Complete game notes (PDF)

THIS WEEK: Riding a two-game winning streak, Portland State (13-9, 5-5 Big Sky) plays a pair of home games this week, starting with a 7 p.m. non-conference contest against Seattle (13-9) on Thursday. The Vikings then host first-place Idaho State (17-6, 9-1 Big Sky) on Saturday at 2 p.m.

SPECIAL EVENTS THIS WEEK: The PSU Athletics Department and the women's basketball team have two special events planned for this week's games. During Thursday's pre-game warmups the team will wear purple shirts in an effort to promote awareness about Alzheimer's disease and in a show of support for Tennessee coach Pat Summitt, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer's last year. On Saturday, the Vikings will host their annual “Pink Zone Game” in support of the fight against breast cancer. Put on by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association, women's basketball teams across the country are challenged to dedicate one game between Feb. 11-20 to raise breast cancer awareness and funds for the Kay Yow Cancer Fund. Fans are encouraged to wear purple to Thursday's game and pink on Saturday.

GAME NO. 23
vs. Seattle (13-9)
Thursday, Feb. 9  •  7 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: PSU leads 4-3
At PSU: PSU leads 3-1
Streak: PSU 4
Last PSU Win: PSU 86, SU 75; 12/5/08 @ PSU
Last SU Win: SU 70, PSU 59; 1979-80 @ SU

PORTLAND STATE vs. SEATTLE STORYLINES
• Portland State and Seattle meet up for the first time since Dec. 5, 2008, when the Vikings earned a 86-75 victory at the Stott Center.
• This will be just the second meeting since 1990.
• PSU has won each of the last four meetings, including three straight in Portland. The teams have not played in Seattle since Jan. 7, 1986.
• The Vikings' last two victories in the series have come by an average of 19 points.
• Portland State is 8-2 at home this season and has won two straight at the Stott Center. Seattle is 4-4 on the road, but has won its past two road outings.
• Both teams are receiving major contributions from transfers who once played at Oregon State together. The Vikings' Kate Lanz, who spent one season at OSU, leads the team in scoring and rebounding. Seattle's assists leader and second-leading scorer is Talisa Rhea, who played in Corvallis from 2007-10. Both players left Oregon State following the 2009-10 season, then sat out last year due to NCAA transfer rules.
• Vikings senior forward Shauneice Samms and Seattle junior point guard Daidra Brown played together at the College of Southern Idaho during the 2009-10 season.
• Seattle doesn't qualify for the NCAA statistical rankings because they are reclassifying to Division I. But if they did, they would rank 25th nationally in assists per game (16.2). PSU is 89th, averaging 13.7.
• The teams have four common opponents ... both squads defeated UC Santa Barbara and UC Irvine ... PSU defeated UC Davis, while the Redhawks lost to the Aggies ... Seattle beat Portland, while the Vikings lost to their cross-town rivals.

GAME NO. 24
vs. Idaho State (17-6, 9-1 Big Sky)
Saturday, Feb. 11  •  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: Tied 22-22
Big Sky: ISU leads 17-14
At PSU: PSU leads 14-6
At PSU Big Sky: PSU leads 9-6
Streak: ISU 2
Last PSU Win: PSU 89, ISU 79; 1/17/11 @ PSU
Last ISU Win: ISU 78, PSU 63; 1/16/12 @ ISU

PORTLAND STATE vs. IDAHO STATE STORYLINES
• Idaho State won the first matchup this year, 78-63, in Pocatello. The Bengals never trailed and used a 15-point run before halftime to take control. PSU saw a three-game win streak come to an end. The 15-point victory was Idaho State's largest over PSU since a 17-point win on Feb. 17, 2004.
• The teams split the season series last year with the home team winning each time. In Portland, the Vikings earned a 89-79 decision behind the torrid shooting of Eryn Jones. The then-junior tied a 22-year old school record by going 6-for-6 from behind the arc, finishing with 21 points. Allie Brock led PSU with 22 and Courtney VanBrocklin scored 20, giving Portland State three players over 20 points for the first time in school history. Kaela Oakes paced Idaho State with 28 points, making five of her seven 3-point attempts.
• The Vikings are 7-2 against Idaho State, and 4-0 at home, under Sherri Murrell, including 6-2 in the regular season.
• PSU has won the past five meetings at the Stott Center. The past four victories have all been by double-digits, including a 97-57 win on Jan. 12, 2008, that still remains the Vikings' largest margin of victory over a league opponent.
• At 9-1, the Bengals are off to their best start in Big Sky play since the 2000-01 team went 16-0. Portland State's 5-5 record is their worst since the 2006-07 team had the same record through 10 games.
• Portland State is 8-2 at home, 3-2 at home in league play. Idaho State is 6-3 on the road, but a perfect 5-0 in Big Sky road games.
• The teams rank 1-2 in the Big Sky in free-throw percentage. PSU leads the league and ranks third nationally at 81%, while Idaho State is second in the Big Sky and 51st in the country at 72.6%.
• Both teams also rank in the top 75 in 3-point field goal defense. The Vikings are 57th (27.7%) and Idaho State is 74th (28.1%).

