TIPOFF

The road trip continues for the Portland State women's basketball team, as the Vikings traverse the state of Montana to face Montana State Saturday in the third leg of their five-game road trip.
 
Saturday's game follows two on the road earlier in the week, as the Vikings played at Eastern Washington Monday and at Montana Thursday. The Vikings will continue on the road at the start of next week, as they play at Idaho this coming Monday, and continue on to Southern Utah Thursday, Jan. 27.
 
The five-game road trip has come as part of a tough re-start for the Vikings following their 27-day hiatus in the middle of the season. The Vikings have dropped their first three games since the restart, with the end of games proving particularly troublesome for the Vikings. Sacramento State outscored the Vikings 22-11 in the fourth quarter last Saturday, while Eastern Washington outscored the Vikings 22-3 in the fourth quarter Monday. Montana, meanwhile, outscored the Vikings 50-27 in the second half of their game yesterday.
 
The Bobcats have been stronger since going through their own hiatus at the beginning of the month. They didn't play a game for 16 days at the start of January, but returned with a 10-point home win over Idaho, 79-69, this past Monday. The Bobcats then followed with an 88-73 win at home over Northern Arizona Thursday. The win over NAU moved the Bobcats into a three-way tie for third in the Big Sky standings, alongside the Lumberjacks and Montana.
 
Saturday's game between the Vikings and Bobcats could have special interest for general Big Sky fans, as it should feature two of the best point guards in the Big Sky Conference. The Vikings' Esmeralda Morales gets her first taste of facing the Bobcats' Darian White, who was the Big Sky Defensive Player of the Year last season, as well as an All-Big Sky first-team selection.
 
Morales enters the matchup ranked seventh in the Big Sky with 13.8 points per game, as well as fifth in assists (4.15), fourth in steals (2.00) and sixth in three-pointers made per game (1.92).
 
White, meanwhile, leads the Bobcats in points (16.5), rebounds (5.4) and assists (4.3) per game, all averages that also rank her among the best in the Big Sky. White ranks second in the Big Sky with her 16.5 points per game, and also stands second in the conference with 2.63 steals per game.
 
It's been Alaya Fitzgerald that has led the Vikings in scoring in their three games since the restart, however. The freshman wing scored 15 points to go with five rebounds and three steals in the Vikings' first game back, when they faced Sacramento State on Jan. 15. Fitzgerald then followed with 13 points and three rebounds against Eastern Washington Monday, and added 12 points and three rebounds against Montana yesterday.
 
Savannah Dhaliwal has also scored in double figures in all three games since the restart, as she's scored 10+ points in all but two games this season. Dhaliwal averages 11.1 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 0.9 steals per game while shooting 47.5 percent overall (57-of-120) and 37.9 percent from three-point range (11-of-29).
 
The supporting cast for the Bobcats features Kola Bad Bear, who averages 10.2 points and 5.3 rebounds per game this season. Katelynn Limardo and Leia Beattie stand tied for third on the team with 8.8 points per game, and are also the Bobcats' top two three-point shooters. Limardo leads the Bobcats with 30 made three-pointers, giving her an average of 1.76 makes per game. Beattie, meanwhile, has 25 three-pointers made this season and averages 1.47 makes per game.
 
The Vikings and Bobcats tip off at 1 p.m. PT / 2 p.m. MT Saturday.
 

GAME NOTES: PORTLAND STATE (5-8, 0-5) vs. MONTANA STATE (9-8, 4-2)

LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO
GAME DETAILS: Saturday, Jan. 22, 1 p.m. PT / 2 p.m. MT, Bozeman, Mont. (Worthington Arena)
SCOUTING MONTANA STATE: The Montana State Bobcats went through their own hiatus earlier this month, as they did not play a game for 16 days after losing by 10 points, 67-57, at Idaho State on Jan. 1. The Bobcats returned to action Monday, when they beat Idaho 79-69 at home, and followed with an 88-73 home win over Northern Arizona on Thursday. The win over Northern Arizona moved the Bobcats into a three-way tie for third in the Big Sky standings alongside NAU and Montana at 4-2 in conference play. The Bobcats also swept Northern Colorado, 63-57, and Sacramento State, 76-69, on Dec. 2 and 4, respectively. Statistically, the Bobcats are one of the best teams on the ball in the Big Sky Conference. They have nearly double the turnover margin of the No. 2-ranked team in the conference, as they're at +2.94 entering Saturday's game against the Vikings. The Bobcats also lead the conference with a 1.02 assist-to-turnover ratio, and rank third with 8.59 steals per game. The Bobcats are strong on the ball thanks to Darian White, one of the best point guards in the Big Sky Conference, who was the Big Sky Defensive Player of the Year and an All-Big Sky first-team selection last season. White leads the Bobcats in points (16.5), rebounds (5.4) and assists (4.3) per game, all averages that also rank her among the best in the Big Sky. White ranks second in the Big Sky with her 16.5 points per game, and also stands second in the conference with 2.63 steals per game. Kola Bad Bear ranks second on the Bobcats' team with 10.2 points per game, and also stands just behind White with 5.3 rebounds per game. Katelynn Limardo and Leia Beattie stand tied for third on the team with 8.8 points per game, and are also the Bobcats' top two three-point shooters. Limardo leads the Bobcats with 30 made three-pointers, giving her an average of 1.76 makes per game. Beattie, meanwhile, has 25 three-pointers made this season and averages 1.47 makes per game.
ALL-TIME SERIES: The Bobcats lead the all-time series between them and the Vikings, 38-30. The teams split their games last season, which were both played at Viking Pavilion due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Bobcats won the first game, 75-67, before the Vikings turned it around with a 72-70 win in the second game.
 

STORYLINES/STREAKS/RECORDS

• Last Saturday's game against Sacramento State was the Vikings' first game in 27 days. That layoff has been noticeable in the fourth quarter of every game since the restart. Sacramento State outscored the Vikings 22-11 in the fourth quarter last Saturday, while Eastern Washington outscored the Vikings 22-3 in the fourth quarter Monday. Montana then outscored the Vikings 23-14 in the fourth quarter Thursday, as part of a 50-27 second half.
• Esmeralda Morales (13.8 ppg), Savannah Dhaliwal (11.1) and Alaya Fitzgerald (10.0) all average in double figures, while Jada Lewis is just below double figures at 9.8 points per game. Fitzgerald has led the Vikings in scoring in every game since the restart. Morales' 13.8 points per game, meanwhile, ranks her seventh in the Big Sky.
• Saturday will be the third game of a five-game road trip that spans 11 days from Jan. 17-27. The Vikings played Eastern Washington and Montana on the road Monday and Thursday of this past week, and will play Idaho (Jan. 24) and Southern Utah (Jan. 27) on the road after facing the Bobcats Saturday.
• The Vikings have missed a combined five free throws over their past four games and now rank fourth in the nation with a .798 team free throw percentage. Esmeralda Morales has gone 40-of-43 (.930) from the free-throw line individually, good for second in the Big Sky and sixth in the nation. 
• Montana went 12-of-29 on 41.4 percent shooting from three-point range Thursday, with both the makes and percentage marking season-highs for a Viking opponent. The Vikings came into the game ranked fifth in the Big Sky in three-point field goal defense, but fell to 26th after Thursday. The Vikings still lead the Big Sky in the category, as opponents are shooting just 25.7 percent against the Vikings from three-point range.
• The Vikings rank fifth in the Big Sky for three-point field goal percentage, as they're shooting 31.8 percent from deep as a team, though they're shooting just 22.4 percent since their restart. Jada Lewis ranks second in the conference with 2.15 three-pointers made per game, and stands fourth in terms of percentage (.368).
• The Vikings rank second in the Big Sky and 93rd in the nation with 9.23 steals per game, though they recorded a season-low three steals in Thursday's game against Montana. Three different Vikings rank in the top 10 of the Big Sky for steals per game. Mia 'Uhila and Esmeralda Morales rank third and fourth, respectively, with 2.08 and 2.00 steals per game individually. Jada Lewis also ranks tied for 10th in the league with 1.46 steals per game.
• Savannah Dhaliwal has scored in double figures in all but two games this season, and she scored eight and nine points in the other two games. Dhaliwal averages 11.1 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 0.9 steals per game while shooting 47.5 percent overall (57-of-120) and 37.9 percent from three-point range (11-of-29). Dhaliwal's production has provided a feel-good storyline for the Vikings this season after she missed the last two seasons due to back-to-back ACL tears. Dhaliwal played in her first counting game in 985 days when she started the team's season opener against Warner Pacific on Nov. 9.
• The Vikings started three freshmen in Esmeralda Morales, Alaya Fitzgerald and Rhema Ogele in their first 11 games of the season. Additionally, Mia 'Uhila averages 22.3 minutes per game off the bench, ranking her fifth on the team in minutes. Ogele did not play in the Vikings' game against Eastern Washington Monday due to an injury.
• Head coach Chelsey Gregg is in her first year at the helm of the Vikings after spending the previous six seasons as first an assistant then an associate head coach for the Vikings. The players dumped ice water over Gregg's head following the team's first win of the season on Nov. 9. A photo of the moment was shared by the @NCAAWBB accounts as their photo of the week that week.
• The Vikings have nine underclassmen out of the 14 players on their roster this season, while Savannah Dhaliwal represents the team's lone senior.

