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Portland State (5-3) vs. Idaho State (5-3)
Thursday, December 20, 2012, • 6:00 p.m. PT • Reed Gym (3,040) • Pocatello, Idaho

Portland State: 5-3 • Home: 3-1 • Away 1-1 •Neutral 1-1
Idaho State: 5-3 • Home: 3-0 • Away 2-3 • Neutral 0-0

Live Video: BigSkyTV.org
Live Audio: GoViks.com/showcase
    Play-by-Play: Teri Mariani
Live Stats: ISUBengals.com
All-Time Series: ISU Leads 22-23
    at ISU: ISU Leads 5-11
Most Recent Meeting (2/11/12): ISU 70, PSU 59

OPENING TIP
Portland State begins it Big Sky Conference schedule on the road this Thursday and Saturday at Idaho State and Weber State respectively. Both games can be seen live on Big Sky TV (BigSkyTV.org) and heard online at GoViks.com/showcase with Teri Mariani will call the action. The pre-game show starts 15 minutes prior to tipoff.

Thursday's game with Idaho State is the second of four straight road games for the Vikings. The Vikings lost at Seattle to start the four-game road schedule. PSU plays at Idaho State and at Weber State this weekend and will be at crosstown rival University of Portland for its final non-conference game on Dec. 29.

The Vikings are coming off of their longest layoff between games. Thursday will be the 11th day since they played at Seattle.

THE COACHES: Portland State Head Coach Sherri Murrell has a 103-63 overall record in her six seasons at Portland State and is 53-27 in Big Sky play. She is 9-4 all-time against Idaho State and 7-4 while at Portland State. Idaho State's Seton Sobolewski is in his fifth season in Pocatello and is the reigning Big Sky Coach of the Year. He is 73-58 all-time at ISU and is 40-24 in Big Sky contests.

THE SERIES: The Bengals hold a slight 22-23 all-time series lead which dates back 32 years to the 1980-81 season. Idaho State took the first meeting with a double-overtime win 84-82. Portland State then won five of the next six contests from 1982-83 to 1984-85. The Bengals largest winning streak in the series is four, while the Vikings went on a five-game winning streak from 2008-10. ISU has won the last three meetings with a season sweep last year.

THE BENGALS: Idaho State went 24-8 overall and 14-2 in the Big Sky and claimed both the regular season and conference tournament title and represented the Big Sky in the NCAA tournament. The Bengals were picked first in both the Coaches and Media Polls at the beginning of the season. ISU started the season with back-to-back losses at Kansas State and Kansas but have won five of their last six to start the season 5-3 going into play Thursday. The Bengals are 3-0 at home this season.

Idaho State leads the conference in scoring defense, allowing only 53.8 points per game and holding its last opponent, Carroll College, to just 38 points. The Bengals are third in the league in 3-pt field goal percentage (.319) and average 5.5 three-pointers per game.

The Bengals have three players averaging double-digit points led by Lindsey Reed with 12.3 points per game. She did not play in their last game against Carroll College. Ashleigh Vella averages 10.9 ppg and leads the team with 7.9 rpg. ISU is shooting .371 from the field as a team, while their opponents are shooting .344.

LAST SEASON: Idaho State took both meetings last season starting with a 78-63 win in Pocatello on Jan. 16. Kate Lanz led the team with 17 points on 7-of-14 shooting including a trio of three-pointers. Eryn Jones added 16 points and Courtney VanBrocklin added 11 in the losing effort. Idaho State shot over 53 present from the field in the game. The meeting in Portland was similar as the Bengals took the game 70-59. The Vikings had four players in double-figures led by Lanz's 15 but Idaho State outrebounded the Vikings 41-to-26 and shot nearly 43 percent to complete the season sweep.

COMING UP: Following Thursday's conference opener with Idaho State, the Vikings will take on Weber State on Saturday. Tipoff in Ogden, Utah is slated for 11 a.m. PT.

RECENT GAME: Late Comeback Not Enough as Vikings Fall to Redhawks 72-59

SEATTLE – Senior guard Courtney VanBrocklin scored a team-high 17 points fueling a late Portland State comeback, but it was not enough to wipe out a 13-point halftime deficit and the Vikings fell to the Redhawks 72-59 at the Connolly Center in Seattle, Wash.

