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Portland State (5-1) vs. Gonzaga University (7-2)
Friday, December 7, 2012, • 7:30 p.m. • Peter W. Stott Center (1,500) • Portland, OR

Gonzaga: 7-2 • Home: 3-1 • Away 2-0 • Neutral 2-1
Portland State: 5-1 • Home: 3-0 • Away 1-0 •Neutral 1-1

Live Video/Audio: BigSkyTV.org
    Play-by-Play: Teri Mariani
Live Stats: http://vikslive.statb.us
All-Time Series: Gonzaga leads 11-6
    at PSU: Portland State Leads 4-3
Most Recent Meeting (11/27/11): Gonzaga 99, Portland State 69

OPENING TIP
The Portland State (5-1 overall) women's basketball team is home again this Friday night when it takes on Gonzaga University (7-2) at the Peter W. Stott Center. The Vikings and Bulldogs are slated to tipoff at 7:30 p.m. with Teri Mariani calling the action on Big Sky TV (BigSkyTV.org).

Senior guard Courtney VanBrocklin led all scorers with 20 points, going 5-for-9 from the field and 8-of-9 from the free-throw line. She added four rebounds and a career-high seven assists in the Vikings' 64-49 win over crosstown rival Portland last Sunday. The Vikings led wire-to-wire with sophomore forward Mikaela Rivard knocking down a three-pointer to give them the early 3-0 lead. Portland State's forwards dominated early, scoring four of its first five field goals. Rivard started 2-for-4 while Allie Brock started the game 2-for-3. Rivard finished the game with 11 points while Brock added a season-high 13 points in the game.

THE COACHES: Portland State Head Coach Sherri Murrell has a 103-61 overall record in her six seasons at Portland State. Murrell has a 50-34 record against non-conference opponents. She picked up her 250th career victory with a win over the University of Portland Sunday afternoon. Gonzaga Head Coach Kelly Graves is in his 13th season and is 262-226 with the Bulldogs.

THE SERIES: Gonzaga leads the all-time series 11-6 dating back to the 1986-87 season. Portland State took two of the three meetings that season. The Vikings hold a slim 4-3 lead in the series at home. Gonzaga has won the last three meetings including a 30-point win (99-69) in the last meeting on Nov. 27 last season. The last Portland State win came at home, 75-72, on Nov. 25, 2007.

THE BULLDOGS: The Bulldogs are currently 7-2 on the season after dropping two of their last four games to Louisville and Stanford. They started the season with a five-game winning steak which included wins over UC Riverside, USC, and Wisconsin. Gonzaga defeated Eastern Washington Tuesday night in Spokane, Wash. 65-50. The Bulldogs now head to Portland to face the Vikings Friday. They are shooting .403 as a team from the field and .360 from behind the arc. The Bulldogs average 35.2 rebounds per game.

Haiden Palmer leads the team in scoring with 11.8 points per game. Keani Albanez is averaging 9.3 points off the bench and shoots a team-high .492 from the field and .833 from the free-throw line. Shelby Cheslek is the team's top rebounder (4.9 rpg) off the bench. Gonzaga has had the same five players start the first eight games of the season. Chelslek is also the team's top blocker with 15 blocks on the season.

COMING UP: Following Friday's game, the Vikings hit the road for a matchup with Seattle University on Sunday, Dec. 9. The game is scheduled for a 1 p.m. tipoff and will be the final game for the Vikings before heading into Big Sky Conference play. The Vikings and Pilots play one more non-conference game this season on Dec. 29.

RECENT GAME: Vikings Sink Pilots on Portlandia Day
PORTLAND – The Portland State (5-1 overall) women's basketball team took care of cross town rival University of Portland (1-7), 64-49, Sunday afternoon at the Peter W. Stott Center in front of a season high crowd on Portlandia Day.

Senior guard Courtney VanBrocklin led all scorers with 20 points, going 5-for-9 from the field and 8-of-9 from the free-throw line. She added four rebounds and a career-high seven assists.

The Vikings led wire-to-wire with sophomore forward Mikaela Rivard knocking down a three-pointer to give them the early 3-0 lead. Portland State's forwards dominated early, scoring four of its first five field goals. Rivard started 2-for-4 while Allie Brock started the game 2-for-3. Rivard finished the game with 11 points while Brock added a season-high 13 points in the game.