 

TEAM-WIDE PERFECTION FROM THE LINE

The Vikings are a combined 51-of-56 (.911) from the free-throw line over their past four games, and have only missed more than four free throws in two games this season. The recent run from the line means the Vikings have moved up to fourth in the nation with a team free-throw percentage of .798. Four Vikings have made every free throw they've shot this season, including Jada Lewis who is 9-for-9 on the year. None of those players qualify for the Big Sky or national rankings, however. Esmeralda Morales does, and she ranks second in the conference and sixth in the nation as she's gone 40-of-43 (.930) from the line. Morales has a chance to break the single-season school record for free-throw percentage if she maintains that level. Eryn Jones set the current record at .911 during the 2011-12 season, when she went 51-of-56 from the line.
 

STRONG PERIMETER DEFENSE

Montana set season-highs for three-point makes (12) and percentage (.414) by a Viking opponent in Thursday's game. But that was the exception rather than the rule for the Vikings' perimeter defense this season. Before Montana, no team had shot better than 33.3 percent against the Vikings, while seven teams have failed to shoot better than 30 percent. Additionally, seven teams have made five or fewer three-pointers against the Vikings this season. The high point defensively came against cross-town rival University of Portland on Dec. 12, when the Vikings held the Pilots without a make from three-point range while the Pilots went 0-of-17 in the game. All told, the Vikings lead the Big Sky and rank 26th in the nation in three-point field goal percentage defense, as opponents are shooting just 25.7 percent from deep against the Vikings.
 

UP-AND-DOWN OFFENSE

The Vikings' 75-71 win over Pepperdine on Dec. 10 marked a resurgence for the Viking offense before its dormant run due to the COVID-19 cancellations. The Vikings shot over 50 percent for only the second time this season, going 29-of-57 (.509) against the Waves. That included a seasonal-best performance from three-point range as the Vikings went 12-of-19 (.632) from deep. But the Vikings have followed with five straight games shooting under 40.0 percent from the field, and shot a season-low 21.4 percent (12-of-56) from the field in Monday's game at Eastern Washington. Such is life with a young team. The Vikings have shown the ability to light it up with five games in which they've scored 73 points or more, but they also have three games in which they've failed to score at least 50 points. Three-point shooting has been key in the Vikings' wins this season. The Vikings are 4-0 when they hit at least nine three-pointers in a game, but they average only 4.67 makes per game in their nine other games. Despite the up-and-down shooting numbers, the Vikings still rank fifth in the Big Sky while shooting 31.8 percent from three-point range this season. Jada Lewis ranks second in the Big Sky with 2.15 makes per game, as well as fourth in three-point field goal percentage (.368). Morales, meanwhile, ranks sixth in the Big Sky with 1.92 makes per game. All of the Vikings have struggled since the restart, however, as the Vikings are shooting just 15-of-67 (.224) from three-point range in their three games since last Saturday against Sacramento State.
 

