Complete game notes (PDF)

UP NEXT: Portland State (11-6, 3-2 Big Sky) hosts Eastern Washington (10-9, 3-2 Big Sky) on Saturday at 2 p.m., in a battle of fourth-place teams in the Big Sky Conference.

GAME NO. 18
vs. Eastern Washington (10-9, 3-2 Big Sky)
Saturday, Jan. 21  •  2 p.m.
Portland, OR  •  Stott Center

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

SERIES INFORMATION
All-Time: EWU leads 28-24
Big Sky: PSU leads 17-13
At PSU: PSU leads 15-9
At PSU Big Sky: PSU leads 11-3
Streak: PSU 2
Last PSU Win: PSU 73, EWU 62; 3/11/11 @ PSU (Big Sky Tourney)
Last EWU Win: EWU 70, PSU 62; 1/8/11 @ EWU

PORTLAND STATE vs. EASTERN WASHINGTON STORYLINES
• The Vikings have won two straight against Eastern Washington and nine of the past 12.
• Last year they split the series, with the home team winning each time, before the Vikings earned a 73-62 victory in the semis of the Big Sky tournament.
• PSU has won seven in a row at the Stott over the Eagles, including last year's conference tournament victory. Eastern Washington's last win in Portland came during the 2004-05 season.
• The home team has been victorious in the series in each of the past two seasons.
• Sherri Murrell is 7-2 against EWU, including 5-0 at home. In 16 years as a head coach she has a 9-5 record against the Eagles.
• The league's top two scorers will face off as Eastern's Brianne Ryan leads the Big Sky, averaging 18.7 ppg, and PSU's Kate Lanz is second, averaging 18.5 ppg. They are 34th and 36th nationally in scoring, respectively.
• The Vikings Eryn Jones and Ryan both rank in the top 100 in 3-point FGs made per game and 3-point FG pct. Jones is 19th (2.8) and 33rd (39.8%), while Ryan is 40th (2.5) and 88th (33.6%).
• Both teams rank amongst the national leaders in turnover margin and assist/turnover ratio. Portland State is 43rd (+3.84) in turnover margin and 67th in assist/turnover ratio (+0.88), while Eastern Washington is 68th (+2.63) and 55th (+0.9), respectively.
• Portland State is 6-1 at home this season, including 1-1 in Big Sky games. Eastern Washington is 3-4 on the road, but has won both of its league road contests.

HOW TO FOLLOW THE VIKINGS THIS WEEK: Saturday's game will shown 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.

BACK TO THEIR WINNING WAYS: Even with their loss at Idaho State on Monday, the Vikings head into Saturday's game having won nine of their last 12 games. During that span three times they had three-game winning streaks. Each winning streak has been followed by a single loss, so the Vikings will hope to begin another one on Saturday against Eastern Washington.

MAKING THEIR FREE THROWS: The Vikings have made huge strides in their free throw shooting this season and rank fourth in the country, hitting at a 80.7 percent clip. PSU leads the conference in that category by a large margin as Idaho State is second with a 72.6 percentage. Courtney VanBrocklin (92.8%) and Kate Lanz ( 86.7%) have been the biggest reasons behind the high ranking as they are third and 26th nationally, respectively. Also, Eryn Jones is shooting 89.2% at the line, but doesn't have enough attempts to qualify for the rankings. Nine times this year the Vikings have shot 80 percent or better and only twice have they shot less than 70 percent. Their shooting at the charity stripe is much improved from the past two years when they ranked 217th (67.2%) in 2009-10 and 105th (71.1%) last season.

WINNING THE TURNOVER BATTLE: Portland State has won the turnover battle in 12 of 17 games this season and has a +2.5 turnover margin, good for third best in the Big Sky and 68th nationally. They have forced 20 or more turnovers six 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 Dec. 21, 2009 L&C had 30 turnovers, and on Dec. 20, 2007, Hawai`i committed 27 turnovers.

STELLAR “D” BEHIND THE ARC: Four times this season the Vikings have held an opposing team to below 10 percent shooting from 3-point range, doing so against Portland, Gonzaga, LMU and Corban. Those four squads have combined for a .063 mark, going 3 of 48. On the year, opponents are shooting just 25.5%, which leads the league and ranks them 10th nationally.

INSIDE THE RPI: The Vikings jumped up 19 spots to 131st and are now second amongst Big Sky Conference teams in the NCAA RPI rankings that were released on Jan. 16. Idaho State is the highest ranked team at 68. The other remaining teams are ranked as followed: 141-Northern Colorado, 160-Montana State, 161-Eastern Washington, 209-Montana, 281-Sacramento State, 298-Northern Arizona, 330-Weber State.

