Boxscore - HTM | PDF

Portland, OR - Portland State closed out first-place Weber State with a 15-0 run to end the game and pull off a 77-64 Big Sky Conference victory at Lewis and Clark College's Pamplin Sports Center.
 
Trailing 64-62 with 7:04 to play, the Vikings rallied for the win. Weber State missed its last 13 straight shots from the field as the Vikings toughened up their defense at the three-point line. Prior to the Wildcats offensive meltdown, the league's two highest-scoring teams had put on quite a show. There were eight ties and 18 lead changes and the largest lead by either team had been seven points.
 
PSU got great performances for Sidney Rielly and Courtney West. Rielly scored 21 points, while West went for 18 points, 13 rebounds, five blocked shots and three assists. The junior center matched her career high for rebounds and was just two points short of her scoring high as she made 9-13 shots.
 
Portland State's win made the Big Sky Conference standings just a little bit closer for everyone as the schedule approaches the midpoint next week. PSU moved to 10-8 on the season, 4-3 in the Big Sky. The Vikings knocked the Wildcats out of a three-way tie for first place as WSU moved to 13-5, 5-2.
 
A tight first quarter that had eight lead changes ended with the Vikings up 21-19. West was 4-4 from the field for eight points and had seven rebounds to lead PSU.
 
The Wildcats took the lead into halftime. They were strengthened by three-point shooting, hitting 8-19 in the first half. Larryn Brooks, the Big Sky's third-leading scorer, made 5-8 for 15 points by the break. For the Vikings, West had 10 rebounds and three blocked shots by halftime.
 
The third quarter remained close until the Vikings built their largest lead at 56-50. But three-pointers by Brooks and J'aiamoni Welch-Coleman in the final minute tied the game at 58-58 heading to the fourth quarter.
 
A pair of three-pointers was all the Wildcats would get the rest of the way. A Brooks three at the 7:04 mark moved WSU ahead 64-62. From there, the Vikings took over. PSU mounted an eight-point run with four from West. That put them up 70-64 with 3:51 to play.
 
Then the lid went on the hoop for both teams as neither could make a shot over the next two-and-a-half minutes. Finally Viking guard Kiana Brown hit a driving layin with 1:18 left to give PSU a 72-64 edge.
 
The Wildcats continued to miss and had to resort to fouling. Rielly tacked on two free throws with 49.2 seconds left and the Vikings had an insurmountable 74-64 lead.
 
Portland State shot 28-54 (.519) from the field for the game and hit 17-19 (.895) at the line. The Vikings also out-rebounded the Wildcats, 40-31.
 
Kylie Jimenez scored 13 points with four assists, and Brown scored 11 points off the bench for Portland State.
 
WSU was 25-70 (.357) from the field and hit 13-37 (.351) from three-point range. Brooks made 7-14 three-pointers in the game. She and Brooks each scored 21 for the Wildcats.
 
GAME NOTES: Kiana Brown's consecutive free throw streak ended at 35 in a row. She is shooting .881 for the season… Courtney West had her first double-double of the season and the seventh of her career… PSU ended a five-game losing streak to the Wildcats… the Vikings are 6-2 at home this season… Portland State will play at Sacramento State next Saturday in a 1 p.m. game. It will be available via live stream at www.WatchBigSky.com and www.Pluto.tv.