TIPOFF

If the Philadelphia 76ers told their fans to "trust the process," the Portland State women's basketball team might say "trust the progress" after Monday night's game against Montana State. Trust that there is progress being made, as the Vikings continue to start three freshmen on a team that only features one senior and nine underclassmen. 
 
Monday night's progress saw the Vikings out-rebounded a Big Sky opponent for the first time this season, and they did so against a Montana State team that came into the game ranked second in the conference in offensive rebounds (13.4) and third in total rebounds per game (38.7). Additionally, the Vikings assisted on 15 of their 21 field goals against the Bobcats, with their 15 assists marking their second-most in a Big Sky game this season and their most since they had 19 against Northern Arizona on Jan. 29.
 
The next step in that progress comes Wednesday, as the Vikings head down to Weber State for a game at 5 p.m. PT / 6 p.m. MT.
 
The Wildcats enter the game with their own run of bad luck. They've lost 11 of their last 13 games, though seven of those 13 games have been decided by six points or less while another went to overtime. The sting may have been the worst this past Saturday, as the Wildcats dropped a 60-55 game in overtime against Northern Colorado in which they missed two potential game-winning free throws with three seconds left in regulation.
 
There have been silver linings within the Wildcats' recent rough patch. They swept a Sacramento State team that has won nine of its last 10 against every other team in the Big Sky Conference besides the Wildcats. Additionally, the Wildcats fell by a single possession against some of the top teams in the Big Sky Conference in Idaho State (67-66 on Jan. 8), Montana (61-59 on Feb. 3) and Montana State (74-71 on Feb. 5).
 
The Wildcats also beat the Vikings 85-57 at Viking Pavilion in the teams' first game against each other this season back on Dec. 4. The trio of Daryn Hickok, Jadyn Matthews and Emma Torbert led them to that win over the Vikings, as they have led the Wildcats all season. Hickok led all scorers with 24 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the floor while adding 10 rebounds (four offensive), two steals and a block. Matthews scored 17 points on 5-of-9 shooting from the field, while Torbert chipped in 14 points, six rebounds, four assists, two blocks and a steal.
 
Those three have led an inside-heavy Weber State offense that averages less than four three-pointers made per game. Hickok leads the Wildcats and ranks third in the Big Sky with 14.6 points per game, while Matthews and Torbert rank 12th and 13th, respectively, with 12.8 and 12.3 points per game. Those three also rank in the top 15 of the Big Sky Conference for rebounds, with Matthews third at 8.88 rebounds per game, Hickok seventh at 7.56, and Tobert 12th at 6.52.
 
So, it'll be an important game for the Vikings' two starting forwards – Rhema Ogele and Savannah Dhaliwal – both of whom had breakout games Monday against the Bobcats. Ogele led all players with 11 rebounds against the Bobcats, six of which came on the offensive end. It was Ogele's first double-digit rebounding game since the opening week of the season, as well as her first double-digit game against an NCAA Division I opponent. Dhaliwal, meanwhile, snapped a streak of six straight games in which she failed to score in double figures while chipping in 13 points and eight rebounds.
 
Esmeralda Morales also had her best distribution of any Big Sky game this season with eight assists against the Bobcats. Six of Morales' eight assists came in the third quarter when the Vikings scored more points (22) than they did in the entire first half (17).
 
Dhaliwal led the Vikings in their earlier game against the Wildcats. She finished with 10 points and nine rebounds as the only one of the Vikings' starters to go into double figures. Jenna Kilty would come off the bench to lead the Vikings with 13 points on 3-of-4 shooting from three-point range, but 10 of Kilty's 13 points came in the fourth quarter when the game was already out of reach.
 
The Vikings, then, will have to get more players involved early when they face the Wildcats again Wednesday. But if the team rebounds and dishes out assists like they did against the Bobcats Monday, then they'll have done just that.
 
And that would be another sign of progress.
 

GAME NOTES: PORTLAND STATE (5-18, 0-15) vs. WEBER STATE (9-17, 5-12)

LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO
GAME DETAILS: Wednesday, Feb. 23, 5 p.m. PT / 6 p.m. MT, Ogden, Utah (Dee Events Center)
SCOUTING WEBER STATE: The Weber State Wildcats head into Wednesday's game having lost 11 of their last 13 games, though they've had their fair share of bad luck with a number of close losses during that stretch. Seven of the Wildcats' last 13 games have been decided by six points or less, while another went to overtime. Last Saturday may have been the most painful loss of the stretch for the Wildcats, as they fell 60-55 in overtime to Northern Colorado after missing a pair of potential game-winning free throws with three seconds left in regulation. However, the Wildcats' two most recent wins both came over a quality opponent in Sacramento State, while the Wildcats also have close losses against some of the top teams in the Big Sky Conference. They fell by a single possession to Idaho State (67-66) on Jan. 8, Montana (61-59) on Feb. 3, and Montana State (74-71) on Feb. 5. Statistically, the Wildcats rank strong defensively, as they stand third in the Big Sky Conference in field goal percentage defense (.384) and blocked shots per game (3.19). Rebounding fuels the Wildcats' defensive efforts as they lead the conference in defensive rebounding percentage (.736) while ranking fourth in rebounding margin (+3.77). Offensively, the Wildcats do not shoot a lot of threes, as they average almost two full three-pointers per game less than the next-lowest team in the Big Sky Conference with only 3.96 makes per game. The Wildcats counter that by pounding it inside to the trio of Daryn Hickok, Jadyn Matthews and Emma Torbert. Hickok leads the Wildcats and ranks third in the Big Sky with 14.6 points per game, while Matthews and Torbert rank 12th and 13th, respectively, with 12.8 and 12.3 points per game. Those three also rank in the top 15 of the Big Sky Conference for rebounds, with Matthews third at 8.88 rebounds per game, Hickok seventh at 7.56, and Tobert 12th at 6.52. The trio of Hickok, Matthews and Tobert led the Wildcats to an 85-57 win over the Vikings at Viking Pavilion on Dec. 4 earlier this season. Hickok led all scorers with 24 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the floor while adding 10 rebounds (four offensive), two steals and a block. Matthews scored 17 points on 5-of-9 shooting from the field, while Torbert chipped in 14 points, six rebounds, four assists, two blocks and a steal.
ALL-TIME SERIES: The Vikings lead the all-time series between them and the Wildcats, 30-29. The Vikings had won six straight in the series before losing 85-57 at home to the Wildcats on Dec. 4. The Vikings have won their last three games in Ogden, though Weber State still leads the series there, 16-11.
 

STORYLINES/STREAKS/RECORDS

• The Vikings have had two breaks of 10 days or more this season. The most recent of those, which was 10 days long, ended last Thursday when the Vikings played at Northern Arizona. The Vikings also went 27 days without a game between Dec. 19 and Jan. 15.
• The Vikings played 10 games in 24 days following their 27-day hiatus. They'll now play their final eight regular-season games over 16 days from Feb. 17 to March 4.
• The Vikings have had nine games either postponed or canceled this season. The Vikings' road game at Idaho has been rescheduled three different times. It's now scheduled to be made up Monday, Feb. 28. 
• Esmeralda Morales (11.9 ppg), Alaya Fitzgerald (10.5), Jada Lewis (10.4) all average in double figures, while Savannah Dhaliwal stands just below double figures at 9.9 points per game. Fitzgerald leads the team with 11.8 points per game in the Vikings' 13 games since their first return from a hiatus on Jan. 15, though she sat out Monday's game against Montana State due to concussion protocols. Morales, meanwhile, had her best scoring game since the team's season opener last Thursday when she scored 24 points against Northern Arizona on 8-of-14 shooting overall and 5-of-8 from three-point range.
• The Vikings out-rebounded Montana State, 39-37, Monday night, the first time the Vikings had out-rebounded a Big Sky opponent this season. Rhema Ogele led all players with 11 rebounds, six of which came on the offensive end, as she went into double figures for the first time since the opening week of the season. The rebounding win marked an upset for the Vikings within Monday's game, as the Vikings rank 11th in the Big Sky for rebounds per game (33.4) and rebounding margin (-7.87), while Montana State came into the game ranked third in the Big Sky in total rebounds.
• The Vikings assisted on 15 of their 21 field goals Monday night against Montana State, with their 15 assists marking their second-most in a Big Sky game this season, as well as their most since totaling 19 against Northern Arizona on Jan. 29. Esmeralda Morales had eight assists individually, giving her a conference season-high and one off her overall season-high.
• The Vikings set a program record with 36 three-point attempts in Monday's game against Montana State. They made 12 of them, which was their most in a Big Sky game this season and matched their overall season-high.
• The Vikings have gone 27-of-31 (.871) combined from the free-throw line over their last three games, including a perfect 11-of-11 last Saturday against Montana. Overall, the Vikings rank second in the Big Sky and 16th in the nation with a team free throw percentage of .775 this season. Esmeralda Morales has gone 52-of-58 (.897) from the free-throw line individually.
• Jada Lewis leads the Big Sky with 2.35 three-pointers made per game and ranks fifth in the conference in three-point field goal percentage (.355). Lewis had a streak of 14 straight games with at least one three-pointer made snapped last Thursday when she went 0-of-7 from deep against Northern Arizona. She bounced back by going 2-of-5 from three-point range last Saturday, and followed with a 4-of-12 performance Monday night against Montana State.
• The Vikings tied a season-high with 12 steals last Saturday against Montana, the 12th time this season they've recorded 10+ steals in a game. Three different Vikings rank in the top 15 of the Big Sky for steals per game, while the Vikings rank fourth in the Big Sky with 8.57 steals per game as a team. Esmeralda Morales and Mia 'Uhila rank third and sixth, respectively, with 1.87 and 1.59 steals per game individually. Alaya Fitzgerald ranks tied for 11th in the league with 1.41 steals per game.
• Reilly Kelty has four games with at least three blocks out of the Vikings' past nine games and now ranks fifth in the Big Sky with 1.24 blocks per game.
• Alaya Fitzgerald has scored in double figures in 10 of her past 13 appearances, including six out of the last seven. Fitzgerald has averaged 11.8 points, 3.9 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.9 steals per game in the 12 games she's played in since the Vikings' first return to play on Jan. 15.
• Savannah Dhaliwal returned to double-figure scoring Monday night, as she finished with 13 points and eight rebounds against Montana State. Dhaliwal scored in double figures in 13 of the Vikings' first 16 games, but averaged only 4.67 points per game over the next six games before breaking out of her slump Monday. No matter the level, 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 have started three freshmen in all but one game this season. Usually, it's been Esmeralda Morales, Alaya Fitzgerald and Rhema Ogele starting, but Mia 'Uhila has started two of the Vikings' past three games in some sort of combination with two of the other three freshmen.
• 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.