THEFT ON THE WING

The Vikings grabbed 11 steals in Monday's game against Eastern Washington, the eighth time this season the Vikings have finished with at least 10 steals. The Vikings average 9.23 steals per game for the season, an average that ranks them second in the Big Sky and 93rd in the nation. Three different Vikings rank in the top 10 of the Big Sky for steals per game, led by Mia 'Uhila and Esmeralda Morales who rank third and fourth, respectively, with 2.08 and 2.00 steals per game. Jada Lewis also ranks tied for 10th in the conference with 1.46 steals per game.
 

MORE OF MORALES, PLEASE

Esmeralda Morales has averaged 12.0 points, 3.75 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game since the Vikings re-started their season following their 27-day hiatus. Morales has had to adjust to being one of the primary targets of opposing teams' defensive plans, which she's been the subject of ever since her record-breaking debut against Warner Pacific on Nov. 9. Morales tied a single-game record that has stood since 1991 with eight made three-pointers in her debut against Warner Pacific. She also set five other freshman records in the game between the records for points (32), points in a debut (32), field goals made (11), three-point field goals made (8) and three-point field goal percentage (.727). Morales also made the Bank of Hawai'i Classic All-Tournament Team after averaging 19.5 points, 4.5 assists, 2.5 steals and 2.0 three-pointers per game against Prairie View A&M on Nov. 20, and Hawai'i on Nov. 21. Morales now ranks seventh in the Big Sky with 13.8 points per game and also stands among the leaders in a number of other categories as well. Morales ranks second in the Big Sky and sixth in the nation while shooting 93.0 percent from the free-throw line. Additionally, Morales ranks fourth in steals per game (2.00), fifth in both assists per game (4.15) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.54), and sixth in three-pointers made per game (1.92).
 

JADA CAN KNOCK DOWN THE J's, DUH

Jada Lewis has made at least one three-pointer in the Vikings' last seven games, a stretch in which she's shooting 37.8 percent (14-of-37) from beyond the arc. Lewis has three games this season in which she's hit at least five three-pointers, and has shot at least 58.3 percent from deep while topping at least 20 points in all three of those games. Lewis lit it up in back-to-back games against Dixie State and Prairie View A&M on Nov. 12 and 20, respectively. Lewis set a new career-high for points in both games while going a combined 13-of-21 (.619) from beyond the arc. Lewis started with 22 points on 6-of-9 shooting from deep against Dixie State, then topped that with 23 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the outside against Prairie View A&M. Lewis also scored over 20 points against Pepperdine on Dec. 10, when she went 5-of-7 from three-point range while totaling 21 points. Lewis showed a new facet of her game last Saturday against Sacramento State, as she recorded her first double-double with a career-high 11 rebounds to go with 13 points. For the season, Lewis ranks second in the Big Sky in three-pointers made per game (2.15), fourth in three-point field goal percentage (.368), and tied for 10th in steals per game (1.46).
 

THE LONG-AWAITED RETURN OF SAVANNAH DHALIWAL

For someone who went 985 days between counting games, Savannah Dhaliwal has been remarkably consistent for the Vikings since making her return from back-to-back ACL tears. Dhaliwal has scored in double figures in all but two games so far this season, and scored eight and nine points in the other two games. Dhaliwal hasn't just been a scorer, though, as she's done a little bit of everything for the Vikings. Through 13 games this season, she's averaging 11.1 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 0.9 steals per game while shooting 47.5 percent (57-of-120) from the field and 37.9 percent (11-of-29) from three-point range. Dhaliwal also ranks 10th in the conference with 2.23 offensive rebounds per game. So, it's been a dream return to play for Dhaliwal, who first tore the ACL in her right knee in the Vikings' home game against Idaho on Feb. 28, 2019. That kept her out of the entire 2019-20 season, and she re-tore her ACL in the fall of 2020, which forced her out of the entire 2020-21 season as well.
 

