TIPOFF

It'll be a second straight Thanksgiving with the Wolverines for the Portland State women's basketball team. A year after the Vikings played at Utah Valley the Saturday after Thanksgiving, the Wolverines will make the return trip as the Vikings host them at 2 p.m. this Saturday at Viking Pavilion.
 
The change of location won't be the only difference between the two games. The Wolverines lost four starters off last year's team, including All-Western Athletic Conference honorees Josie Williams and Maria Carvalho.
 
Williams featured prominently in the Wolverines' 62-43 win over the Vikings last season. She finished with 17 points and 19 rebounds to go with four blocks and three assists. The Vikings held Carvalo to only six points on 2-of-13 shooting, but the Wolverines made up for it with 19 points form Megan Jensen and 18 from Madison Grange.
 
But those four are all gone now. Shay Fano, a 6-0 forward, represents the Wolverines' lone returning starter after she averaged 6.7 points per game as the team's fourth-leading scorer last season. Fano picked up Preseason All-WAC second-team honors back in October, and now ranks second to Jaeden Brown in both scoring and rebounding this season.
 
The changeover on the Wolverines' roster has led to some tough early season results for the team. The Wolverines have only scored more than 50 points once, which was in their season opener on Nov. 7, when they beat Park University, 59-54. The Wolverines followed up with big losses to Utah (97-27) and UNLV (82-38), as well as a closer loss to Weber State (55-44) this past Saturday.
 
The Vikings also won't be the same team that played the Wolverines last season. They'll have more of the same people back, but they'll all be a year older and a year more experienced.
 
A year ago, the Vikings started three freshmen against the Wolverines in Esmeralda Morales, Alaya Fitzgerald and Rhema Ogele. Those three will likely start again this year, but they'll do so now as sophomores rather than players who were appearing in just their fifth collegiate game at the time.
 
They, along with the rest of the Vikings' returners, have already shown progress this season. The biggest sign of progress came last Thursday at Seattle U, as the Vikings fought back from a five-point deficit with 38 seconds remaining to force overtime, where they eventually won 80-73. Jada Lewis, another starter in last year's game against the Wolverines, converted a four-point play with 23.9 seconds remaining that tied the game at 67-all. Fitzgerald then stripped the Redhawks on the Vikings' final defensive possession in regulation.
 
Lewis finished with 15 points, 11 of which came in the fourth quarter or overtime. Morales led the Vikings with 21 points while going 4-of-8 from three-point range. The first six times Morales scored in the game, it was always to give the Vikings the lead.
 
The late-game heroics meant that the Vikings pulled out their first road win since the end of the 2020-21 regular season, as well as their first overtime win since Jan. 7, 2021.
 
Further progress has been seen in the Vikings' defensive numbers. Portland State ranks in the top four of the Big Sky in three different statistical categories between three-point field goal percentage defense (2nd, .239), steals per game (T-3rd, 11.5) and turnover margin (4th, +1.25).  Mia 'Uhila sits tied for the Big Sky lead with 3.00 steals per game individually. Morales ranks close behind in a tie for third with 2.75 steals per game. Cinco McCartney, a newcomer to the Vikings' this season, ranks tied for seventh with 2.00 steals per game.
 
So, the Vikings know things won't be the same this time around against the Wolverines on Thanksgiving weekend. This time, they'll get the leftover turkey.
 

GAME NOTES: PORTLAND STATE (2-2) vs. UTAH VALLEY (1-3)

GAME DETAILS: Saturday, Nov. 26, 2 p.m. PT, Portland, Ore. (Viking Pavilion)
LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO
SCOUTING UTAH VALLEY: The Utah Valley Wolverines fell to Weber State out of the Big Sky Conference, 55-44, last Saturday, dropping them to 1-3 to open the season. The Wolverines' lone win this season came in their season opener on Nov. 7, when they beat Park University, an NAIA school out of Gilbert, Ariz., 59-54. The Wolverines followed up that win with a 97-27 loss at Utah on Nov. 11. They also lost 82-38 at UNLV on Nov. 16 before their loss at Weber State this past Saturday. Coming into the season, the Wolverines knew they had a rebuild ahead of them. They lost four of their five starters off a team that went 16-15 overall and finished fourth at 10-8 in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC). Shay Fano, a 6-0 forward, represents the Wolverines' lone returning starter from last year when she averaged 6.7 points per game as the team's fourth-leading scorer. Fano picked up Preseason All-WAC second-team honors before this season. Four games into the year, she ranks second to Jaeden Brown in both scoring and rebounding, as she's averaged 7.3 points and 5.5 rebounds per game so far this season. Brown, a 6-1 transfer from Wyoming, has led the Wolverines in scoring (10.0 ppg), rebounding (6.0 rpg) and blocks (1.5 bpg) so far this season. Eleyana Tafisi, a 5-6 sophomore guard, ranks third on the team in both scoring (6.8 ppg) and rebounding (4.8 rpg) while leading the Wolverines with 3.5 assists per game. Tafisi's 3.5 assists per game rank her tied for 11th in the WAC. As a team, the Wolverines rank lower down in the WAC due to their tough opening schedule to the season. The Wolverines rank best in steals, as they stand 10th out of 13 teams in the conference with 8.5 thefts a game.
ALL-TIME SERIES: The Wolverines lead the all-time series between them and the Vikings, 4-3. They beat the Vikings, 62-43, last season, which was the teams' first game against each other since 2009. The Vikings won that game, beating the Wolverines 85-58 on Dec. 18, 2009.
 

