Complete game notes (PDF)

THIS WEEK: Portland State (7-4) returns home to host Corban University (8-4), an NAIA school, on Wednesday at 7 p.m. The Vikings then open Big Sky Conference action on Saturday at home against Montana State at 2 p.m.

GAME NO. 12
vs. Corban (8-4)
Wednesday, Dec. 28  •  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: PSU leads 1-0
At PSU: PSU leads 1-0
Streak: PSU 1
Last PSU Win: PSU 96, COR 55; 1/3/11 @ PSU
Last COR Win: N/A

PORTLAND STATE vs. CORBAN STORYLINES
• The Vikings and Warriors meet up for the second straight season and for the second time overall.
• Corban, an NAIA university in Salem, will be counting the game as an exhibition.
• Last season, Portland State won easily at the Stott Center, 96-55. Courtney VanBrocklin had 19 points for the Vikings, while Allie Brock had her best game up to that point with 15 points and seven rebounds. PSU led by just nine at the break, but scored 56 second half points. The Vikings shot a season-best 56.8%, while limiting the Warriors to just 36.4% shooting.
• Before taking on the Warriors last year, PSU had last faced an NAIA team when they played Lewis & Clark State on Jan. 6, 1995.
• The Vikings are 4-0 at home this season and winning by an average of 11.3 points. Corban is 1-3 on the road and losing by an average of 13 points.
• PSU has won two straight and five of its past six. Corban enters on a four-game winning streak.
• Corban senior Katie Steigleman became the school's all-time leading scorer on Dec. 3, vs. Southern Oregon. In the Warriors' last game, a 91-69 win over Northwest, junior Emily Tsugawa dished out a school record 15 assists.
• The Warriors are playing their fifth exhibition game against NCAA DI competition. They are 0-4 and losing by 26.8 points. They narrowly lost at Idaho, though, 77-74.

HOW TO FOLLOW THE VIKINGS THIS WEEK: Both games this week will broadcast through Big Sky TV with Teri Mariani calling the action. Live stats will also be available. 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.

SUCCESS ON THE ISLANDS: Portland State's trip to the Aloha State started off on the wrong foot with a 78-66 loss to host Hawai`i, but the Vikings bounced back with a pair of victories over teams that were ranked in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll. On Monday, PSU defeated 21st-ranked UC Davis, 68-57, rallying from a four-point halftime deficit. The next day, they defeated 20th-ranked Denver, 70-66. Four Vikings averaged double-figures on the trip and Kate Lanz (16.7 ppg/10.7 rpg) averaged a double-double. Courtney VanBrocklin averaged a team-high 17 ppg, Eryn Jones averaged 14.3 ppg and Karley Lampman chipped in 10 ppg.

LANZ NAMED BIG SKY PLAYER OF THE WEEK (DEC. 26): Kate Lanz was named the Big Sky Conference Player of the Week on Dec. 26 after posting a pair of double-doubles in two Viking victories last week in Hawai`i. The 5-foot-10 sophomore guard out of Vancouver, Wash., averaged 16.5 points, 13.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists in PSU's wins over UC Davis and Denver at the Chevron Rainbow Wahine Shootout in Honolulu. On Monday, Lanz helped Portland State to a 68-57 win over UC Davis, socring 15 points and pulling down the same amount of rebounds, while adding two assists, two blocked shots and one steal in 37 minutes of action. She was at her best in the second half, scoring 12 points and grabbing nine boards to help PSU rally from a 32-28 halftime deficit. Lanz followed that up the next day with 18 points, 11 rebounds, four assists and a steal in the Vikings' 70-66 win over Denver. Again she put on a dominating performance in the second half, scoring 10 points and pulling down eight boards. Over the second half of the two games, Lanz averaged 11 points and 8.5 rebounds. This is the second weekly honor of the season for the Vikings after Eryn Jones brought home the award on Nov. 15.

BACK ON TRACK: PSU has won two straight and five of its past six following a three-game losing streak. The Vikings snapped their losing streak with a 80-73 victory over Nevada on Dec. 3. The Vikings never trailed in the game and the score was tied just once, 9-9, early on.

MAKING THEIR FREE THROWS: The Vikings upped their season free-throw percentage to a Big Sky leading 80.9% after a stellar performance in Hawai`i. PSU shot 86% (49-57) over three games, as Courtney VanBrocklin (18-18) and Eryn Jones (10-10) made every single one of their shots at the charity stripe. On Dec. 13 against Western Oregon, PSU made 21 of 22 for a 95.4 percentage. The Vikings have three players ranked amongst the top four in the league free throw percentage rankings: 1st-Courtney VanBrocklin (92.5%), 2nd-Eryn Jones (89.3%), 4th-Kate Lanz (83.9%).  

MORE ON THE FREE THROWS: Courtney VanBrocklin became the 10th player in PSU history to go perfect at the line with a minimum of 10 attempts when she made all 10 against UC Davis on Dec. 19. VanBrocklin, who has made 18 straight, has missed just one over the past six games and only four on the season (49-53).

WINNING THE TURNOVER BATTLE: Portland State has won the turnover battle in eight of 11 games this season and has a +3.6 turnover margin, good for second best in the Big Sky. They have forced 20 or more turnovers five times, and the 26 turnovers committed by Nevada and 29 by Western Oregon account for two of the five highest totals by a PSU opponent in the Sherri Murrell era. The most by a PSU opponent over the past four-plus seasons is 31 by Lewis & Clark on Nov. 23, 2010. On Dc. 21, 2009 L&C had 30 turnovers, and on Dec. 20, 2007, Hawai`i committed 27 turnovers.