ROOTING FOR LAY IS A LAY-UP

Alaya Fitzgerald, nicknamed Lay, has led the Vikings in scoring in their first three games since their season re-started last Saturday against Sacramento State. Fitzgerald scored 15 points to go with five rebounds and three steals in the Vikings' game against the Hornets, the first one back following their 27-day hiatus. The freshman wing then followed with 13 points and three rebounds against Eastern Washington Monday, and added 12 points and three rebounds against Montana Thursday. Fitzgerald also scored in double figures in the Vikings' final game before their hiatus, when she scored 12 points against Simpson on Dec. 19. She opened the season with four straight double-digit scoring games, a stretch that included her career-high against Hawai'i on Nov. 21, when she scored 17 points on 5-of-11 shooting overall and 3-of-4 from three-point range.
 

OOOOOOOOOO-HEE-LUH

Pixar took the little green aliens saying 'oooooooooo' in Toy Story from watching freshman guard Mia 'Uhila. At least that's the story we're telling ourselves. 'Uhila has the game to make it believable, especially in terms of her perimeter defense. 'Uhila has grabbed at least three steals in five of her 12 appearances this season. That's put 'Uhila third in the Big Sky with 2.08 steals per game. 'Uhila has also helped the Vikings rank second in the Big Sky and 93rd in the nation with 9.23 steals per game as a team.
 

YOUTHFUL ROSTER

Nine of the Vikings' 14 players this season will be freshmen or sophomores, and neither class has had a normal basketball season due to the pandemic since they were either sophomore or juniors in high school. That should make for a youthful roster at times for the Vikings this season, especially considering the Vikings' only have one senior – Savannah Dhaliwal – to counterbalance that youth. Even the Vikings' juniors had their freshmen years in 2019-20 cut short in March due to the pandemic, and then weren't able to work on their games nearly as much as they would have liked as sophomores during the 2020-21 season.
 

PRESEASON PREDICTIONS

Big Sky coaches and media members picked the Vikings to finish ninth and eighth in their respective preseason polls. The top three in both polls were identical, with Idaho State the clear favorite in both. The Bengals return several key players from last year's team that ran away with the Big Sky regular-season and tournament titles. Because of that, the Bengals earned all but their own first-place vote in the coaches poll, and picked up 17 of the 22 first-place votes in the media poll. Montana State followed the Bengals at second in both polls, narrowly edging Idaho in third.
 

SEASON HIGHLIGHTS

Dec. 19, 2021, Portland State 73, Simpson 45: Every player who dressed scored for the Vikings in their game against the Red Hawks. The Vikings assisted on 19 of their 27 field goals in the game, while nine of their 12 players recorded at least one assist.
Dec. 10, 2021, Portland State 75, Pepperdine 71: The Vikings erased a 16-6 deficit early in the game while returning to form from the outside. The Vikings went 12-of-19 (.632) from three-point range after going just 9-of-48 (.188) combined over their previous three games. Jada Lewis and Esmeralda Morales both broke out of individual shooting slumps, as they tied for the game high with 21 points while going 5-of-7 and 5-of-6 from deep, respectively.
Nov. 20, 2021, Portland State 75, Prairie View A&M 61: Savannah Dhaliwal recorded the first double-double of her career with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Jada Lewis set career highs for points (23) and three-pointers (7) to lead the Vikings offensively.
Nov. 12, 2021, Portland State 80, Dixie State 52: The Vikings held a Dixie State team that had just set a new school record with 22 made three-pointers in its season opener to 5-of-34 (.147) shooting from deep. Jada Lewis set a career high with 22 points on 6-of-9 shooting from beyond the arc.
Nov. 9, 2021, Portland State 87, Warner Pacific 64: Esmeralda Morales tied a single-game record that's stood since 1991 with eight three-pointers against the Knights, while setting five new freshman records in the game. Morales broke the freshman records for points (32), points in a debut (32), field goals made (11), three-point field goals made (8) and three-point field goal percentage (.727). Savannah Dhaliwal also made her return after missing the last two seasons due to back-to-back ACL tears. Dhaliwal had 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting while setting new career highs for assists (6) and steals (2) in her first counting game in 985 days.