STORYLINES/STREAKS/RECORDS

• The Vikings erased a five-point deficit with 38 seconds remaining to record their first overtime win since Jan. 7, 2021, as well as their first road win since March 5, 2021, with an 80-73 victory at Seattle U last Thursday.
• The Vikings rank among the top four teams in the Big Sky in three different defensive categories. They stand second in the conference in three-point field goal percentage defense (.239), while also ranking tied for third in steals per game (11.5) and fourth in turnover margin (+1.25).
• Esmeralda Morales has led the Vikings in scoring in three of the team's four games this season. She scored a season-high 21 points against Seattle U last Thursday, and has been in double figures in all four games. She ranks seventh in the Big Sky with 16.8 points per game.
• Jada Lewis scored 15 points in both games last week and now ranks second on the team with 12.0 points per game. She added season highs for rebounds (8) and assists (4) against Seattle U, while she also hit the four-point play with 23.9 seconds remaining that forced overtime.
• Mia 'Uhila scored in double figures in the Vikings' first three games of the season before being held to five points against Boise State on Sunday.
• Mia 'Uhila ranks tied for the Big Sky lead with 3.00 steals per game. Esmeralda Morales and Cinco McCartney, meanwhile, rank tied for third and tied for seventh, respectively, with 2.75 and 2.00 steals per game.
• Esmeralda Morales ranks in the top 15 of the Big Sky in nine different statistical categories so far this season. She ranks highest in three-pointers made as she stands tied for the conference lead with 3.5 makes per game. She also ranks second in the conference and fourth in the NCAA with 40.2 minutes played per game.
• Cinco McCartney has 15 rebounds combined in the Vikings' last two games and now ranks tied for 14th in the Big Sky with 5.5 rebounds per game. She also ranks tied for 13th in the conference with 4.0 defensive rebounds per game.
• Both Esmeralda Morales and Jada Lewis rank in the top 100 of the NCAA for three-pointers made per game. Morales ranks 16th with her 3.5 makes per game, while Lewis ranks 98th with 2.5 makes per game.
• Jada Lewis' 10 three-pointers so far this season have moved her into a tie for eighth all time in program history. With 136 career makes now, Lewis needs five more to pass Desirae Hansen (2018-21) for seventh and eight more to pass Sidney Rielly (2016-19) for sixth all time.
• The Vikings chose "competitive," "hungry," and "family" as the three words to define their 2022-23 season. The players voted on the words at their team retreat in September.
• The Vikings are coming off a 2021-22 season in which they went 5-24 overall and 0-20 in Big Sky play. The Vikings started three freshmen in all but one game last season, while four of the team's top six scorers were freshmen. Esmeralda Morales, then a freshman, led the Vikings while ranking 11th in the Big Sky with 12.5 points per game last season. Her classmates Alaya Fitzgerald, Mia 'Uhila and Rhema Ogele followed with 9.3, 6.0 and 5.2 points per game, respectively.
• The Vikings had two breaks of 10 days or more last season. The Vikings went on a 27-day hiatus from Dec. 19 to Jan. 15 last season due to COVID-related cancellations or postponements. They also went 10 days without a game between Feb. 7 and 17. As a result, the Vikings only once had more than two days off between games from Jan. 15 to the end of the season. They played 10 games in 24 days following their 27-day hiatus and finished the season with nine games over 19 days from Feb. 17 to March 7.
• Head coach Chelsey Gregg enters her second year at the helm for the Vikings. Before becoming head coach, she spent the previous six seasons as first an assistant then an associate head coach for the Vikings.
• A season after they started three freshmen, the Vikings will still be young this season as they sport 10 underclassmen between three freshmen and seven sophomores (includes redshirts).