 

MONEY FROM THE LINE

A strength for the Vikings this season has been the team's free-throw shooting, as evidenced by the team's 27-of-31 (.871) mark over their last three games. The Vikings' recent form has them ranked second in the Big Sky and 16th in the nation with a team free throw percentage of .775. The Vikings went a perfect 11-of-11 from the line last Saturday against Montana, their most makes without a miss in a game this season. Esmeralda Morales is 52-of-58 (.897) from the line individually, just off the school record that Eryn Jones set while going 51-of-56 (.911) from the line during the 2011-12 season. If the season ended today, Morales would rank fourth on the all-time single-season list.
 

THREE-POINT SHOOTING

The backbone of the Portland State offense recently has been its three-point shooting. The Vikings actually shot better than three-point range than they did inside the arc last Saturday against Montana. The Vikings went 8-of-21 (.381) against the Lady Griz but shot just 10-of-34 (.294) from inside the arc. The Vikings followed with a program-record 36 three-point attempts Monday night against Montana State. They made 12 of those 36 attempts, setting a new conference season-high while tying their overall season-high. Overall, three-point shooting has been a key part of all of the Vikings' wins this season, as four of the team's five wins have come when they made at least nine three-pointers. Individually, Jada Lewis leads the Big Sky with 2.35 makes per game from the outside and ranks fifth in the conference in three-point field goal percentage (.355).
 

THEFT ON THE WING

The Vikings tied their season-high with 12 steals last Saturday against Montana, the 12th time this season they've topped 10+ steals in a game. The Vikings average 8.57 steals per game for the season, a mark that ranks them fourth in the Big Sky. Three different Vikings rank in the top 15 of the conference for steals per game, led by Esmeralda Morales and Mia 'Uhila who rank third and sixth, respectively, with 1.87 and 1.59 steals per game. Alaya Fitzgerald also ranks 11th in the conference with 1.41 steals per game.
 

UP-AND-DOWN PERIMETER DEFENSE

Seven of the Vikings' first 11 opponents of the season failed to shoot over 30.0 percent from three-point range, but six of the Vikings' past eight opponents have shot 38.9 percent or better. So, the defense has been up-and-down for the Vikings this season. Northern Colorado and Sacramento State went a combined 7-of-33 (.212) from three-point range in their games against the Vikings on Feb. 3 and 5, respectively, but then Northern Colorado turned around and shot 64.7 percent (11-of-17) on Feb. 7, a season-high for a Viking opponent. All told, the Vikings rank seventh in the Big Sky with a three-point field goal percentage defense of .317. 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 on 0-of-17 shooting from the outside. That game came as part of a three-game stretch in which the Vikings' opponents went a combined 4-of-50 (.080) from three-point range.
 

