Vikings Welcome Bengals for Thursday Night Showdown

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OPENING TIP
After splitting a pair of road games last weekend, the Vikings return home to take on the Idaho State Bengals on Thursday, Jan. 18. Tip-off is slated for 8 p.m. PT at the Pamplin Sports Center on the campus of Lewis and Clark College. The game is sponsored by Pita Pit.
Through three weeks of Big Sky Conference play, the league has started to shake itself out. Northern Colorado and Montana sit atop the league with 5-1 records. Weber State is a half-game back at 4-1. After the first three teams, there is a cluster of six teams within a game in the standings. Portland State sits in fourth with a 3-2 record. Idaho State is tied for eighth with a 2-3 conference mark.
Portland State split a pair of games against the Montana schools on the road last week. The Vikings opened the week with a 69-60 win at Montana State, ending the Bobcats 31-game home winning streak. JR G Sidney Rielly led the team with 18 points, going 8-for-15 from the floor with a pair of triples. JR F Courtney West had nine points and a season-high 12 rebounds in the win.
The Vikings shot just 32.1 percent from the floor against Montana and fell by a score of 69-53. Rielly added 16 points, while JR G Kiana Brown scored 15 points off the bench against the Lady Griz.

STORY LINES

Portland State has lost 12-straight games to Idaho State, including a 54-50 loss in last year's Big Sky Semifinal.
Portland State is going for its first win over Idaho State since January 17, 2011 (89-79).
Portland State Head Coach Lynn Kennedy spent one season as an assistant coach at Idaho State (2001-02) and served as the interim head coach for the final seven games of the season, going 2-5.
Portland State has not lost back-to-back Big Sky Conference games since losing six-straight games last season, capped by losses at Idaho State and at Weber State.

UP NEXT: After Thursday's game against Idaho State, Portland State will host Weber State on Saturday, January 20 with tip-off slated for 1 p.m. PT. The Vikings will then hit the road for three-straight games at Sacramento State (Jan. 27), Idaho (Feb. 1), and at Eastern Washington (Feb. 3).

IDAHO STATE BENGALS
Idaho State went 19-14 overall and finished sixth in the Big Sky with a 10-8 record a year ago.
Idaho State defeated the Vikings, 54-50, in the Big Sky Semifinals to advance to the Championship Game where the Bengals fell to the Montana State Bobcats, 62-56.
Idaho State returns five letterwinners and a pair of starters from last year's squad.
Idaho State is 10-6 overall and 2-3 in Big Sky play this season.
Idaho State opened the season 4-0, which included a 79-59 win at the University of Washington.
Idaho State started league play with back-to-back 76-70 losses to Weber State at home and on the road at Southern Utah. The Bengals picked up their first league win with a 75-55 win at Northern Arizona.
Idaho State split play last week defeating North Dakota at home before falling to Northern Colorado.
Idaho State is averaging 69.5 points per game, while allowing a league-best 60.4 ppg.
Idaho State is shooting .433 from the floor, a league-best .375 from distance, and .677 at the line.
Idaho State is averaging 6.5 three-pointers made and 17.3 three-pointer attempts per game.
Brooke Blair leads the Bengals with 14.4 points per game on the year. She has 13 double-digit scoring games, including a career-high 30 points at Washington (11/12).
Grace Kenyon is the only other player averaging double digits with 11.4 points per game. She is second on the team with 6.8 rebounds per game.
Three other Bengals are averaging over 9.0 points per game: Estefania Ors (9.8 ppg), Sai Tapasa (9.5), Saylair Grandon (9.4).