Portland State (5-3 overall) was down by as many as 22 points (56-34) with six minutes left in the second half before cutting the lead to just seven (64-57) with 1:21 left in the game. That was the closest the Vikings would get, however, as the Redhawks finished the game 6-for-6 from the free-throw line to secure the win.

VanBrocklin led the Vikings in scoring for the fifth time this season with her 17 points with 6-of-10 from the field including a trio of three pointers late. She also had a team-high four steals in the game and three rebounds.

“The last six minutes of the second half we showed that we do have some fight and resiliency in us,” Head Coach Sherri Murell said following the game. “I can't say enough about Courtney VanBrocklin. She is a leader both on and off the court. It was a great performance by her tonight.”

Junior guard Kate Lanz was the only other Viking in double-figures with 11 points (5-11 FG). Sophomore forward Mikaela Rivard pulled down a career-high 10 rebounds to lead the Vikings on the glass.

Neither team shot particularly well in the first half as the game was tied at 11-11 with 10:05 left in the first. Seattle (3-4) went on a 9-2 run to open a seven-point lead with less than five minutes to play in the half.

A Seattle three-pointer with two seconds left gave the Redhawks a 32-19 lead at the break. Seattle outshot the Vikings .357-to-.286 in the first half and held a 25-to-16 rebounding advantage.

Seattle opened the second half on a 14-4 run to open a 25-point lead, their largest of the day, with 14 minutes remaining in the game.

Down by 22 points with six minutes left, the Vikings started to whittle away at the Redhawks lead. VanBrocklin hit a three-pointer, followed by a Lanz layup to cut the lead to 17. VanBrocklin then hit another three followed by one from Lanz and quickly the Redhawks' lead was down to 11 at 56-45 with 3:54 left in the game.

The Redhawks rebuilt a 13-point lead with 2:21 left before the Vikings started to cut it down again, capped off by a Rivard layup with 1:21 left that cut the lead to seven. That proved be the closest they would get.

The Vikings started to foul, forcing Seattle to win it from the free-throw line.  The Redhawks went 6-for-6 from the line down the stretch to win 72-59.

The Vikings' shooting improved in the second half as they shot 45.5 percent from the field including five three-pointers; the 13-point first half deficit was just too much to overcome.
Seattle's Ashley Ward finished with a game-high 23 points. Kacie Sowell recorded her fifth double-double of the season, third in a row, with 17 points and 11 rebounds.

NOTES: Courtney VanBrocklin led the team in scoring for the fifth time this season with 17 points … Mikaela Rivard recorded a career-high 10 rebounds … Portland State outscored Seattle in bench scoring 18-4.

NEWS & NOTES
PSU VS. THE BIG SKY: The Vikings are 120-126 all-time in Big Sky play and 162-181 all-time against the current members of the Big Sky. PSU's best conference finish was the 2010-11 season when it finished tied for first. The Vikings have won the conference tournament once following the 2009-10 season when they finished the season tied for fifth and entered the tournament as the fifth seed.

CONFERENCE OPENERS: Portland State is 7-9 in conference openers since joining the Big Sky for the 1996-97 season. The Vikings won three of their first four conference openers but then won just one over the next seven seasons. Head Coach Sherri Murrell is 3-2 in Big Sky openers winning her first three. The Vikings have dropped their last two openers to Eastern Washington and Montana State respectively. It will be the first time the Vikings and Bengals have faced off in a conference opener. The most common opener opponent for the Vikings is Sacramento State. The Vikings are 4-1 against the Hornets in conference openers.

PICKING UP THE D: The Vikings have turned into one of the better defensive teams in the conference this season. Portland State is giving up just 59.1 ppg, fourth best in the league. Their opponents are shooting just .240 from beyond the arc and have made just 24 three-pointers on the season. The Vikings are also crashing the glass on the defensive end and lead the conference with 28.9 defensive rebounds per game. JR F Angela Misa leads the conference with 8.1 defensive rebounds per game.

