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Portland State vs. Corban University Saturday, November 22, 2014 • 2:00 p.m. PT • Peter W. Stott Center (1,500) • Portland, OR
Corban University WarriorsRecord/Conference: 3-4/0-0 (NAIA)
Head Coach: Dave Bale (123-75/7th year)
Portland State VikingsRecord/Big Sky: 0-2/0-0
Head Coach:
Sherri Murrell (118-100/8th year)
Live Video Stream: WatchBigSky.comLive Stats: Vikslive.com THE OPENING TIP The Portland State women's basketball looks for its first win of the regular season when the Vikings welcome the Corban University Warriors this Saturday, Nov. 22. Tip at the Peter W. Stott Center is slated for 2 p.m. PT. It will be the second straight home game to start the season for the Vikings. They will play four of their first five games the Stott Center.
The Vikings are 0-2 after dropping their home opener to South Dakota, 86-57, Wednesday night. Portland State once again had three players in double-digits led by SR F
Mikaela Rivard. Rivard posted her third career 20-point performance with 20 points going 7-for-17 from the floor. Sophomore G
Emily Easom scored a season-high 16 points going 6-for-13 from the floor and 4-for-10 from three-point range. Senior G
Lariel Powell added 10 points (5-8 FG) and three assists in the game. Two Vikings led with seven rebounds each.
Corban University is a member of the Cascade Collegiate Conference of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) located in Salem, Ore. It will be the fifth straight season that the two teams have met at the Stott Center. The Warriors are 3-4 this season and are coming off a 69-52 win at Lewis & Clark Wednesday. Portland State defeated Lewis & Clark 74-56 in an exhibition game at the Stott Center on Nov. 8.
Portland State head coach
Sherri Murrell is in her eighth year at Portland State. She is 118-100 overall and 65-55 in Big Sky play while at PSU. She is 265-293 in 19 years as a head coach. Dave Bale is in his seventh season leading the Warriors and has an overall record of 123-75.
THE SERIES: PORTLAND STATE vs. CORBAN•
ALL-TIME SERIES: Portland State leads the all-time series 4-0 with all four games played at the Stott Center. The series dates back to a 96-55 win by the Vikings on Jan. 3, 2011.
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LAST MEETING, Nov. 26, 2013, Peter W. Stott Center: Portland State took the last meeting between the two schools 74-62 to pick up its first win of the season a year ago.
Allie Brock posted a game-high 23 points for the Vikings while three others scored in double figures. Brock went 4-for-5 from three-point range. The Vikings turned 16 turnovers by the Warriors into 24 points. They also scored 24 points in the paint and 13 points on second chance opportunities on 22 offensive boards. Portland State out-rebounded Corban 47-to-37 in the game.
THE CORBAN UNIVERSITY WARRIORSThe Warriors are 3-4 overall this season after winning their last time out at Lewis & Clark College. They started the season with back-to-back wins before losing four straight. They lost each of their last two games by just a single point falling 69-68 at University of Great Falls and 65-64 at Carrol College respectively. Corban went 13-18 overall a year ago and 8-10 in conference action. The Warriors are an experienced team returning 10 juniors and seniors. They also return all five starters from a year ago.
The Warriors are averaging 66.0 points per game while allowing opponents to score 62.9 ppg. They are shooting .418 from the floor, .356 from three-point range, and .692 from the free-throw line. Corban is averaging 5.3 three-pointers and 11.6 free-throws made a game. The Warriors are fairly balanced scoring 32.6 points in the first half and 33.4 points in the second half.
Junior G Jade Lowery lead the team with 15.7 points per game this season. She has scored in double-figures in all seven games for the Warriors including a pair of 20-point performances. She is shooting .512 (42-82) from the floor and .409 (9-22) from distance. Lowery also leads the team with 21 assists and 26 turnovers. Sophomore F Sadie Pilgeram leads the team with 11 three-pointers this season. She is shooting .524 (11-21) from three-point range. Senior C Tara Van Weerdhuizen is averaging 11 points and 5.5 rebounds a game this season. She is shooting .446 from the floor.