GAME NOTES: PORTLAND STATE vs. IDAHO STATE
ALL-TIME SERIES: Idaho State leads the all-time series 32-22, dating back to the 1980-81 season. The Bengals leads the Big Sky series 26-14 and also have a winning record in Portland (11-9) in conference action. Idaho State has won each of the last 12 meetings. The Bengals took the only regular season meeting a year ago before knocking the Vikings out of the Big Sky Tournament in the semifinals.
LAST SEASON: Feb. 9, 2017 at Reed Gym, ISU 53, PSU 47: Portland State had three players in double figures and shot 43.5 percent from the floor but Idaho State took the only regular season meeting, 53-47. The Vikings had a one-point lead at the break but were outscored 14-5 in the third quarter, which would be the difference. Ashley Bolston scored a game-high 17 points, while Courtney West added 10 points, eight rebounds, and five blocks in the loss. March 10, 2017 at Reno Events Center, ISU 54, PSU 50: Idaho State ended the Vikings' season with a four-point win in the Big Sky Semifinals in Reno, Nev. Courtney West scored a team-high 16 points with eight rebounds but the Vikings shot 34.0 percent from the floor. Idaho State had a one-point lead at the break and outscored Portland State 17-11 in the third quarter. The Vikings cut the lead late but fell by the four-point margin. ISU's Bianca Thacker scored a game-high 18 points, going 6-for-9 from the floor and 4-of-6 from three-point range. The Bengals went 10-for-21 from distance, while the Vikings went 2-for-10.

QUICK HITS
BY THE NUMBERS
Portland State is 9-7 overall this season and 3-2 in Big Sky Conference play.
Portland State is 5-1 at home with all of its home games being played at the Pamplin Sports Center at Lewis & Clark College.
Portland State is 3-2 in its last five and 7-3 in its last 10 games. PSU is 1-1 in overtime games.
Portland State is averaging 74.6 ppg and allowing 73.2 ppg on the year.
Portland State is shooting .435 from the floor, .359 from three-point range, and .767 at the line.

BIG SKY BATTLES
PSU is 147-197 all-time in Big Sky games.
PSU is 92-80 in home games and 55-117 in road games.
PSU is 9-10 all-time at the Big Sky Tournament.

WHO'S HOT?
JR G Sidney Rielly averaged 17.0 points per game over her last two, while shooting .500 (12-for-24) from the floor and .889 (8-for-9) at the line.
JR G Ashley Bolston is shooting .875 at the free-throw line this season, going 42-for-48. She is averaging 18.3 points per game on the year.
FR G Kylie Jimenez is 11th in the nation with a 3.1 assist-to-turnover ratio in her first season. Her 4.6 assists per game is 88th in the nation and second in the Big Sky.
JR G Kiana Brown is averaging 14.0 points per game off the bench over her last two games. She is shooting .476 from the floor (10-for-21) and is a perfect 7-for-7 at the line over that stretch.

WHO'S NOT?
Portland State recorded 20-plus assists in four-straight games heading into last weekend. The Vikings tallied just 13 assists in a win at Montana State and just eight in a loss at Montana.
Portland State is shooting .238 (5-for-21) from three-point range over the last two games.

NEWS AND NOTES
UNSELFISH BASKETBALL: The Vikings have been playing great team basketball this year. They have posted 20-plus assists six times. Portland State had a run of five-straight games with 20-plus assists, capped by a season-high 29 assists against Idaho (1/6). FR G Kylie Jimenez is second in the Big Sky with 4.6 assists per game on the year.

PROGRESS REPORT: One of the biggest indicators of Portland State's improvement over the last three seasons has been the Vikings assist-to-turnover ratio. Two years ago, in their first year under Head Coach Lynn Kennedy, the Vikings had a 0.6 A/TO ratio. Last season it improved to 0.9. Through 14 games this season, the Vikings are averaging 1.07 assists per turnover. If the trend holds, and the Vikings finish the season with a 1.0-or-better ratio, it would be the first time since the 2009-10 season in which the Vikings would have more assists than turnovers.

MILESTONE WATCH: JR G Sidney Rielly is well on her way to becoming the 17th member of the Portland State 1,000 point club. Through just 49 games, Rielly has tallied 833 career points, bringing her 167 points away from reaching the 1,000-point milestone. She surpassed the 800-point mark with 18 points at Montana State (1/11). She is currently averaging 19.6 points per game, well within range of reaching the milestone this season. She would be just the third Viking to surpass the milestone in just her first two seasons.

