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Portland State vs. Idaho
Thursday, February 12, 2015 • 7:00 p.m. PT • Peter W. Stott Center (1,500) • Portland, OR

Idaho Vandals 
Record/Big Sky: 9-12/3-7
Head Coach: Jon Newlee (102-108/7th year)
Portland State Vikings
Record/Big Sky: 3-19/1-10
Head Coach: Sherri Murrell (121-116/8th year)

Portland State vs. Eastern Washington
Saturday, February 14, 2015 • 2:00 p.m. PT • Peter W. Stott Center (1,500) • Portland, OR

Eastern Washington Eagles
Record/Big Sky: 13-8/6-4
Head Coach: Wendy Schuller (190-215/14th year)
Portland State Vikings
Record/Big Sky: 3-19/1-10
Head Coach: Sherri Murrell (121-116/8th year)

Live Video Stream: WatchBigSky.com
Live Stats: ViksLive.com

THE OPENING TIP
     The Vikings (3-19 overall, 1-10 Big Sky Conference) continue their three-game home stand this week when they play host to the Idaho Vandals (9-12, 3-7) on Thursday, Feb. 12 and the Eastern Washington Eagles on Saturday, Feb. 14. Thursday's game with the Vandals will tipoff at 7 p.m. PT while Saturday's game with the Eagles will tipoff at 2 p.m. It will be the second Dam Cup Challenge game between the Vikings and Eagles. 
     Portland State opened its home stand with a 92-60 loss to the Sacramento State Hornets last Saturday at the Peter W. Stott Center. The Hornets' fast-paced run-and-gun offense was too much for the Vikings' depleted roster. The Hornets routinely rotated in five players at a time to keep fresh legs on the court which was something the Vikings just could not do as they had only two players coming off their bench.  
     Portland State out-shot Sacramento State .535-to-.363 for the game but the Hornets attempted 50 more field goals than the Vikings. The Hornets entered the game averaging 12.2 three-pointers made per game. PSU held them below their season average but six three-pointers in the second half built up a lead that the Vikings could not come back from. 
     Portland State Head Coach Sherri Murrell is 121-117 overall and 66-65 in Big Sky play in eight years at PSU. Idaho's Jon Newlee is 102-108 in even years while Eastern Washington's Wendy Schuller is 190-2015 in 14 years in Cheney. 

THE SERIES: PORTLAND STATE VS. IDAHO
• ALL-TIME SERIES: Idaho leads 17-12 all-time and the series is tied 6-6 in Portland. 
• BIG SKY SERIES: Idaho leads 1-0 all-time and 0-0 in Portland. 
• STREAK: Idaho won the last meeting and has won four of the last six dating back to the 2003-04 season.
• LAST MEETING: Jan. 17, 2015 at UI: Idaho 77, Portland State, 49: The Vandals shot over 50 percent from the floor to defeat the Vikings in the first ever Big Sky Conference game between the two schools. Ani Avanessian scored a career-high 16 points for the Vikings going 5-for-9 from the floor and a perfect 5-for-5 at the free-throw line. Lauren Holt added 13 points in 39 minutes played. The Vandals had three players in double-figures led Stacey Barr's 22 points. Barr leads the conference in scoring averaging 20.4 ppg.  

IDAHO VANDALS
     Idaho is 9-12 overall and 3-7 in Big Sky action coming into play this week. The Vandals have had a rough time on the road this season going 4-8 overall on the road and 1-4 in league play. Their lone conference road win came in a 67-60 win at Weber State on Jan. 3. Idaho is coming off a disappointing weekend at home after falling to Montana State (76-65) and Montana (87-74). 
     The Vandals are averaging 67.1 points per game this season and allowing 65.4 ppg, fifth and sixth respectively in the Big Sky. They are shooting .368 from the floor while holding opponents to a .357 shooting mark, second best in the league. Idaho leads the league with 45.4 rebounds per game and is third in the league with 3.9 blocks per game. Idaho is second in the league with 7.6 three-pointers per game and the Vandals are shooting the three-ball at a .315 clip, third best in the conference. 
     The Vandals' scoring attack is led by the league's leading scorer, Stacey Barr. The senior is averaging 20.4 ppg and 7.3 rpg this season. Barr averages 2.6 three-pointers per game and has a .331 three-point shooting mark. Barr is fifth all-time in scoring at Idaho with over 1,600 points. She has scored in double-figures in 18 games and has two 31-point games this season. Barr is averaging 27.7 points per game over the last three games. 
     Christiana Salvatore is the only other Vandal to average double-figures. She averages 10.5 points per game and 7.2 rebounds per game. 