COMING UPPortland State will hit the road next week for a midweek road game at Oregon on Tuesday, Nov. 25. The Vikings will return to the Stott Center Saturday, Nov. 29 when they host Long Beach State for a 1 p.m. PT tip.
WHO IS HOT?• SR F
Mikaela Rivard is averaging 16.5 points per game through the first two games. She scored 20 points against South Dakota for her third career 20-point game.
• SR F
Ani Avanessian lead the team with 7.0 rebounds per game this season.
• SR G
Lariel Powell is averaging 10.0 points and 5.0 assists over the first two games.
• FR F
Cici West is averaging 6.5 rebounds off the bench.
• SO G
Emily Easom scored 16 points including four three-pointers against South Dakota (11/19).
NOT SO HOT• Portland State has given up a 19-2 run and a 12-0 run in the second half of games this season.
• Portland State was out-scored 44-24 in the paint against South Dakota.
• Portland State is shooting .500 (16-32) at the free-throw line.
BY THE NUMBERSPORTLAND STATE • PSU is 0-2 overall and 0-0 in Big Sky play this season.
• PSU 0-1 at home, 0-1 on the road, and 0-0 at a neutral site.
• PSU is 2-3 in its last five games and 2-8 in its last 10 dating back to last season.
CORBAN UNIVERSITY• CU is 3-4 overall and 0-0 in Cascade Collegiate Conference play this season.
• CU is 1-2 at home, 2-2 on the road, and 0-0 at a neutral site
• CU is 1-4 in its last five games and 4-6 in its last 10 dating back to last season.
BIG SKY BATTLES• PSU is 132-154 all-time in Big Sky Conference games
• PSU is 82-61 in home games and 50-93 in road games
• PSU is 6-6 all-time at the Big Sky Tournament
NEWS & NOTESRIVARD's big game: Senior F
Mikaela Rivard scored 20 points on 7-of-17 shooting from the floor with a pair of three-pointers against South Dakota (11/19). It was Rivard's third career 20-point game, first of the season. Rivard has led the team in scoring in each of the first two games and is averaging 16.5 ppg this season.
EASOM HEATS UP FROM DISTANCE: Junior G
Emily Easom scored 16 points against South Dakota (11/19) including four three-pointers. She hit just one three-pointer in the season opener against Seattle (11/16).
HOME OPENERS: Portland State is 11-8 in home openers since joining the Big Sky Conference for the 1996-97 season. In seven previous home openers under Head Coach
Sherri Murrell, the Vikings are now 6-2 with home opener losses the past two seasons.
RIVARD READY TO GO: After missing most of training camp and the Vikings' first exhibition game due to a health issue, SR F
Mikaela Rivard showed no ill effects from the time off scoring a team-high 13 points on 6-of-13 shooting with seven rebounds. She also connected on her only three-point attempt.
DISHING IT: Senor G
Lariel Powell tied her career high with seven assists at Seattle U (11/6). Powell added 10 points in the game going 4-for-11.
CARLINE SIDELINED: Junior C
Alicia Carline will be sidelined for the first few weeks of the regular season after suffering a hand injury in the Vikings' first exhibition game against George Fox. Carline scored 21 points with 10 rebounds against the Bruins before being injured diving for a loose ball.
LOST FOR THE YEAR: Sophomore PG
Yaremi Mejia will miss the entire 2014-15 season after suffering a knee injury prior to the start of the season.
THIN ROSTER: With the loss of SO PG
Yaremi Mejia for the season, the Vikings are down to a nine-man roster heading into play this week. Junior C
Alicia Carline is still out with a hand injury while Junior F
Danah Haley is still coming back from a knee injury a year ago while at Blue Mountain CC. Sophomore PG
Montana Walters is sitting out due to NCAA Transfer Rules.
2014-15 Portland State Vikings Team Notes• Portland State returns eight letterwinners and two starters from a year ago. The Vikings add six newcomers to the roster including three freshmen and three transfers.