WINS vs. LOSSES: The Vikings are 9-7 overall this season. There is a stark contrast on the box score between wins and losses. In wins, Portland State is averaging 79.9 points per game is shooting .461 from the floor and .801 from the free-throw line. In losses, those numbers drop to 67.7 ppg, .401 from the floor, and .713 at the line. The Vikings are holding their opponents to 18.7 fewer points per game in wins. Rebounds per game and assists per game are also all up in Portland State wins this season.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: JR G Ashley Bolston earned her first Big Sky Player of the Week honor of the season, second of her career, after dropping a career-high 32 points on Ole Miss to close out non-conference play. Bolston went 10-for-20 from the floor with a pair of three-pointers and a perfect 10-for-10 from the free-throw line to lead the Vikings to a 94-79 win over the Rebels.

NATIONAL HONORS: Not only did JR G Ashley Bolston earn Big Sky Player of the Week honors for her career-high 32 points in the Vikings' win over Ole Miss, Bolston was named the College Sports Madness Big Sky Conference and National Mid-Major Player of the Week as well.

BACK-TO-BACK 30-POINT GAMES: JR G Sidney Rielly posted her first 30-point performance of the season, second of her career, with 30 points in the Vikings' comeback win at UC Irvine on Dec. 16. Not to be outdone, JR G Ashley Bolston posted a career-high 32 points in the Vikings' next game, a win over the Ole Miss Rebels on Dec. 19. It was the first time that the Vikings had back-to-back 30-point scorers since Kelly Marchant and Claire Faucher posted 30 points in consecutive games in Dec. of 2009.

TOP OF THE BIG SKY: Portland State is second in the Big Sky Conference with 74.6 points per game on the year. The Vikings are six points behind Weber State for the scoring lead. The Vikings have already surpassed the 90-point mark four times, going 3-1. Over the past 12 seasons the Vikings have only hit the 90-point mark 19 times.

COMEBACK KIDS: Earlier this season, Portland State had consecutive wins in which it came back from double-digit deficits to win. The Vikings trailed by 11 points early in the third quarter against Northwest University before winning 63-60. Portland State trailed UC Irvine by 16 points midway through the first half before coming back to force overtime on a last-second shot. The Vikings then outscored the Anteaters 18-8 in overtime to win 82-72.

COMEBACK WIN: Portland State trailed UC Irvine by 16 points midway through the first half before coming back to win 82-72 in overtime on Dec. 16. It was the largest deficit overcome in a win under third-year Head Coach Lynn Kennedy and the largest overcome by Portland State since it came back from down 19 to defeat Eastern Washington, 77-70, in January of 2011.

FINAL MINUTE HEROICS: Twice this season the Vikings have come back from a two possession deficit over the final 30 seconds of regulation to win. In both cases, FR G Kylie Jimenez hit a big three-pointer to cut into the lead. In the Vikings' win at UC Irvine, Jimenez cut the lead from six to three points with a three-pointer with 19 seconds left. The Vikings went on to tie the game before winning in overtime. In Portland State's Big Sky opener win over Sacramento State, the Vikings trailed by four with 18 seconds left. Jimenez hit another big three-pointer with 6.8 seconds left to make it a one-point game. JR G Ashley Bolston then hit a pair of free throws with 0.8 seconds left to give the Vikings a one-point win.

COMING UP CLUTCH: Over the final minute of regulation and including overtime, both Sidney Rielly and Ashley Bolston have come up clutch for the Vikings. Rielly is shooting .556 (5-for-9) from the floor and .875 (7-for-8) at the line. Bolston is 1-for-1 from the floor and 14-for-16 at the line.