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 Jan. 15), while the Vikings as a team rank in the top 100 of 10 categories. Jones is ranked 19th in 3-point FGs made per game (2.8) and 33rd in 3-point FG percentage (39.8), VanBrocklin is third in FT percentage (92.8), and Lanz is 36th in scoring (18.6 ppg), 26th in FT percentage (86.7), 52nd in FG percentage (50.5) and 84th in rebounding (8.6). As a team, PSU is fourth in FT percentage (80.9), 10th in 3-point FG defense (24.3%), 25th in 3-point FG percentage (36.0), 38th in fewest turnovers per game (15.0), 42nd in scoring offense (72.3 ppg), 55th in assist/turnover ratio (0.9), 68th in turnover margin (+2.63), 72nd in won-lost percentage (68.8), 88th in fewest personal fouls per game (15.4) and 99th in 3-pointers made per game (5.7).

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 14 straight and has led PSU in scoring 10 times. She has posted six double-doubles over the past 11 contests, and leads the team in scoring, rebounding and field goal percentage.

THE BIG FOUR: With the addition of Kate Lanz to the lineup, the Vikings now have four players that are scoring the bulk of the teams' points. Lanz, Eryn Jones, Karley Lampman and Courtney VanBrocklin are accounting for 76.3 percent of the team's offense, while shooting 86.2 percent (168-195) at the line. They have also made 93.9 percent of the team's 3-pointers and 69.1 percent of the team's free throws. Three of them rank amongst the top eight in the league in scoring as Lanz is second, VanBrocklin is fourth and Jones is eighth. Lampman is 21st, making the Vikings the only squad to have four players in the top 21.

JONES CONTINUES TO MOVE UP IN THE RECORD BOOK: Eryn Jones has moved into the PSU career top 10 for assists, 10-point games and games played this season, while also moving up in the record book for 3-pointers made and attempted. Against Hawai`i on Dec. 18, Jones took over the 10th spot in assists and then at Idaho State on Jan. 16 she bumped up to seventh with 345. The game at ISU was the 115th of her career, putting her in a tie with three other players for eighth place. She joined the top 10 for 10-point games with number 59 against Northern Colorado, then moved up to a tie for ninth against Idaho State. On Dec. 31 against Montana State, Jones made three 3-pointers, giving her 186 for her career. That allowed her to take over second place from ex-teammate Claire Faucher (185, 2006-09). The all-time record is 256, set by Michele Hughes from 1987-91. She continues to ranks fourth in 3-pointers attempted with 485, trailing Karrin Wilson, who is in third place with 537 attempted from 1996-2000. Finally, She also moved up from 12th to 11th in scoring after the UNC game. With one more point she will tie Sarah Hedgepth (1,197 points from 2000-04) for 10th.

DAM CUP CLINCHED, BUT COMPETITION CONTINUES

The Portland State Vikings and Eastern Washington Eagles are in the second year of a five-sport rivalry cup called The Dam Cup. The Dam Cup celebrates the friendly rivalry between the states of Oregon and Washington within the Big Sky Conference. Saturday's basketball game will be worth two points in the Dam Cup series. However, Portland State has already won this year's competition with a 9-0 advantage. 

Portland State currently possesses the Dam Trophy having won the inaugural Dam Cup in 2011-12 by a 9-8 score. The winner of the Dam Cup possesses The Dam Trophy acknowledging the achievement for the following year. 

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 purpose of the Dam Cup is to create a rivalry between Portland State University and Eastern Washington University and provide a sense of pride between alumni in the Portland and Spokane areas. Other goals include increasing attendance at events between both schools and building school spirit among each institutions' student body.

The Dam Cup is based on a point system.  Each game played in the five sports between the two schools has a point value. Points are only rewarded for regular season contests. The annual football game is worth four points, the women's soccer match is worth one point, each women's volleyball match is worth two points for a total of four points possible, and each men's and women's basketball game is worth two points for a total of four points possible in each sport, The total points possible are 17 which means that to win the cup a school would need to win at least 9 points. 

The 2011-12 Dam Cup Series

Soccer - Oct. 7 PSU 1 @ Eastern Washington 0 - PSU leads 1-0

Volleyball - Oct. 15 @ PSU 3, Eastern Washington 0 - PSU leads 3-0

Football - Oct. 29 PSU 43, @ EWU 26 - PSU leads 7-0

Volleyball - Nov. 12 PSU 3, @ EWU 0 - PSU leads 9-0

Men's Basketball - Jan. 21 @ EWU, Feb. 25 @ PSU

Women's Basketball - Jan. 21 @ PSU, Feb. 23 @ EWU