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Portland State at University of Portland
Friday, December 12, 2014 • 7:00 p.m. PT • Chiles Center • Portland, OR

PORTLAND PILOTS
Record/Conference: 1-6/0-0
Head Coach: Cheryl Sorenson (1-6/1st year)
PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS
Record/Big Sky: 1-6/0-0
Head Coach: Sherri Murrell (119-103/8th year)
Live Video Stream: http://portal.stretchinternet.com/up/portal.htm?eventId=184100
Live Stats: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=73026

Portland State vs Western Washington
Sunday, December 14, 2014 • 2:00 p.m. PT • Peter W. Stott Center (1,500) • Portland, OR

WESTERN WASHINGTON VIKINGS
Record/Conference: 5-3/0-0
Head Coach: Carmen Dolfo (494-183/24th year)
PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS
Record/Big Sky: 1-6/0-0
Head Coach: Sherri Murrell (119-103/8th year)
Live Video Stream: WatchBigSky.com
Live Stats: ViksLive.com

THE OPENING TIP
     The Portland State women's basketball team will play a pair of games this week beginning with cross-town rival the University of Portland on Friday, Dec. 12. The game will tip off at 7 p.m. at the Chiles Center. The Portland State Vikings will then host the Western Washington Vikings on Sunday, Dec. 14 for their final home game of the 2014 calendar year.
     The Vikings are 1-6 after splitting a pair of games last week. The Vikings picked up their first win of the season defeating Navy, 56-50, before falling at Gonzaga 73-41. The Vikings shot a season-high 40.4 percent from the floor against Navy while holding the Midshipmen to just 27.9 percent from the floor. Junior C Alicia Carline picked up her second straight double-double with 11 points and 14 rebounds against Navy. Senior G Lariel Powell added 13 points and seven rebounds while JR G Emily Easom scored a game-high 14 points with a career-high eight rebounds. Portland State out-rebounded the Midshipmen 46-41 in the game and out-scored them 38-18  in the paint. 
Portland State struggled on the road at Gonzaga. Sophomore G Lauren Holt and SR F Mikaela Rivard each posted 10 points for the Vikings. 
     The University of Portland is 1-6 this season including an 0-2 record at home. Western Washington is 5-3 overall in 2014-15 at the NCAA Division II level. 
     Portland State head coach Sherri Murrell is in her eighth year at Portland State. She is 119-104 overall and 65-55 in Big Sky play while at PSU. She is 266-297 in 19 years as a head coach. Cheryl Sorenson is in her first year at Portland. Carmen Dolfo is 494-183 in 24 years at Western Washington. 

COMING UP
      Following play this week, Portland State will conclude its non-conference schedule with a pair of games against Ivy league teams. The Vikings will play at Princeton on Friday, Dec. 19 before playing at Columbia on Sunday, Dec. 21. Portland State opens Big Sky Conference play New Year's Day on the road at Southern Utah. 

THE SERIES: PORTLAND STATE vs. UNIVERSITY OF PORTLAND
• ALL-TIME SERIES: Portland leads 25-23 all-time and 14-8 at the Chiles Center. 
• STREAK:  Portland won the last meeting. 
• LAST MEETING: Portland took the last meeting, 76-49, on Dec. 21 2013 at the Peter W. Stott Center. The Pilots shot 46 percent from the floor while the Vikings shot just 28.8 percent. Lariel Powell led the Vikings with 11 points and five steals. Angela Misa and Allie Brock each had seven rebounds. Portland had four players in double-figures led by Cassandra Brown's 24 points off the bench. 

PORTLAND PILOTS
     The University of Portland is 1-6 under first-year head coach Cheryl Sorenson. The Pilots opened the season with an 87-65 loss at Oregon State. They lost their next three games to open 0-4 before defeating Utah 58-50 on Nov. 28. Portland is on a two-game losing streak falling to Oregon and Washington at home. Portland has faced four Pacific-12 Conference opponents, including three straight, so far this season. 
     Cassandra Brown leads the Pilots with 16.9 points per game. She is also second in rebounding with 6.1 per game. She is shooting .444 (40-for-90) from the floor and leads the team with 18 three-pointers. Brown also gets to the free-throw line going 20-for-24 (.833) for the season. Kari Luttinen is the only other Pilot averaging in double-figures with 12.6 points per game. Cassandra Thompson leads the team with 6.9 rpg. 
     Portland is averaging 54.9 points per game this season while allowing opponents to average 70.6 (-15.7 scoring margin). The Pilots are shooting .376 from the floor, .306 from three-point range, and .661 from the line. 

THE SERIES: PORTLAND STATE vs. WESTERN WASHINGTON
• ALL-TIME SERIES: Western Washington leads the all-time series 8-5. The teams have not played since the 1994-95 season, Portland State's last season at the Division II level.  Portland State took the last meeting, 92-82, at home. 