ROOTING FOR LAY IS A LAY-UP

Alaya Fitzgerald, nicknamed Lay, has been the Vikings' top scorer since the team returned from its first hiatus against Sacramento State on Jan. 15. Fitzgerald has averaged a team-best 11.8 points per game in the 12 games she's played in since that first return to play, which followed a 27-day hiatus. She's also averaged 3.9 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.9 steals per game during that stretch. Fitzgerald has scored in double figures in 10 of her past 13 appearances, including a career game against Northern Arizona on Jan. 29. The freshman wing scored a career-high 23 points on 9-of-12 shooting from the field and 3-of-4 from three-point range against the Lumberjacks while adding a career-high eight assists, five rebounds and three steals. Fitzgerald did not play in Monday's game against Montana State, however, due to concussion protocols. 
 

JADA CAN KNOCK DOWN THE J's, DUH

Jada Lewis bounced back from an 0-of-7 night from the outside last Thursday by going 2-of-5 from three-point range Saturday against Montana. Lewis followed with a 4-of-12 performance Monday night against Montana State, the second time she's lit it up from the outside against the Bobcats. Lewis went 5-of-7 from deep in the Vikings' road game against Montana State on Jan. 22, meaning she went a combined 9-of-19 (.474) in the team's two games against the Bobcats. The first performance against MSU kicked off a seven-game run for Lewis in which she averaged 2.86 three-pointers made per game while shooting 20-of-52 (.409) from beyond the arc. Lewis has four games with at least five three-pointers this season, including two 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. Overall, Lewis leads the Big Sky in three-pointers made per game (2.35), while also ranking fifth in the conference in three-point field goal percentage (.355).
 

MORE OF MORALES, PLEASE

Esmeralda Morales broke out of an offensive slump last Thursday against Northern Arizona with her best game since her record-setting debut in the Vikings' season opener against Warner Pacific on Nov. 9. Morales set a season-high against conference opponents with 24 points on 8-of-14 shooting overall and 5-of-8 from three-point range. That was her second-most points in any game this season, trailing only the 32 points she scored in her debut game as a Viking. 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 posted her best assist total within a Big Sky Conference game Monday, as she finished with eight assists against Montana State. The eight assists were one off of Morales' overall season-high, as well as her most in any game since she had nine assists against Pepperdine on Dec. 10. Morales leads the Vikings with 11.9 points per game, just outside of the top 15 in the Big Sky Conference. Morales has found other ways to contribute, too, as she ranks third in the Big Sky in steals per game (1.87), seventh in assists per game (3.61), 11th in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.24) and third in minutes played per game (35.0).
 

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 scored in double figures in 13 of the Vikings' first 16 games, and was within a bucket of double figures in two of those other three games. Dhaliwal returned to double figures Monday night against Montana State, as she scored 10 of her 13 points in the first four minutes of the third quarter while adding eight rebounds. That performance broke Dhaliwal out of an offensive slump in which she was averaging only 4.67 points per game in the six games before the Vikings' game against Montana State. Dhaliwal put together two of her best performances of the season immediately preceding her recent slump. She set her season-high with 21 points against Southern Utah on Jan. 27, going 9-of-12 from the field overall and 3-of-4 from three-point range. Dhaliwal then followed with 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting against Northern Arizona on Jan. 29. 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.
 

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 two steals in 11 games this season and ranks sixth in the Big Sky with 1.59 steals per game. 'Uhila has also helped the Vikings rank fourth in the Big Sky with 8.57 steals per game as a team. 'Uhila has had two of her best scoring games recently, including last Saturday against Montana when she set a new career-high with 15 points on 4-of-5 shooting overall, 2-of-3 from three-point range, and 5-of-5 from the free-throw line. 'Uhila also led the Vikings with 12 points against Northern Colorado on Feb. 3 while going 5-of-8 overall and 2-of-2 from three-point range.
 

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

Feb. 21, 2022, Montana State 82, Portland State 57: The Vikings out-rebounded a Montana State team that came into the game ranked third in the Big Sky in total rebounds per game. It was the first time the Vikings had out-rebounded a Big Sky opponent all season. The Vikings also assisted on 15 of their 21 field goals in the game, with their 15 assists marking their second-highest total in a conference game this season.
Jan. 29, 2022, Northern Arizona 79, Portland State 68: The Vikings assisted on 19 of their 29 field goals, tied for their most assists since they had a season-high 23 against Dixie State on Nov. 12. Additionally, the Vikings topped 50.0 percent from the field for only the third time this season while going 29-of-57. The Vikings out-scored NAU 40-20 in the paint, with the 40 points marking a new season-high for the Vikings from the inside.
Jan. 27, 2022, Southern Utah 64, Portland State 63: Savannah Dhaliwal recorded only the second 20-point game of her career while leading the Vikings with 21 points on 9-of-12 shooting overall and 3-of-4 shooting from three-point range. The Vikings came within a late free throw with 0.8 seconds remaining of upsetting the Big Sky leaders at the time in Southern Utah.
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.