“Thirteen points from Brock and 11 from Rivard is awesome,” Head Coach Sherri Murrell said following the win. “We haven't seen a lot of that so they really picked it up. We did a pretty good job rebounding, it was a tough night to play, give a lot of credit to Portland's post players they worked really hard.”

With a one-point lead at 7-6, the Vikings opened up the game with a 13-2 run over the next 6:23 to take a 20-8 lead with 7:37 left in the first half. Portland State held its double-digit advantage and led 27-17 at the half.

Neither team shot particularly well in the first half. The Vikings shot .393 (11-28 FG) while the Pilots shot .250 (7-28 FG). Portland State shot over 48 percent in the second half and finished the game with a season-high 43.6 (22-55 FG) field goal percentage.

The Vikings were up by 10 points with 8:52 left in the game before going on a 10-0 run to increase their lead to a game-high 20-points at 55-35, capped by a Karley Lampman jumper. Lampman scored seven points with three rebounds and three assists in the game.

Portland cut the lead to 11-points at 58-47, but that was the closest it would get. Brock hit a jumper on a pass from Kate Lanz with 20 seconds left to give the Vikings their final margin of victory at 64-49. Lanz ended the day with seven points (2-8 FG), three assists, two blocks, and a team-high nine rebounds.

“We did enough of the right things today,” Murrell said. “I thought Allie Brock did a nice job in the second half especially defensively. Its good to know we can rely on her if we need to go to her down the line.”

The Vikings move to 5-1 to start the season for the first time since 2007-08, Murrell's first season on the Park Blocks. The Vikings won the first five games that season, going 9-1 over their first 10.

“What I really like is that no matter what the game was like, we held Portland to 49 points. If we play defense the way we have been, we're going to be a very successful team.”

The Vikings are back at the Stott Center this Friday, Dec. 7 when they host Gonzaga University with tipoff slated for 7:30 p.m.

NOTES: Portland State starters were Allison Greene, Kate Lanz, Courtney VanBrocklin, Mikaela Rivard, and Allie Brock for the first time this season … Sunday was the first of two meetings between the Vikings and Pilots this season … season-high home attendance of 751 … freshman Maddie Black scored her first career points at Portland State … Mikaela Rivard tallied as season-high eight rebounds … Portland State shot a season-high .436 from the field.

NEWS & NOTES
STARTING THE RIGHT WAY: The Vikings are 5-1 to start the season for the first time since the 2007-08 season, Head Coach Sherri Murrell's first season on the Park Blocks. The Vikings finished that season 22-9 overall for their first 20-win season since moving to the Division I level for the 1996-97 season. They made it to the Big Sky Tournament final before losing to Montana.

VANBROCKLIN SHOOTING: Senior G Courtney VanBrocklin is eighth in the Big Sky in field goal percentage after shooting .508 (31-for-61) over the Vikings' first six games of the season. She leads the team, averaging 14.8 points per game, third in the conference. She has shot over .500 in a game three 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.

MISA CRASHING THE GLASS: Junior 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 13.4 rebounds per game this season.

CAREER MILESTONES: Senior G Courtney VanBrocklin is 112 points shy of becoming the 16th Viking to reach the 1,000-point mark. She is currently averaging 14.8 points per game. Junior G Kate Lanz is 22 points shy of the 500-point mark. Junior F Allie Brock is six shy of 200 rebounds for her career, 1t 194. 

QUICK TO 500: Senior G Courtney VanBrocklin became the fourth fastest player in PSU history to reach 500 career points last year against Nevada on Dec. 3, 2011. Junior G Kate Lanz can reach the 500-point mark in even fewer games. Lanz is is 22 points shy with 478 career points through 33 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 Senior G Courtney VanBrocklin reaches the 1,000-point mark for her career at Portland State, she would become the fifth player in 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) - 888

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 five-plus seasons at Portland State. The Vikings have posted a 62-14 overall record (.816) 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 3-0 at home.

WINNING THE TURNOVER BATTLE: One of the keys to the Vikings' success so far this season is that they have been able to win the turnover battle. Portland State has a plus-2.2 turnover margin this season. The Vikings are forcing an average of 18.2 turnovers this season.

KEYS TO A VICTORY: Another 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 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, senior guard 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: Senior G Courtney VanBroklin and junior 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 - She 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.
• 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.

BIG SKY PLAYER OF THE WEEK
POTW FOR VANBROCKLIN: Senior guard 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.