• The Vikings add six newcomers for this season. They add FR PG
Nele Aha (Göttingen, Germany), FR C
Shelby Sanders (Hermiston, OR), and FR F
Cici West (Seattle, WA). Portland State also adds JR C
Alicia Carline (Fielding, New Zealand), SO F
Danah Haley (Los Angels, CA), and SO G
Montana Walters.
• S PG
Montana Walters will have to sit out the 2014-15 season due to NCAA Transfer Rules after transferring from Santa Clara.
• For the first time under Head Coach
Sherri Murrell, the Vikings have not one but two foreign players on the roster: FR G
Nele Aha (Göttingen, Germany) and JR C
Alicia Carline.
• Portland State lost a trio of starters following last season. The Vikings lost forwards
Angela Misa and
Allie Brock along with guard
Kate Lanz to graduation. All three were in the top four for PSU in scoring and rebounding. Lanz averaged 11.5 points and 5.9 rebounds per game a year go. Misa nearly averaged a double-double (10.9 ppg, 9.0 rpg) in 12 games before suffering a season-ending knee injury for the second consecutive season. Brock averaged 10.5 points and 5.5 rebounds.
• In her eight seasons at Portland State, head coach
Sherri Murrell ranks second all-time in wins at Portland State with 118. She led the Vikings to their only 20-win seasons at the DI level (2007-08, 2008-09 and 2010-11). Under Murrell, the Vikings have gone 71-32 overall and 39-21 in the Big Sky at the Peter W. Stott Center.
• Portland State's all-time leading scorer, Kelsey Kahle, will be inducted into the Portland State athletics Hall of Fame this Saturday, Nov. 22. She will be the 11th women's basketball player to make it into the Hall as an individual.
• Fans can follow the Vikings online all season long. A live video stream will be available for all but two games non-conference games this season. Every Big Sky Conference can be seen live online at WatchBigSky.com or via the Watch Big Sky App.
• Portland State basketball fans will have the opportunity to Get Stuffed again this winter at the Stott Center. Any fan purchasing a ticket for a seat at the Peter W. Stott Center will receive free concessions. That's right, all the food you can eat from the concession stand. Portland State students, with a student ticket, can also take advantage of this promotion. It's that simple. Buy your ticket and you eat for free. Last year, more than 15,000 free hot dogs were eaten at Portland State men and women's basketball games.
2013-14 Season highlights•
Emily Easom earned All-Big Sky Honorable Mention honors after leading the team in scoring (12.4 ppg), field goals (118) and three-point field goals (54).
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Emily Easom, Lauran Holt,
Kate Lanz,
Keaton McFadden and
Lariel Powell were all named to the Big Sky Winter All-Academic team following the season.
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Emily Easom scored a career-high 27 points against Montana State (2/8/2014). Easom went 6-for-13 from the floor with a trio of three-pointers. She did a lot of her damage at the free-throw line going 12-for-13, both career marks.
• The Vikings picked up a big win at home on January 16, 2014 defeating Sacramento State, 83-80. The Hornets entered the game averaging 94.1 points and 14.4 three-pointers per game. The Vikings held the Hornets to just six three-pointers while shooting a season-high .567 from the floor (38-for-67).
Emily Easom posted a then-career-high 26 points leading the Vikings to the win. Portland State held a decisive 43-to-27 rebounding advantage that helped the Vikings out-score the Hornets 21-to-4 in second chance points.
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Angela Misa missed the majority of the 2013-14 season after suffering a season ending knee injury. It was the second straight year that Misa had her season cut short due to a knee injury. Misa was averaging 10.9 points and a team-high 9.0 rebounds per game for the Vikings. At the time of the injury she had a league-high six double-doubles including three straight. She suffered the injury at Montana State on January 9, 2014; Misa had 15 points and 13 rebounds against the Bobcats before leaving the game.
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Kate Lanz's triple-double (22 points, 11 rebounds, and a career-high 10 assists) at Eastern Washington (12/29/2013) propelled her to her third career Big Sky Player of the Week honor. It was the first Big Sky POTW award by a Viking since Courtney VanBrocklin on Nov. 20, 2012. Lanz was also named the CollegeSportsMadness.com Mid-Major Player of the week as well as the College Sports Madness Big Sky Player of the Week.
