Complete Weekly Release (PDF)

THIS WEEK: Portland State (2-1) hits the road for a pair of games this weekend, starting with a matchup against cross-town rival Portland on Friday. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. at the Chiles Center. On Sunday, the Vikings take on Gonzaga, also at 2 p.m., at the McCarthey Center in Spokane.

GAME NO. 4
at Portland (3-2)
Friday, Nov. 25  •  2 p.m.
Portland, OR (Chiles Center)

COVERAGE
Internet Audio: GoViks.com
Play-by-Play: Teri Mariani
Video: PortlandPilots.com
Live Stats: PortlandPilots.com

SERIES INFORMATION
All-Time: UP leads 24-23
At UP: UP leads 14-8
Streak: PSU 1
Last PSU Win: PSU 64, UP 62; 12/28/10 @ PSU
Last UP Win: UP 75, PSU 71; 11/24/09 @ UP

PORTLAND STATE vs. PORTLAND STORYLINES
• Crosstown rivals Portland and Portland State meet up for the 16th straight season. The last time they did not play each other came during the 1995-96 season, PSU's last at the NCAA DII level.
• The Vikings have won five of the past seven meetings after the Pilots had won 12 of 13. Prior to that, PSU had an eight-game winning streak from 1998-92.
• PSU has won two of the last three at the Chiles Center, but the Pilots pulled out a 75-51 victory in the last game there on Nov. 24, 2009.
• Fifth-year PSU Head Coach Sherri Murrell is 4-1 against Portland and 5-2 all-time as a DI head coach.
• Murrell is 7-4 against WCC schools in her time on the Park Blocks, including 1-3 on the road. Last year, PSU won both its games against WCC teams, defeating LMU, 65-39, and Portland, 64-62. Both of those contests were at the Stott Center.
• UP Head Coach Jim Sollars, in his 26th year on the Bluff, was the Vikings' top man from 1983-86 before moving over to coach the Pilots.
• Both squads have defeated UC Irvine this season. The Vikings rallied for a season-opening 80-76 victory over the Anteaters on Nov. 11, while the Pilots defeated them, 64-56, two days later.  
• Portland is 1-1 at home. The Vikings are 0-1 on the road.

GAME NO. 5
at Gonzaga (2-1)
Sunday, Nov. 27  •  2 p.m.
Spokane, WA (McCarthey Athletic Center)

COVERAGE
Internet Audio: GoViks.com
Play-by-Play: Teri Mariani
Video: GoZags.com (Subscription required)
Live Stats: GoZags.com

SERIES INFORMATION
All-Time: GU lead 10-6
At GU: GU leads 5-2
Streak: UO 10
Last PSU Win: PSU 75, GU 72; 11/25/07 @ PSU
Last GU Win: GU 64, PSU 57; 12/13/09 @ PSU

PORTLAND STATE vs. GONZAGA STORYLINES
• Portland State and Gonzaga will meet up for the eighth time in the past nine seasons. Last year the two teams did not face each other for the first time since 2002-03.
• The Vikings last traveled to Spokane on Dec. 14, 2008, losing 86-61.
• The Bulldogs have won six of the past seven meetings, including three straight at the McCarthey Center.
• Gonzaga may present the stiffest test yet for the Vikings. The Bulldogs sit just outside of the USA Today ESPN Top 25 Coaches Poll after receiving 46 votes. That puts them at 28th, just 18 votes outside of the 25th spot.
• Fifth-year PSU Head Coach Sherri Murrell is 1-2 against Gonzaga and 3-4 all-time as a DI head coach.
• Murrell is 7-4 against WCC schools in her time on the Park Blocks, including 1-3 on the road. Last year, PSU won both its games against WCC teams, defeating LMU, 65-39, and Portland, 64-62. Both of those contests were at the Stott Center.
• Both head coaches were named the Coach of the Year in their respective conferences last year. Murrell was the Big Sky's co-winner after taking her team to their first conference regular season title, while Graves won the WCC's top honor for the sixth time after guiding his squad to a perfect 14-0 league record.
• Gonzaga is 1-0 at home. Portland State is 0-1 on the road.

