Vikings Take on Aggies, Spartans in Search of First Win

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OPENING TIP
The Vikings hit the road once again for a pair of non-conference games in search of their first win of the season. Portland State heads to Davis, Calif. to take on the UC Davis Aggies on Friday, Nov. 17 at 7 p.m. PT. Portland State will then head to San Jose, Calif. to take on San Jose State on Sunday, Nov. 18. Tip-off against the Spartans is slated for 2 p.m.
The Vikings head into play this week 0-2 overall on the young season after dropping both games last weekend. Portland State lost a heart-breaker to the UNLV Rebels, 88-80 in overtime, opening night. PSU led UNLV by 21 points with just over five and a half minutes remaining in regulation.
After a pair of starters fouled out, the Vikings offense stalled as the Rebels went on a 19-0 run to pull within two. After a PSU free throw, UNLV hit a three-pointer to tie the game with 18 seconds left. UNLV took its momentum from the fourth quarter in to the overtime period en route to the eight-point win.
A rough second quarter in game two of the year against the Nevada Wolf Pack was too much to overcome for the Vikings, as they fell 67-55.
JR G Sidney Rielly, coming off a tremendous first year for the Vikings in 2016-17, led the Vikings in scoring over the two games, averaging 19.5 ppg, including her first 20-point game of the year against Nevada.
Guards Kiana Brown and Kylie Jimenez both made their Portland State debuts last week and have made an immediate impact.
Brown, a redshirt junior, sat out last year and was ready to get back onto the court. She averaged 13.0 ppg over the first two, hitting a trio of three-pointers in each.
Jimenez, a true freshman, has played the point for the Vikings in both games and has demonstrated her ability to not only dish the ball but score as well. She scored 17 points, while playing a team-high 41 minutes, in her Portland State debut and backed it up with a 16-point performance against the Wolf Pack. She too has shot well from beyond the arc, going 6-for-12.

LIVE VIDEO: A live video stream will be available for both games this week. Links can be found on the women's basketball schedule page at GoViks.com.

LIVE STATS: Both games will feature live stats. Links for both can be found on the women's basketball schedule page at GoViks.com.

FOLLOW THE VIKINGS: Fans can follow the Vikings on Twitter and Instagram. Follow @ViksWBB for all the latest news, notes, and behind the scenes photos. Follow @PSU_Vikings for the latest on all 15 Portland State Athletics programs.

UP NEXT: After Portland State's two road games this week, the Vikings will hit the road one more time on Wednesday, Nov. 22 when they take on the Seattle Redhawks in Seattle, Wash. It will be the final of five straight road games the Vikings will play before opening its home slate on Saturday, Nov. 25 against the Multnomah University Lions. Portland State will play all of its home games at Lewis & Clark College due to the on-going construction of the new Viking Pavilion at the Peter W. Stott Center.

STORY LINES

Portland State is looking for its first win of the season under third-year Head Coach Lynn Kennedy.
Portland State is 9-4 all-time against UC Davis, dating back to the 1991-92 season. The Vikings are 2-2 on the road in the series but have not won in Davis, Calif. since the 1995-96 season while playing at the NCAA Division II level.
The last Portland State win against UC Davis was a neutral site win in 2011.
Portland State is 3-1 all-time against San Jose State, dating back to the 1989-90 season. The last meeting was a 68-62 Portland State win in San Jose in 2005-06.

QUICK HITS
BY THE NUMBERS

Portland State is 0-2 overall this season and 0-0 in Big Sky Conference play.
Portland State is 0-2 on the road and has yet to open its home slate.
Portland State is 2-3 in its last five and 5-5 in its last 10 games dating back to last season.
Portland State is averaging 67.6 ppg and allowing 77.5 ppg on the year.
Portland State is shooting .381 from the floor, .390 from three-point range, and .580 at the line.

BIG SKY BATTLES

PSU is 144-195 all-time in Big Sky Conference games.
PSU is 90-79 in home games and 54-116 in road games.
PSU is 9-10 all-time at the Big Sky Tournament.

WHO'S HOT:

JR G Sidney Rielly is coming off her 12th career 20-point game after scoring a team-high 20 points against Nevada.
FR G Kylie Jimenez is averaging 16.0 ppg over her first two career games and has hit three three-pointer in each.