VANBROCKLIN SHOOTING: SR G Courtney VanBrocklin is shooting .513 (41-for-80) to lead the Vikings through the first eight games of the season. She leads the team, averaging 14.5 points per game. She has shot over .500 in a game four times this season. She went 10-for-19 (.526) tying her career-high 26 points before going 7-for-9 (.778) against Corban, scoring 17 points. She then went 5-for-9 (.556) for 20 points against Portland and 6-for-10 (.600) at Seattle University. 

MISA CRASHING THE GLASS: JR F Angela Misa pulled down a career-high 21 boards against Butler (11/24) at the Saint Mary's Hilton Concord Thanksgiving Classic. Her 21 rebounds were two shy of the Portland State record of 23 set by Linda McLellan against San Jose State in 1980. It was the first time a Viking recorded 20-plus rebounds since McLellan recorded 20 against Montana State in 1981. Misa is averaging 11.0 rebounds per game this season.

CAREER MILESTONES: SR G Courtney VanBrocklin is 85 points shy of becoming the 16th Viking to reach the 1,000-point mark. She is currently averaging 14.5 points per game. JR G Kate Lanz is nine points shy of the 500-point mark. JR F Allie surpassed the 200 rebound mark with six rebounds at Seattle (12/9). 

QUICK TO 500: SR G Courtney VanBrocklin became the fourth fastest player in PSU history to reach 500 career points last year against Nevada on Dec. 3, 2011 in just 37 games. JR G Kate Lanz can reach the 500-point mark in even fewer games. Lanz is nine points shy with 491 career points through 34 games.

Player (Years) - No. of Games 
Kelsey Kahle (2005-09) - 29 Games
Sheri Stemple (1991-92) - 30 Games
Laurie Northrop (1988-92) - 35 Games
Courtney VanBrocklin (2010-Pres.) - 37 Games

FIVE STRAIGHT 1,000-POINT SCORERS: If SR G Courtney VanBrocklin reaches the 1,000-point mark for her career at Portland State; she would become the fifth player in the last five years to finish their career with over 1,000 points.

Player (Years) - Career Points
Kelsey Kahle - (2005-09) 2,049
Claire Fauche - (2006-10) 1,399
Kelli Valentine - (2007-11) 1,298
Eryn Jones (2008-12) - 1,350
Courtney VanBrocklin (2010-13) - 915

VIKINGS IN THE RANKINGS: SR G Courtney VanBrocklin is tied for fourth in the Big Sky with 14.5 ppg while JR F Angela Misa is second in rebounding with 11.0 rpg. VanBrocklin is also fourth in field goal percentage (.513), fourth in free-throw percentage (.846), and first in the league in three-point shooting (.500). Junior G Kate Lanz leads the conference in free-throw shooting at .909.

DOMINANT AT THE STOTT CENTER: The Vikings continue to dominate the competition at the Peter W. Stott Center under Head Coach Sherri Murrell in her six seasons at Portland State. The Vikings have posted a 62-15 overall record (.805) and 32-8 Big Sky mark (.800) inside the Stott Center. The Vikings have won 39 contests by double-digits, including 16 victories by at least 20 points. This year, PSU is 3-1 at home.

KEYS TO A VICTORY: A key to victory for the Vikings since 2005-06 has been winning the shooting percentage battle. Over the past six-plus seasons, Portland State is 89-11 (.890) when outshooting its opponent, including 77-8 (.906) under Head Coach Sherri Murrell. PSU went 11-3 in 2009-10, 17-1 in 2008-09 and 17-2 in 2007-08. In 2010-11 they went 17-1, with the lone loss coming in the Big Sky tourney title game against Montana. The Vikings outshot the Lady Griz, .382-to-.375, but fell 62-58. PSU was 12-0 last season and is 3-1 this season.

BUZZER BEATER: At Oregon, SR G Courtney VanBrocklin laid it in as time expired giving the Vikings an 87-85 double-overtime victory over the Ducks (11/15). The final bucket matched her career high in points with 26. She had previously hit the 26-point mark almost a year ago to the day against UC Irvine (11/11/11)

DOUBLE-DOUBLES: SR G Courtney VanBroklin and JR G Kate Lanz each recorded their first double-doubles of the 2012-13 season against Oregon (11/15). VanBrocklin tied her career high with 26 points while leading the team in rebounds with 11. Lanz scored 17 points in her first start of the season and pulled down 10 boards. Lanz also led the team with six assists in the game.