HOW TO FOLLOW THE VIKINGS THIS WEEK: Both games this weekend will feature live audio through GoViks.com with Teri Mariani calling the action. Live stats will also be available. Friday's game at Portland will be shown through PortlandPilots.com, while Sunday's game at Gonzaga will be shown through GoZags.com. Portland's video feed is free, while Gonzaga's requires a $9.95 monthly subcription. If you do sign up, make sure to go in an cancel your account after the game, otherwise your subscription will be automatically renewed each month. Links for everything can be found by visiting GoViks.com, then clicking on the LIVE EVENTS tab. Under there you will find the LIVE AUDIO/VIDEO and the LIVE STATS pages.

LIVIN' ON THE ROAD: The Vikings are in the midst of a span where they play seven of nine games on the road. PSU's first road game of the season was at Oregon on Nov. 20, and they lost 75-71. In addition to the road games this week, PSU also plays a road contest at Loyola Marymount on Dec. 10, and three games at the Chevron Rainbow Wahine Shootout in Honolulu, Dec. 18-20.

WHAT A SPECIAL COUPLE OF DAYS FOR JONES: PSU senior point guard Eryn Jones enjoyed a special couple of days in mid-November. On Nov. 11, Jones poured in a career-high 24 points in helping the Vikings rally to win their season opener, 80-76, against UC Irvine. On Nov. 13, she scored 15 points in PSU's 65-51 win over UC Santa Barbara, and in the process became the 15th member of the 1,000-point club at PSU. Then on Nov. 15, Jones was named the first Big Sky Conference Player of the Week for her performance over the Vikings' first two games. Jones averaged 19.5 ppg, 3.5 rpg and 3.5 apg, while shooting 41.9% (13-31) from the floor, including 43.8% (7-16) from behind the arc. It was the third career POTW award for Jones.

JONES PASSES 1,000 POINTS: As noted above, Eryn Jones became the 15th member of the 1,000-point club at Portland State on Sunday, Nov. 13, in PSU's 65-51 win over UC Santa Barbara. She entered the year needing 35 points and scored 39 over the first two games. A PSU player has now gone over the 1,000-point mark in three straight years and in four of the past five. In 2006-07, Kelsey Kahle did it just as a sophomore. In 2009-10, senior Claire Faucher joined the elite club. And last season, Kelli Valentine became the 14th member in her final year as a Viking. Jones is also one of only three active players in the Big Sky to have scored 1,000 points in their career. The others are Katie Bussey of Montana State and Amy Patton of Northern Arizona.

A LOOK AT THE MID-MAJOR TOP 25: One week after being voted 25th in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll, Portland State dropped out, but still is receiving votes and is the 28th-ranked squad. The Vikings were just outside of the top 25 in the preseason poll. Sunday's opponent, Gonzaga, is second in the poll behind Wisconsin Green Bay. PSU also faces two other teams that are in the top 25, taking on 14th-ranked UC Davis and 22nd-ranked Denver in Hawai`i in mid-December.

MURRELL MAKING HER MARK: In just four short seasons at the helm of the PSU women's hoops squad, Sherri Murrell has undoubtedly made her team a force to be reckoned with in the Big Sky. Her 83-46 overall record and 46-18 Big Sky record over the past four years is second only to Montana's Robin Selvig (86-41, 48-16). She has led PSU to three straight Big Sky tournament championship game appearances after a semifinal appearance in her first year. In just four seasons, she already ranks second all-time in wins at PSU and has led the Vikings to their only 20-win seasons at the DI level (2007-08, 2008-09 and 2010-11). The 83 wins over the past four years are more than they had in the previous eight seasons combined (70), while their 46 Big Sky victories the past four seasons are also more than the previous eight years combined (41). From 1999-2000 to 2006-07 (the year before Sherri Murrell took over), the Vikings were 70-154 overall and 41-77 in the Big Sky. Murrell is the fastest coach in Portland State basketball history, men's or women's, to reach the 50-win plateau, doing so in 75 games. The next in line is ex-men's coach Ken Bone, who recorded win No. 50 at PSU in 88 games.