SCOUTING UC DAVIS

UC Davis enters play this week 2-0 on the season after picking up a pair of home wins over Washington State (91-76) and Pepperdine (69-64).
UC Davis is shooting .487 from the floor, .458 from three-point range, and .706 at the line.
UC Davis hit 17 three-pointers to tie the school record in an opening night win over Washington State.
Morgan Bertsch scored 27 points in 26 minutes to lead UC Davis to its win over Pepperdine. Bertsch went 13-of-18 from the floor setting the school record for most field goals in a game. She leads the team with 23.0 ppg on the year and is shooting .606 (20-for-33) from the floor.
Rachel Nagel is averaging 15.0 ppg and is shooting .733 (11-for-15) from the floor on the year. She is tied for the team lead with five three-pointers made and is shooting .625 from distance.

SCOUTING SAN JOSE STATE

San Jose State enters play this week 0-1 on the season after falling 129-69 at No. 8/7 UCLA.
San Jose State host CSU Bakersfield on Friday, Nov. 17 before hosting the Vikings on Sunday.
San Jose State went 11-21 overall and 7-11 in Mountain West play in 2016-17.
San Jose State shot .303 from the floor, .314 from three-point range, and .706 from the line against the Bruins. The Spartans were out-rebounded 65-to-37 in the game.

FROM DOWNTOWN: Through two games, the Vikings are shooting the ball at a higher clip from downtown than they did a year ago. Portland State is shooting .390 from distance with 8.0 three-pointers made per game this season. In 2016-17, the Vikings shot .300 from three-point range with 5.6 made per game. A large reason why is the addition of guards Kylie Jimenez and Kiana Brown. They have combined for 12 of the team's 16 three-pointers on the year and hare shooting a combined .414 (12-for-29) from beyond the arc.

20-POINT GAMES: Portland State had players scored 20-or-more points 25 last season and the Vikings are off to a good start to match that this season. JR G Sidney Rielly recorded the team's first 20-point game of the year at Nevada (11/12). It was the 12th 20-point game of her career, matching fellow JR G Ashley Bolston for the team lead among active players.

RECORD WATCH: After setting the Portland State single-season blocks record in just her first year with the Vikings, JR F Courtney West has quickly turned her sights on the PSU career blocks mark. West is sitting on 99 career blocks, 19 shy of the Portland State record of 118 held by Kellie Chandler-Read (1994-97). She is also currently outside the Big Sky Conference top 20 list but could crack the list this season. Nicole Scott is sitting 19th on the list with 136 career blocks.

NATIONAL LETTERS OF INTENT: Portland State has signed two student-athletes to National Letters of Intent. Desirae Hansen and Jordan Stotler will join the Vikings for the 2018-19 academic year. The Vikings anticipate adding a third NLI in the coming days.

Hansen, a 6-foot guard from Rainier, Ore. is a three-time All-Lewis & Clark League first team honoree at Rainier High School and is coming off league MVP season. She led the Columbians to a 25-5 overall record and a league championship with a 16-2 mark.
Stotler, in just her first year at Umpqua Community College, was named the Northwest Athletic Conference Southern Region Most Valuable Player, Defensive Player of the Year, and Freshman of the Year. She was second in the NWAC averaging 22.4 points per game and third with 13.4 rebounds per game. Stotler recorded a league-record 150 blocks and 4.84 blocks per game, 2.00 blocks per game better than second place. She is just 29 blocks away from the conference's career blocks record. She shot .484 from the floor and .345 from three-point range, hitting 39 triples.

PRESEASON NOTES:

Portland State went 16-17 overall and finished seventh in the Big Sky with an 8-10 mark in Big Sky Conference play.
Portland State improved its win total by 12 games over the previous season.
Portland State returns eight letterwinners, including four starters and its top three scorers.
Portland State will play 12 home games, all at Lewis & Clark College.
Portland State returns the top scoring duo in the Big Sky Conference in Ashley Bolston (15.8 ppg) and Sidney Rielly (15.7 ppg)
Bolston (521 points) and Rielly (519 points) became the first Portland State duo to go over 500 points in a season since the 1991-92 season and the first to do so in NCAA Division I play.
Portland State received the NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Most Improved Field Goal Percentage award after shooting 44.96 percent from the floor, a 9.21 percent improvement.
Portland State advanced to the Big Sky Tournament semifinals after picking up wins over No. 10 Northern Arizona and No. 2 North Dakota.
Ashley Bolston was named to the All-Big Sky Conference Second Team.
Sidney Rielly was named to the All-Big Sky Conference Third Team.