THE SERIES: PORTLAND STATE VS. EASTERN WASHINGTON
• ALL-TIME SERIES: Eastern Washington leads 33-26 all-time and Portland State leads 15-12 in Portland.
• BIG SKY SERIES: Portland State leads 19-18 all-time and 11-6 in Portland. 
• STREAK: Eastern Washington has won the last two games and four of the last five. 
• LAST MEETING: Jan. 15, 2015 at EWU: Eastern Washington 101, Portland State, 54: Eastern Washington shot a program-high 68 percent from the floor going 34-for-50 and 11-for-16 from three-point range. The Eagles led 60-24 at the break after shooting 72.4 percent in the first half. Five Eagles scored in double-figures including a pair of 20-point games from Lexie Nelson (22) and Hayley Hodgins (20). Emily Easom led the Vikings with 18 points. She did the majority of her damage at the free-throw line going 12-for-12. 

EASTERN WASHINGTON EAGLES
     Eastern Washington won its final three non-conference games including a 67-56 win at Florida before opening Big Sky play with back-to-back wins. The Eagles then lost four straight before sweeping the Montana schools last weekend. They defeated conference-leading Montana, 65-64, before defeating Montana State, 72-58. 
     The Eagles average 70.8 points per game and allow 65.0 points per game. They shoot .437 from the floor, second in the conference. They lead the league in both free-throw percentage (.780) and three-point field-goal percentage (.348). Eastern Washington averages 5.1 blocks per game, third in the Big Sky. 
     Hayley Hodgins leads the team with 16.0 points per game, fifth in the league. She is second in the league with 35.9 minutes per game and shoots .818 at the free-throw line. Hodgins has led the team in scoring 10 times. Lexie Nelson is sixth in scoring with 15.7 ppg. She is shooting .441 from the floor and .391 from three-point range. Her .876 mark at the line is second best.

COMING UP
The Vikings hit the road again next week for a tough road trip to North Dakota (2/19) and Northern Colorado (2/21). They will then play the following weekend at Sacramento State (2/28).  

WHO IS HOT?
• JR G Emily Easom is averaging 16.4 ppg over the last five games including back-to-back 18-point games against Montana State and Sacramento State.  
• Easom has played all 40 minutes in four of the last five games and nine of the last 12. 
• Easom moved into a tie for sixth all-time at PSU in three-point field goals with 126. 
• SR F Mikaela Rivard has scored in double-figures in three of the last four games.

NOT SO HOT
• Portland State has lost by double-digits 14 times including nine times by 28 or more. 
• Portland State has allowed 100+ points twice this season. 
• Portland State is averaging 54.6 ppg while opponents are averaging 74.8 ppg (-20.2).
• Portland State is averaging 17.5 turnovers per game, including a season-high 38 against Sacramento State.
• Portland State is averaging 8.2 points per game from bench players. 

BY THE NUMBERS
PORTLAND STATE 
• PSU is 3-19 overall and 1-10 in Big Sky play this season.
• PSU 2-8 at home, 1-11 on the road, and 0-0 at a neutral site. 
• PSU is 0-5 in its last five games and 1-9 in its last 10 games.

IDAHO
• UI is 9-12 overall and 3-7 in conference play this season.
• UI is 4-4 at home, 4-8 on the road, and 1-0 at a neutral site.
• UI is 1-4 in its last five games and 3-7 in its last 10 games.

EASTERN WASHINGTON
• EWU is 13-8 overall and 8-2 in conference play this season.
• EWU is 8-2 at home, 4-6 on the road, and 1-0 at a neutral site.
• EWU is 2-3 in its last five games and 6-4 in its last 10 games.

BIG SKY BATTLES
• PSU is 133-164 all-time in Big Sky Conference games.
• PSU is 83-67 in home games and 50-97 in road games.
• PSU is 6-6 all-time at the Big Sky Tournament.

NEWS & NOTES
SEASON-HIGH SHOOTING: The Vikings shot a season-high 53.5 percent from the floor in a loss to Sacramento State (2/7). The Vikings went 23-for-43 led by Emily Easom's 5-for-7 shooting. 

TURNOVERS: Portland State turned the ball over a season-high 38 times against Sacramento State (2/7), which led to 47 points off turnovers. Thirty of the 38 turnovers were steals by the Hornets. The 38 turnovers was the most by a Portland State team under Head Coach Sherri Murrell. 

THREE-POINT SHOOTING: Junior G Emily Easom is now tied for sixth on Portland State's all-time three-pointers made list with 126. She is tied with Lexi Biship (2007-11). Kelly Marchant (2007-11) is in fifth with 127. 

IRON WOMAN: Junior G Emily Easom leads the league with 38.6 minutes played per game this season. She has played all 40 minutes 13 times this season while making every start. The fewest minutes she has played in a game this season was 26 at Princeton (12/19). She has played 40 minutes in four of the last five games. 

EASOM AT THE LINE: Junior G Emily Easom went a perfect 12-for-12 at the free-throw line at Eastern Washington (1/15). Her mark is third best all-time for most free-throw makes without a miss in a game.