WESTERN WASHINGTON VIKINGS
     The Western Washington Vikings are 5-3 overall this season. Western Washington is a part of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference at the NCAA Division II level and is located in Bellingham, WA. Western Washington won three-straight before falling at Simon Fraser (74-71) its last time out. 
     Taylor Peacocke leads WWU with 15.5 points per game and is shooting 494 on the season. She is second on the team with 5.8 rebounds per game. Katie Colard is second in scoring, but not by much, with 15.4 ppg. She is shooting .487 from the floor and .473 from three-point range. She has made a team-high 27 three-pointers and 57 of her 78 shots have come from distance. Kayla Bernsen is third in scoring with 12.5 ppg. She leads the team with 7.0 rebounds per game. 
     As a team, Western Washington is shooting .477 from the floor, .395 from three-point range, and .816 from the line. WWU averages 37.8 rebounds and  13.9 turnovers per game. 

WHO IS HOT?
• JR G Emily Easom leads the team with 12.7 points per game and has scored in double-figures five times. Easom leads the team with 15 three-pointers.
• JR C Alicia Carline has posted double-doubles in two of the last three games. 

NOT SO HOT
• Portland State is 1-6 to start the season. 
• Portland State is coming off a 32-point loss, its worst of the season. 
• Portland State is averaging 54.1 ppg while opponents are averaging 66.0 ppg (-11.9).
• Portland State is averaging 19.1 turnovers per game.

BY THE NUMBERS
PORTLAND STATE 
• PSU is 1-6 overall and 0-0 in Big Sky play this season.
• PSU 1-3 at home, 0-3 on the road, and 0-0 at a neutral site. 
• PSU is 1-4 in its last five games. 

PORTLAND
• UP is 1-6 overall and 0-0 in conference play this season.
• UP is 0-2 at home, 0-4 on the road, and 1-0 at a neutral site 
• UP is 1-4 in its last five games.

WESTERN WASHINGTON
• WWU is 5-3 overall and 0-0 in conference play this season.
• WWU is 4-1 at home, 0-1 on the road, and 1-1 at a neutral site 
• WWU is 4-1 in its last five games.

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 & NOTES
BACK-TO-BACK: Junior C Alicia Carline posted back-to-back double-doubles to start her Portland State career. She tallied 10 points and 11 rebounds in her debut against Long Beach State (11/29). Carline added 11 points and 14 rebounds against Navy (12/5). Carline missed the first four games due to a hand injury.

VIKINGS GET FIRST WIN: Portland State picked up its first win of the season a 56-50 win over Navy on Dec. 5. The Vikings' 0-5 start was the worst since they started 0-6 to start the 2004-05 season.  

CARLINE'S DEBUT: Junior C Alicia Carline posted the Vikings' first double-double of the season against Long Beach State (11/29). It was the first double-double by a Viking since Allie Brock (22 pts, 10 rebs) and Angela Misa (15 pts, 13 rebs) at Montana State (1/9/14). 

BLOCK PARTY PART DEUX: Junior C Alicia Carline posted a Portland State individual season-high five blocks against Long Beach State (11/29). It was the first time a Viking recorded five blocks in a game since Alli Brock posted five against UC Irvine (11/11/11). Carline added another five blocks in her second career game for Portland State against Navy (12/5). 

FOUR IN DOUBLE-FIGURES: Portland State had four players in double-figures at Oregon (11/25) for the first time this season. Ani Avanessian led with 12 points while Emily Easom and Lauren Holt each scored 11 points. Lariel Powell added 10 points.  

ANI'S CAREER-HIGH: Senior F Ani Avanessian scored a career-high 12 points going 4-for-11 from the floor and 3-for-5 at the line at Oregon (11/25). She added five rebounds and a steal. 

RIVARD AT THE LINE: Senior F Mikaela Rivard went a perfect 6-for-6 at the free-throw line at Oregon (11/25). Rivard is now shooting .667 (10-for-15) at the line. 

POWELL ON THE RUN: Senior G Lariel Powell scored a career-high 21 points going 9-for-16 from the floor with a three pointer and a pair of free throws against Corban University (11/22). Powell scored 18 of her 21 points in the paint with six coming on fast breaks. 
 
EASOM FINDING HER STROKE: After a slow start in the Vikings' season opener, JR G Emily Easom has become a more consistent scorer for the Vikings. She scored 16 points against South Dakota (11/19), 17 points against Corban (11/22), and 19 points against Long Beach State (11/29). Easom now leads the team with 13.6 points per game. 

RIVARD'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.  

BLOCK PARTY: Portland State tallied six blocks against South Dakota (11/19). It is tied for the second most by a team in the Big Sky Conference this season. Five different Vikings tallied blocks against the Coyotes. 

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 at Seattle (11/16) to open the season. 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. Powell again tallied seven assists Corban (11/22).  

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.