GOING BACK A WAYS: The Vikings 87-85 victory in double-overtime last week in Eugene, was just the first time since January of 1985 that the Vikings have defeated the Ducks. That game also went into overtime. Remarkably the Vikings last four wins over the Ducks dating back to 1977 have all come in overtime. PSU is 19-8 all-time in over time games and 9-7 at the Division I level.

NO. 100 FOR MURRELL: Vikings' Head Coach Sherri Murrell reached the 100-win mark at Portland State with the 87-85 double-overtime win over Oregon on Nov. 15. For Murrell it is just one more milestone reached while at the helm for Portland State.

MILESTONES FOR MURRELL: Sixth-year Head Coach Sherri Murrell has reached several coaching milestones over the past couple of seasons:
- Dec. 2, 2012 – Won her 250th career game with a 64-49 win over Portland. 
- Nov. 15, 2012 – Won her 100th game at Portland State at Oregon 87-85 in double overtime.
- Feb. 23, 2012 – Won her 100th league game at the Division I level with a 76-69 win over Eastern Washington.
- Feb. 2, 2012 - Earned her 50th Big Sky victory when PSU defeated Weber State, 76-63.
- Jan. 12, 2012 – Coached her 400th NCAA Division I game, 485th overall, against Northern Colorado.

INSTANT IMPACT: In each of the past three seasons, a transfer player has had an instant impact on the Vikings program. Two years ago, Courtney VanBrocklin and Shauneice Samms both played major roles. Last year it was Kate Lanz, and Angela Misa is poised to do the same this year. Samms and VanBrocklin combined for 48 starts, 10.3 points and 5.0 rebounds two years ago. 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. Lanz led all players in scoring, rebounding and double-doubles, and led the Vikings in scoring in 14 of the 27 games she appeared in last season. Both VanBrocklin and Lanz earned Big Sky Top Newcomer honors their first year with the Vikings. 

PSU SIGNS THREE TO NLIs: Portland State women's basketball coach Sherri Murrell has announced the signing of three players to National Letters of Intent for the 2013-14 season. The 2013-14 recruiting class consists of Lauren Holt (San Jose, Calif./Leigh HS), Jackie Lanz (Vancouver, Wash./St. Mary's Academy), and Yaremi Mejia (Medford, Ore./South Medford).
• Holt, a 5-11 guard out of San Jose attends Leigh High School and as a junior last season was an All-Central Coast second team selection. She was voted team MVP after leading the team in scoring with 16.5 ppg, in rebounding (11.2 rpg), and in assists (2.5 apg).
• Lanz, a 5-8 guard from Vancouver, Wash. played at Prairie High School for her first three years and last year led the team to a 27-1 record and a Washington State 3A Championship. She was named to the State All-Tournament first team. Prairie had made it to the championship game in each of the previous two seasons and finished as runner up. After a coaching change at Prairie HS, Lanz decided to transfer and play her senior season at Portland's St. Mary's Academy. Lanz is the younger sister of current Viking Kate Lanz.
• Mejia is a 5-7 point guard out of South Medford High School. She led her team to a 30-0 record and the OSAA 6A Championship last season. Mejia was named the Player of the Game after leading the team with 16 points. She was also an All-State second team selection.

POTW FOR VANBROCKLIN: SR G Courtney VanBrocklin was named the Big Sky Conference's Women's Basketball Player of the Week for Nov. 13-19. The award is the first for VanBrocklin and the Vikings this season, and the second of her career. VanBrocklin scored the final two points for the Vikings to defeat the Oregon Ducks 87-85 as time expired in double-overtime last week. Her final bucket tied her career high in points with 26. She also recorded a team-best 11 rebounds for her first double-double of the 2012-13 season, while adding three assists and three steals. She scored her 26 points on 10-of-19 shooting and was a perfect 5-for-5 from the line. Her 10 field goals made was also a career best.