 

DE-FENSE, DE-FENSE

A season after the Vikings ranked last in the Big Sky and 322nd in the NCAA for scoring defense, they've shown vast improvements on the defensive end so far this season. The team's first two opponents failed to score 60 points against the Vikings, while the Vikings now sit fifth in the Big Sky in scoring defense with 60.3 points allowed per game. The most impressive stat for the Viking defense so far this season has been its three-point defense. The Vikings are holding opponents to just 23.9 percent shooting from the outside, a mark that ranks them second in the Big Sky and 53rd in the nation. Additionally, the Vikings are forcing close to 20 turnovers per game, a number that ranks them fourth in the Big Sky and 104th nationally. The strong on-the-ball defense means the Vikings rank tied for third in the conference and 52nd in the nation with 11.5 steals per game. They also rank fourth in the conference with a positive turnover margin of plus-1.25.
 

SWIPING LEFT AND RIGHT

Gen Z knows how to swipe. Not just on their phones it turns out, as the Vikings have proven over their first three games of the season. The Vikings opened their season with 22 steals against Warner Pacific on Nov. 7, the program's most steals in a single game since they also had 22 in a 77-48 win over Idaho on Dec. 20, 2006. They've followed with at least seven steals in each of their next three games and now rank tied for third in the Big Sky and 52nd in the NCAA with 11.5 steals per game. Individually, Mia 'Uhila stands tied atop the conference and 51st in the NCAA with 3.00 steals per game. Esmeralda Morales sits right behind her in a tie for third in the conference and 84th in the NCAA with 2.75 steals per game. Cinco McCartney gives the Vikings a third player in the top 10 of the Big Sky, as she ranks tied for seventh with 2.00 steals per game.
 

THREE-POINT SHOOTING

Nearly half of the Vikings' 61 points Sunday against Boise State came from 10 made three-pointers. That's how critical three-point shooting has been for the Viking offense. The Vikings have hit 10 three-pointers in two of their four games so far this season, including a combined 18 in last week's road trip to Seattle U and Boise State. The Vikings head into this week ranked fifth in the Big Sky and 55th in the NCAA with 8.25 three-pointers made per game. The dynamic duo of Esmeralda Morales and Jada Lewis lead the Vikings from the outside. They both rank in the top 10 of the Big Sky and the top 100 of the NCAA for three-pointers made per game. Morales ranks tied for the conference lead with 3.50 makes per game, an average that also ranks her 16th in the NCAA. Morales ranks highly thanks to having hit at least four three-pointers in three of the team's four games. Lewis, meanwhile, ranks tied for sixth in the conference and 98th in the NCAA with 2.5 makes per game. Both Morales and Lewis also rank in the top 15 of the conference for three-point field goal percentage. Morales stands eighth while hitting 45.2 percent of her shots from the outside so far this season, while Lewis ranks 13th at 38.5 percent.
 

MONEY FROM THE LINE

The Vikings shot 36 free throws in last Thursday's overtime win over Seattle U, their most free throws in a single game since Nov. 19, 2017, when they had 37 in a game against San Jose State. But it's not just the volume of free throws, the Vikings have also been hitting them as they rank third in the Big Sky in free throw percentage at 72.5 percent. That bore out in the fourth quarter and overtime of the Vikings' win over Seattle U. The Vikings were 14-of-17 (.824) from the line between the fourth quarter and overtime, which was key in the Vikings' comeback in the fourth quarter and extra period. Individually, Morales ranks 10th in the Big Sky while shooting 76.5 percent from the line. That's actually a dip from her freshman season when she set a single-season program record by going 63-of-69 (.913) from the charity stripe. All five Viking starters so far this season are shooting above 75 percent from the line.
 

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN…THE FAB FOUR

Ed Sullivan introduced The Beatles – the original Fab Four – to America in 1964. The Vikings' Fab Four – a self-proclaimed title that Alaya Fitzgerald, Esmeralda Morales, Rheme Ogele and Mia 'Uhila adopted last season when they were freshmen – didn't quite get as grand of an introduction last year, but they did make a splash. The foursome all ranked among the Vikings' top six scorers last season, as they accounted for 52.8 percent of the team's scoring. Their roles have only expanded as sophomores, especially Morales who is now a co-captain with senior Syd Schultz. Morales led the Vikings in scoring in the team's first three games of the season, and has scored in double figures in every game. 'Uhila scored in double figures in the team's first three games of season before being held to five points against Boise State Sunday. She still ranks third on the team with 9.8 points per game. Fitzgerald went into double figures for the first time Sunday, scoring 11 points on 5-of-12 shooting, while she's averaging 8.0 points, 2.75 rebounds and 2.25 assists per game. Ogele, meanwhile, scored a season-high 13 points against Seattle U last Thursday while going 5-of-7 from the field. She's now averaging 5.3 points and 5.0 rebounds per game on .368 shooting from the field.
 

