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SACRAMENTO – Kelli Valentine had a double-double and four other Vikings reached double figures in points as Portland State coasted to a 97-73 victory at Sacramento State on Saturday afternoon.

The Vikings shot a blistering 63.4 percent in the opening period and wasted little time taking charge, leading 9-2 just over three minutes into the contest.

Valentine had one of several outstanding individual performances for PSU, tallying 14 points on 6 of 9 shooting while also grabbing 11 rebounds and dishing out five assists. The senior forward had 10 points in the first half as the Vikings raced out to a 58-31 halftime lead.

Allie Brock gave Portland State its first double-digit advantage, 25-15, at the 11:08 mark of the first half and the Vikings' lead never got below ten again. A 3-pointer by Lexi Bishop right before intermission gave PSU its largest cushion of 28 points at 56-28.

Portland State didn't let off much in the second half and kept its lead above 20 points over the entire period.

With two conference wins this week, the Vikings (11-9) have climbed back into the thick of things, jumping up from sixth to a four-way tie for third at 4-3 in the Big Sky. They play a favorable schedule over the coming weeks with four of their next five games at home.

Saturday's game came against a struggling Sac State team that lost its 12th straight and dropped to 3-18, 0-8 Big Sky. The Hornets like to run and Portland State took advantage of the past-paced tempo to pour in a season-high 97 points.

The Vikings' point total is the second-most in three-plus seasons under Head Coach Sherri Murrell, and their 58 first-half points marks they most they have scored in a period during her tenure.

Eyrn Jones led the Vikings with 18 points, shooting 7 of 14 from the floor, including 4 of 8 on three-pointers. Courtney VanBrocklin added 17 points on 8 of 11 shooting, while Kelly Marchant and Courtney Cremer finished with 13 and 10 points, respectively.

Brock pulled down 10 rebounds as the Vikings outrebounded the Hornets 49-34.

Sac State got 23 points and seven rebounds from forward Kylie Kuhns.

The Vikings and Hornets play again next Thursday in Portland. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m., at the Stott Center.

NOTES: PSU has won nine of the past 10 in the series and also four straight in Sacramento ... the Vikings have scored more than 90 points in each of their last two trips to The Nest. Last year they opened Big Sky play with a 95-86 victory at the Hornets' gym ... Jones is shooting 59.4% (19 of 32) from 3-point range and averaging 18.8 points over the past five games ... Jones also led PSU with seven assists and had zero turnovers in 30 minutes of action ... Bishop and Karley Lampman each had eight points for PSU. Brock added seven ... Bishop matched her career-high with six assists and the Vikings dished out a season-best 29 ... Cremer blocked three shots ... PSU has won four of its past five games overall.