% (14-14) at the free-throw line. Eryn Jones is also perfect at the line as she is 12 of 12 in four career games.

IT WAS JUST HER WEEK: Eryn Jones put together a great run of three games last week, averaging 19.3 points and shooting 12 of 18 (66.7%) from behind the arc. She started it out by tying a 22-year old school record by going 6 of 6 from 3-point range against Idaho State on Monday, and then went 3 of 6 on 3-pointers in each of the next two games. Jones had 21 points vs. Idaho State, 20 at Weber State on Thursday and 17 at Northern Arizona on Saturday. She also averaged 5.7 rebounds last week, including pulling down a career-best seven at WSU, and shot 53.1 percent (17-32) from the floor. Even with her impressive numbers she was passed over for Big Sky Player of the Week honors, despite her 6 for 6 game against Idaho State tying for the second best performance in conference history. Jones also led the Big Sky in 3-point field goal percentage last week and was the second leading scorer, behind EWU's Brianne Ryan (25.5 ppg over two games).

CURING THE ROAD WOES: Portland State got a much needed road victory when they defeated Northern Arizona, 56-48, on Saturday, in Flagstaff. The Vikings snapped a seven-game road losing streak in the process and also picked up their first Big Sky road win of the year. PSU almost ended the streak two nights earlier at Weber State, but missed several close shots in the closing minute before falling 65-62. Some of their road woes can be attributed to their tough scheduling as five of their eight road losses have come to teams with winning records. Also, six of those teams (Cal, UC Irvine, Nevada, BYU, EWU and UNC) are a combined 45-9 at home this year.

COMING HOME: The Vikings have played four of their past five games away from the Stott Center, but will play three of their next four and five of their next seven at home, where they are 6-1 this year. In all, PSU plays seven of its last 11 games on the Park Blocks.

NATIONALLY RANKED: Eryn Jones and Courtney VanBrocklin are the only Vikings to be ranked in the top 100 in the NCAA statistical rankings as of Jan. 23. After her splendid 3-point shooting last week, Jones has climbed all the way up to sixth nationally in 3-point field goal percentage (46.1%). She is also 72nd in FT percentage (82.5%), 76th in assists per game (4.5) and 92nd in 3-pointers made per game (2.3), while VanBrocklin is 37th in FT percentage (85.5%). As a team, PSU is 78th in 3-point FG percentage (33.9%), 95th in 3-pointers made per game (6.1) and 99th in fewest turnovers per game (16.9).

WHO SAYS GUARDS CAN'T REBOUND?: Portland State's leading rebounder this season is 5-foot-7 guard Courtney VanBrocklin. Her 6.1 average is seventh in the Big Sky and she is also the conference's top-rebounding guard. Should she finish the year leading the team in rebounding, VanBrocklin would become the first true guard to ever do so. The only other player that has led the Viks in rebounding who could be considered a guard was Heather Arns in 2004-05 (5.0 rpg), but she was listed as a guard/forward on the roster. 

BROCK STEPPING UP: Freshman forward Allie Brock has started five of the past six games after the injury to Shauneice Samms and is averaging 8.8 ppg and 6.0 rpg over that span. She is also shooting 47.8 percent and has gone 8 of 11 at the charity stripe. Against Corban on Jan. 3, Brock pulled down a then-career-high eight rebounds, but then topped that with 10 at EWU on Jan. 8, and 11 at Northern Arizona on Jan. 22. Brock has also registered both of her double-digit scoring outputs in the past few weeks, scoring 22 vs. Idaho State on Jan. 17, and 15 vs. Corban on Jan. 3. Over the first 12 games, she averaged 7.9 minutes, 2.5 points and 1.8 rebounds.

INSIDE THE RPI: The Vikings dropped seven spots in this weeks RPI rankings to 157th, but are still second overall amongst Big Sky teams. Montana State is first at 150 and after the Vikings is Idaho State (186), Montana (208), Northern Colorado (227), Northern Arizona (253), Eastern Washington (257), Weber State (314) and Sac State (318).

WINNING VERSUS LOSING: There are several numbers that stand out as to what has helped the Vikings to their nine victories this season. Comparing their shooting percentage, rebounding numbers and scoring in their victories to their losses shows some glaring differences. In their nine wins, PSU is outscoring the opposition 74.8 ppg to 59.8 ppg, but in their nine losses they are getting outscored 72.3 ppg to 57.9 ppg. Shooting wise, PSU is outshooting their opponents 42.5% to 36.6% in their victories, but is getting outshot 45.0% to 33.8% in their loses. On the boards, the Vikings are outrebounding their opponents 44.1 to 38.9 in their victories, but getting outrebounded 44.0 to 34.2 in their losses.

WINNING AT HOME: Over the past three-plus seasons with Sherri Murrell as the head coach, the Vikings have posted a 42-8 overall record (.840) and 21-4 Big Sky mark (.840) inside The Stott Center. Even more impressive, Portland State has won by an average of 14.2 points at home overall and by 15.2 points in conference games. The Vikings have won 29 contests by a double-digit margin, including 12 victories by at least 20 points. This year, PSU is 6-1 at home and winning by an average of 19.5 points. Additionally, for the fifth straight season the Vikings posted a winning record at home during conference play in 2009-10. They went 6-2 last season at the Stott Center, after going 7-1 in each of the previous two seasons. In 2006-07 they were 6-2, and in 2005-06 they were 4-3.