SEEING DOUBLE: The Vikings finally had a player record a double-double when both Kate Lanz and Courtney VanBrocklin did so at Loyola Marymount on Dec. 10. VanBrocklin almost had one in the first half with nine points and eight boards, while Lanz tallied one in the second half alone with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Lanz ended up with 18 points and a career-high 11 rebounds, while VanBrocklin had 13 points and matched her career-high with 12 boards. It was her third career double-double. In Hawai`i, Lanz recorded two more double-doubles, against UC Davis and Denver, while Shauneice Samms registered the third of her career against Denver.

DOMINANT AT THE STOTT CENTER: Over the past four-plus seasons under Sherri Murrell, the Vikings have posted a 54-9 overall record (.857) and 28-4 Big Sky mark (.875) inside the Stott Center. Even more impressive, Portland State has won by an average of 13.5 points at home overall and by 13.9 points in conference games. The Vikings have won 34 contests by a double-digit margin, including 14 victories by at least 20 points. This year, PSU is 4-0 at home and winning by an average of 11.3 points.

PSU IN THE NATIONAL STATISTICAL RANKINGS: Three PSU players – Eryn Jones, Kate Lanz and Courtney VanBrocklin – are ranked in the top 100 in the NCAA in different statistical categories (as of Dec. 18), while the Vikings as a team rank in the top 100 of nine categories. Jones is ranked 10th in 3-point FGs made per game (3.1), 67th in 3-point FG percentage (38.4) and 63rd in assists (4.6), VanBrocklin is 22nd in FT percentage (90.2), and Lanz is 18th in FT percentage (90.5), 42nd in FG percentage (53.8) and 60th in scoring (17.6 ppg).  As a team, PSU is sixth in 3-point FG defense (21.6%) and FT percentage (79.4), 23rd in fewest turnovers per game (14.3), 28th in assist/turnover ratio (0.99), 31st in turnover margin (+5.67), 41st in 3-point FG percentage (35.0), 65th in scoring offense (70.3 ppg), 75th in 3-pointers made per game (6.2) and 87th in assists per game (14.2).

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. Since the Oregon game, Lanz has started eight straight and has led PSU in scoring six times. She has posted three double-doubles over the past five contests and leads the team in scoring, rebounding and field goal percentage.

LOTS OF BOARDS: Kate Lanz had 15 rebounds on Dec. 19 against UC Davis, the most by a PSU player since Feb. 21, 2004, when Sarah Hedgepeth tallied 17. Over the past five games, Lanz is averaging 9.8 rebounds and has tallied at least 10 in three games.

A SECOND HALF MONSTER: Kate Lanz has been a monster during the second half of games this season, scoring double-figures in that period seven times. She is averaging 11.8 points over the final 20 minutes and in Hawai'i, Lanz averaged 9.3 points and 6.3 rebounds in the second period over three contests.

THE BIG THREE: With the addition of Kate Lanz to the lineup, the Vikings have found a trio of players to rely on. Lanz, Eryn Jones and Courtney VanBrocklin are accounting for 62.4 percent of the team's offense, while shooting 89.3 percent (100-112) at the line. They have also made 80.3 percent of the team's 3-pointers and 62.1 percent of the team's free throws. The three also rank amongst the top seven in the league in scoring as Lanz is second, VanBrocklin is fifth and Jones is seventh.

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.

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 3.0 three-pointers made per game and shooting 39.3% from behind the arc to rank third.

MOVING ON UP IN THE RECORD BOOK: Eryn Jones moved into the PSU career top 10 for assists against Hawai`i on Dec. 18 and with 319 now she is tied for ninth. On Dec. 20, against Denver, Jones moved into a tie for third in 3-pointers made with 183 and needs just two more to move into a tie for second. The all-time record is 256, set by Michele Hughes from 1987-91. She continues to ranks fourth in 3-pointers attempted with 451, trailing Karrin Wilson, who is in third place with 537 attempted from 1996-2000. Her 40.6 career pecentage from behind the arc continues to rank as the third best mark. Finally, she needs four more 10-point games to break into the top 10 in that category.

MAKING THE MOST OF AN OPPORTUNITY: Sophomore Keaton McFadden earned the first start of her career against Nevada on Dec. 3, and responded with career-highs of eight points and five boards. McFadden's eight points were almost as many as she scored (10) in her first 13 appearances. She has seen her role steadily increase the past few weeks. After not playing in the first two games, McFadden has seen action in the past eight and started six straight games. PSU is 5-1 with McFadden in the starting lineup and she is averaging 3.3 ppg and 5.2 rpg over that span.

STEPPING UP: Junior guard Karley Lampman has stepped up this season to become a major contributor. After starting just four games over her first two seasons, Lampman has started all 11 this year and is posting career highs in scoring (9.9 ppg) and rebounding (4.4 rpg). She already has five double-digit scoring performances this year after recording two during her first two seasons. She scored 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.

INSTANT IMPACT: In each othe past two seasons, a transfer has had an instant impact on the Vikings program. Last year, Courtney VanBrocklin and Shauneice Samms both played major roles, and this year it is Kate Lanz. Samms and VanBrocklin combined for 48 starts last season and averaged 10.3 points and five rebounds. VanBrocklin led PSU in scoring nine times and in rebounding eight times, while Samms led the team in blocks 13 times and in rebounding five times. This season, Lanz leads all players in scoring, rebounding and field goal percentage, and has led the Vikings in scoring in six of the nine games she has appeared in.