30-POINT GAME: JR G Sidney Rielly posted the second 30-point game of her career with a season-high 30 points in the Vikings' comeback win over UC Irvine (12/16). She is the first player since Kelly Marchant (2007-11) to record multiple 30-point games for a career. Rielly, Marchant, and Kelsey Kahle are the only Vikings to record multiple 30-point games since the Vikings joined the Big Sky Conference prior to the 1996-97 season.

IN THE RECORD BOOK: After setting the Portland State single-season blocks record in just her first year with the Vikings, JR F Courtney West quickly turned her sights on the PSU career blocks mark. West surpassed the nearly 20-year-old record with five blocks against UC Irvine (12/16). She entered the game with 115 blocks before surpassing Kellie Chander-Read's (1994-97) record of 118 in the first half. She ended the game with 120 career blocks. She has increased her record to 132 and is four blocks away from entering the Big Sky Conference's top 20 list.

BLOCKS TRIPLE CROWN: JR G Courtney West, in just 43 career games at Portland State, has set the PSU single-game, single-season, and career blocks record. She set the single-season record twice last season with 8 blocks against both Sacramento State and North Dakota. She also set the single-season blocks record with 94 a year ago. She now holds the career blocks mark with 132 blocks and counting.

FROM DOWNTOWN: The Vikings are shooting the ball from downtown at a higher clip than they did a year ago. Portland State is shooting .359 from distance with 6.8 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 52 of the team's 109 three-pointers on the year. Additionally, JR G Sidney Rielly had just three games a year ago in which she hit three or more triples, this season she already has six such games. Brown has also hit at least one three-pointer in every game this season.

SPREADING IT AROUND: Portland State had a season-high five players score in double-figures in its win over Portland (11/28). JR G Sidney Rielly led the team with a game-high 18 points, while JR G Kiana Brown and JR F Courtney West each added 13 points. FR G Kylie Jimenez and JR G Corey James added 11 and 10 points respectively. On the season, Portland State has 52 double-digit scoring performances, 3.3 per game.

20-POINT GAMES: Portland State had players scored 20-or-more points 25 times last season and the Vikings are off to a good start to match that this season with 11 20-point performances through 14 games. JR G Sidney Rielly recorded the team's first 20-point game of the year at Nevada (11/12). She has scored at least 20 points six this season, including a season-high 30-point performance at UC Irvine. Rielly's 17 career 20-point games are ninth all-time at Portland State. JR G Kiana Brown recorded her first 20-point game with a career-high 27 points at Seattle U (11/22) before FR F Savannah Dhaliwal added her first 20-point game with a career-high 26 points in a win over Multnomah (11/25). JR G Ashley Bolston recorded her first 20-point game of the season with a career-high 32 points against Ole Miss (12/19). Bolston followed that with a game-high 25 points in the Vikings' win over Sacramento State (12/30) and 22 points against Idaho (1/6).

FRESHMAN PHENOM: FR G Kylie Jimenez has quickly made her mark on the Portland State team. She has started every game so far as the Vikings' point guard and opened her career with three-straight games of at least 13 points and two three-pointers. She leads the Big Sky with 4.6 assists per game. Her league-best 3.1 assist-to-turnover ratio is 11th-best in the nation.

BENCH HELP: Over the first eight games of the season, the Vikings had just five players coming off the bench, and only two who averaged more than 10 minutes per game. The PSU bench was outscored by 9.4 points per game, while starters accounted for roughly 80-percent of the Vikings' points. The Vikings' bench got deeper with the return of JR G Ashley Bolston from injury for the game against Northwest University. Since Bolston's return, the Portland State bench is averaging 17.3 points per game. JR G Kiana Brown is averaging 9.0 points per game and is 17-for-17 at the free-throw line off the bench this season.

NATIONAL LETTERS OF INTENT: Portland State has signed three student-athletes to National Letters of Intent. Desirae Hansen, Jordan Stotler, and Ana Tainta will join the Vikings for the 2018-19 academic year.

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.
Tainta, a 5-foot-10 guard from Zaragoza, Spain, averaged 19.4 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game while leading the U16 and U17 teams to three-straight Regional League Championships.

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