ALL ABOUT EJ: Portland State senior guard Eryn Jones is the reigning Big Sky Conference MVP and was also a WBCA All-Region VIII pick last season. She is the only player in PSU history to win either award. A unanimous first team all-league pick in 2010-11, Jones was the only player in the Big Sky to rank in the top 11 of eight categories. She finished the year ninth in the country in 3-point field goal percentage after climbing to as high as number three in early February. On Oct. 12, Jones was named the preseason Big Sky MVP and a second team Mid-Major All-American by College Sports Madness. Jones currently is second in the league in scoring (19.7 ppg), while leading all players in 3-pointers per game (4.0) and minutes per game (35.7). She is also sixth in 3-point FG percentage (41.4) and  assists (3.3 apg).

THREE 3-POINT THREAT: Over her career on the Park Blocks, Eryn Jones has proven herself to be one of the best three-point threats in the Big Sky Confernce. Last season, Jones led the league and ranked ninth nationally in 3-point field goal percentage (43.5), one year after ranking sixth in the Big Sky with a 38.8 percentage. She has also ranked in the top 11 of 3-pointers made per game that past two seasons, including fourth in 2010-11. As a freshman, Jones connected on 38.6% of her treys (27-70). Last year, Jones tied a 22-year old school single game record when she made all six of her 3-pointers against Idaho State on Jan. 17. It was also the second best performance in league history. She made a three-pointer in 28 of 32 games last season, and 27 of 33 games as a sophomore. So far this year, Jones is off to a fast start as she is averaging a Big Sky-leading 4.0 three-pointers made per game. No other player in the conference is making more than 2.8 per contest. Jones made four in the season opener against UC Irvine, three against UCSB and five at Oregon.

WHO SAYS GUARDS CAN'T REBOUND?: Portland State's second-leading rebounder last season was 5-foot-7 guard Courtney VanBrocklin. Her 5.9 average was the 11th-best mark in the Big Sky and she was also the conference's top-rebounding guard. VanBrocklin had led the Vikings in rebounding all year until the Big Sky tourney, when Kelli Valentine had back-to-back double-digit rebounding performances to bump her average up to 6.2 rpg. Should she have finished the year leading the team in rebounding, VanBrocklin would have 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.  

INSTANT IMPACT: Two of Portland State's newcomers last year had instant impacts on the program. Guard Courtney VanBrocklin, a transfer from Boise State who redshirted in 2009-10, came off the bench in the season opener at Washington to score the Vikings' first nine points of the game. She concluded the season starting 29 of the final 30 games and led PSU in steals, while ranking second in scoring and rebounding. She also recorded the first two of PSU's seven double-doubles this year. Forward Shauneice Samms, a transfer from the College of Southern Idaho, would have led the Big Sky in field goal percentage if she had enough attempts. At 61.3 percent she would have easily lead the conference as the leading shooter – Rachel Semansky of Montana State – had a 53.4% mark. Samms did rank fifth in the league in blocked shots per game, averaging 1.08, and 11th in offensive rebounds per game, averaging 1.92.

FINDING HER STROKE: Junior guard Karley Lampman has found her stroke to start the 2011-12 season, shooting 44.7% (17-38) from the floor to rank 14th in the Big Sky, and 54.5% (6-11) from 3-point range to rank second. Coming into this year, Lampman had just a 27.8% career shooting percentage, including a 20.4% mark from behind the arc. She has been a major contributor in every game this season, scoring a then-career-high 15 against UC Irvine and adding 12 vs. UCSB. On Nov. 20 at Oregon, Lampman scored 18 points to set a new career high. She is seventh in the league in scoring (15.0 ppg), third in steals (2.7 spg) and tied for 17th in rebounding (5.7 rpg).

SHAKING OFF THE RUST: Sophomore transfer Kate Lanz finally got the chance to take the court at Oregon on Nov. 20. In her first appearance as a Viking, Lanz added 11 points off the bench, including several key baskets late to help PSU rally from a 14-point second half deficit. After missing several of her first shots, Lanz settled into a groove and finished 5 of 9 from the floor, while chipping in five assists, four rebounds, one block and one steal. It was her first game since March 2010, when she played at Oregon State. Last year she redshirted due to NCAA transfer regulations.

SCORING MACHINES: The Vikings are the only team in the Big Sky to have three players ranked in the top 15 in points per game and all three are actually inside the top seven. Eryn Jones is second, averaging 19.7 ppg, Courtney VanBrocklin is fifth at 17.3 ppg, and Karley Lampman is seventh, averaging 15.0 ppg.