MORE OF MORALES, PLEASE

Esmeralda Morales was a captain in stature if not in name last season when she led the Vikings in scoring as a freshman. Now also a captain in name, Morales has continued to play like one as she's scored in double figures in every game while leading the team in its first three games of the season. Morales scored big bucket after big bucket last Thursday night against Seattle U. The first six times she scored in the game, it was always to give the Vikings the lead. That streak only stopped late in overtime when the Vikings were icing away the game from the free throw line. Morales opened her season with a similarly big game. She led the Vikings in points (19), assists (7), steals (6) and three-point field goals (5) in the team's win over Warner Pacific on Nov. 7. It's still early, but through four games of the season, Morales already ranks in the top 15 of the Big Sky in nine different statistical categories. She ranks tied for the conference lead in three-pointers made per game, as she's averaging 3.5 makes per game to also rank 16th in the NCAA. Additionally, Morales ranks second in the conference and fourth in the NCAA with 40.2 minutes played per game. She played all 45 minutes of last Thursday's overtime win over Seattle U, and only missed 27 seconds of Sunday's game at Boise State. Outside of those two categories, Morales ranks seventh in scoring (16.8 ppg), ninth in field goal percentage (.435), 10th in assists per game (3.25), 10th in free throw percentage (.765), tied for third in steals per game (2.75), eighth in three-point field goal percentage (.452) and ninth in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.08).
 

JADA CAN KNOCK DOWN THE J's, DUH

Jada Lewis lived up to her reputation as a sharpshooter last Thursday night, converting a four-point play with 23.9 seconds left that forced overtime. Lewis scored 11 of her 15 points after halftime against Seattle U, including nine points in the fourth quarter alone. Lewis followed up with another 15 points Sunday, as she led the Vikings in scoring while going 3-of-8 from three-point range. Lewis now ranks second on the team with 12.0 points per game through the first four games of the season. She also ranks tied for sixth in the Big Sky with 2.50 three-pointers made per game, having made at least two shots from deep in each of the team's first four games of the season. She also ranks 13th in the Big Sky for three-point field goal percentage, as she's hitting 38.5 percent of her shots from the outside this season. Lewis tied Emily Easom (2012-15) for eighth all time in three-pointers made at Portland State. She needs four more to match Desirae Hansen (2018-21) for seventh and seven more to match Sidney Rielly (2016-19) for sixth.
 

OOOOO-HEE-LUH

The Pizza Planet aliens in the Toy Story franchise don't say "ooooooooh" about Buzz Lightyear. They're actually talking about Mia 'Uhila. 'Uhila scored in double figures in the team's first three games of the season and now ranks third on the team with 9.8 points per game. She also ranks tied for the Big Sky lead with 3.00 steals per game after grabbing four in Sunday's game at Boise State. 'Uhila's 3.00 steals per game rank her 51st in the NCAA, as well, while her contributions mean the Vikings rank 52nd nationally with 11.5 steals per game as a team.
 

YOUTHFUL ROSTER

A season after the Vikings started three freshmen in all but one game, the Vikings will again have a youth-heavy roster this season. Ten of the team's 15 players enter the year as underclassmen between three freshmen and seven sophomores (including redshirts). Last year's freshmen – Alaya Fitzgerald, Esmeralda Morales, Rhema Ogele and Mia 'Uhila – got plenty of experience last season, but they'll still only be sophomores this season. Sophomore transfers Sofía Llanos and Paige Winter-Blanchard will join them as underclassmen this season, while Nakia Boston also returns as a redshirt sophomore after sitting all of last season with an ankle injury. Additionally, the Vikings brought in three freshmen in Alani Encinas, Brooklyn Strandy and Kiana Yesiki, all of whom could see time for the Vikings this season.
 

PRESEASON PREDICTIONS

Last season's struggles shaped the preseason expectations for the Vikings among Big Sky coaches and media members. The Vikings were picked to finish last in the conference by both groups, while last year's tournament champion Montana State was picked to finish first in both polls. The Vikings returned five of their top six scorers from a year ago, however, between Esmeralda Morales (12.5 points per game), Jada Lewis (10.0 ppg), Alaya Fitzgerald (9.3 ppg), Mia 'Uhila (6.0 ppg) and Rhema Ogele (5.2 ppg). This year's roster also features a full 15 players, including six newcomers between three freshmen – Alani Encinas, Brooklyn Strandy and Kiana Yesiki – and three transfers – Sofía Llanos (from Marshall), Cinco McCartney (from Northeastern) and Paige Winter-Blanchard (from Centralia/William Jessup).
 

SEASON HIGHLIGHTS

Nov. 17, 2022, Portland State 80, Seattle U 73: The Vikings erased a five-point deficit with 38 seconds remaining thanks in part of a four-point play by Jada Lewis that tied the game with 25 seconds remaining. It was the Vikings' first road win since the end of the 2020-21 regular season, and their first overtime win since Jan. 7, 2021.
Nov. 7, 2022, Portland State 67, Warner Pacific 40: The Vikings recorded 22 steals for their most steals in a single game since Dec. 20, 2006. They also assisted on their first 19 field goals in the game, while finishing with 20 assists on 22 field goals.