HOW TO FOLLOW THE VIKINGS THIS WEEK: Both games this week will be 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.

UNUSUAL OPPONENT IN FEBRUARY: Thursday's game against Seattle will mark the first time in almost 10 years that the Vikings have played a non-conference game this late in a season. The last time they played a non-Big Sky opponent this late was on Feb. 13, 2002, when they traveled to Cal Poly and lost 69-52.

JUST WHAT THE DOCTOR ORDERED: After several weeks of subpar play, and a four-game losing streak, the Vikings got a pair of much-needed victories last week. On Thursday against Weber State they shot better than 50 percent for much of the evening and played a full 40 minutes for the first time in several games. It all added up to their first victory since Jan. 12. Head Coach Sherri Murrell called it a “confidence-boosting victory.” Portland State opened the game by making seven of its first eight field goal attempts and led the entire way. Four of their starters – Eryn Jones, Karley Lampman, Kate Lanz and Courtney VanBrocklin – reached double-digits in scoring and combined to shoot 58.8% from the field. PSU ended the night shooting 49.1%, its third-best mark of the year. They also played aggressive defense, limiting the Wildcats to 38.9% shooting, and outrebounded WSU, 40-30, including 23-10 in the first half.  On Saturday, PSU downed Northern Arizona behind a season-high 55.4% shooting. After leading by two at the break, the Vikings used a 22-9 run over the first seven-plus minutes of the second half to put the Lumberjacks away.

COMING HOME: The game against Weber State on Feb. 2 kicked off a four-game homestand for the Vikings. They won the first two and now play host to Seattle on Feb. 9 in a non-conference tilt, and first-place Idaho State on Feb. 11. The Vikings returned home just when they needed to the most. During their four-game losing streak, PSU dropped three road contests. After a stretch of playing five of seven games on the road, the Viks close the season by playing six of nine at home.

WINNING VERSUS LOSING: There are some glaring differences when you compare the Vikings' statistics from games they've won and lost. PSU is shooting 44.5% overall and 40.6% from 3-point range in wins, but just 34.4% overall and 28.9% from behind the arc in their nine losses. They also have a +3.6 rebounding margin in their victories, but a -4.3 margin in their defeats. Finally, they have a +2.0 turnover margin when winning and a -1.6 margin when losing.

WINNING THE BATTLE OF THE BOARDS: A bright spot for the Vikings that past couple of weeks has been their rebounding. They have won the battle of the boards in 10 of their last 13 games, and tied an opponent once during that span. They also have a +5.0 rebounding margin after getting outrebounded by 6.4 boards per game over their first nine contests. Over the last 13 games, Kate Lanz has averaged 8.9 rebounds and Keaton McFadden 6.0.

FINISHING THE JOB: Since the 2005-06 season, Portland State has won 86.8 percent (92-14) of its games when taking a lead into intermission. In 2005-06 they were 6-1, followed by a 9-0 record the next year. In Sherri Murrell's first season, PSU went 21-3, then 21-1 in 2008-09 and 12-4 in 2009-10. They took a 27-25 lead into the break into the 2010-11 season opener at Washington, but eventually fell 51-50, and finished the year 14-3. This year, the Vikings are 9-2.

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 84-10 (.894) when outshooting its opponent, including 72-7 (.911) 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 Viks outshot the Lady Griz, 38.2%-37.5%, but fell 62-58. This season, PSU is 10-0.

HOLD 'EM TO LESS THAN 60: Over the past six-plus seasons PSU has been nearly unbeatable when holding its opponents to under 60 points, going 45-5 (.900) since the 2005-06 season when doing so. Prior to losing to Northern Colorado on Feb. 24, 2010, 56-54, the Viks first three losses in this situation had all been to Oregon State. PSU had won 21 straight when holding the opposition to under 60 until a 58-24 loss at OSU on Dec. 7, 2008. The Vikings did not lose a game from 2005-08 in which they accomplished the defensive feat, going 4-0 in 2005-06, 3-0 in 2006-07 and 7-0 in 2007-08. In 2008-09 they were 9-2 and in 2009-10 they went 9-2. Last year they went 6-1 and this year they are 7-0.

DOMINANT AT THE STOTT CENTER: Over the past four-plus seasons under Sherri Murrell, the Vikings have posted a 58-11 overall record (.841) and 31-6 Big Sky mark (.838) inside the Stott Center. Even more impressive, Portland State has won by an average of 13.8 points at home overall and in conference games. The Vikings have won 37 contests by a double-digit margin, including 15 victories by at least 20 points. This year, PSU is 8-2 at home and winning by an average of 14.4 points.