Complete game notes (PDF)
 

TIPOFF

The plot of any road trip movie centers around the protagonist re-finding his or her mojo or confidence while on the road. Well, the Portland State women's basketball team will look to have main character energy in a road trip move this weekend as the Vikings hit the road, starting with a game at Idaho State Thursday at 6 p.m. PT / 7 p.m. MT.
 
Both teams will be looking to regain their winning form when the ball tips Thursday. For the Bengals, their drought has come with a bit of heartbreak as they've dropped a number of close games during their five-game losing streak.
 
The Bengals lost by three points to BYU on Dec. 16, by two points to Montana State on Dec. 29, and by six points to North Dakota on Jan. 3. The Bengals led BYU by 10 points entering the fourth quarter of their game, before giving up the lead and losing it in overtime. Montana State, meanwhile, hit a buzzer beater with 0.8 seconds remaining to beat the Bengals in both teams' conference opener.
 
The Vikings, meanwhile, have been a bit unlucky to not have everything coalesce into a single game during their losing streak. Head coach Chelsey Gregg boiled it down to decision making after the Vikings' most recent loss to St. Thomas.
 
Better decision making by the Vikings Thursday would certainly help them in a few key areas.
 
Turnovers have been one issue for the Vikings. During their losing streak, the Vikings have an assist-to-turnover ratio of just 0.56 as a team. Last week, St. Thomas used the Vikings' giveaways to outscore them 20-6 in points off turnovers. That included a number of fast break opportunities for the Tommies, which they turned into a 12-1 advantage in fast-break points in the second half.
 
Better decision making would also benefit the Vikings in their defensive and rebounding efforts, which will both be keys against the Bengals. Idaho State comes into Thursday leading the Big Sky in offensive rebounds per game (13.2), while also ranking fourth in total rebounds per game (38.6) and fifth in rebounding margin (+1.7).
 
The Bengals also come into Thursday with a strong defense that the Vikings will have to match. The Bengals stand fourth in the conference in a number of defensive categories, including scoring defense (63.8), field goal percentage defense (.379), blocks per game (3.2) and turnovers forced per game (16.4).
 
Last season's success against the Bengals could be a confidence booster for the Vikings. After the Bengals dominated their series with the Vikings for more than 10 years – winning 22 of 23 meetings from 2011 to 2022 – the Vikings took two of three last year. That included a 73-58 win in the first round of the Big Sky tournament last season. The 73 points were the Vikings' most against Idaho State in more than 12 years at the time.
 
Four different Vikings went into double figures against the Bengals in that game. Jada Lewis, now a grad transfer at San Diego State, led the Vikings with 17 points. Current juniors Esmeralda Morales, Alaya Fitzgerald and Mia 'Uhila followed with 16, 12 and 12 points, respectively.
 
That win also featured a strong effort on the boards from the Vikings. Lewis led four different Vikings with at least six rebounds in the game, while the Vikings out-rebounded the Vikings 43-to-35.
 
Idaho State's Laura Bello led the Bengals with 30 points to go with 15 rebounds in the game. She's back for the Bengals this season, though she's one of the few as the Bengals feature seven newcomers out of their 14 rostered players.
 
The Vikings have more returners on their roster that will be hungry to get back in the win column Thursday.
 
And it may just take a road trip to get that mojo back.
 

GAME #14: PORTLAND STATE (5-9, 0-2) vs. IDAHO STATE (4-9, 0-2)

GAME DETAILS: Thursday, Jan. 11, 6 p.m. PT / 7 p.m. MT, Pocatello, Idaho (Reed Gym)
LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO
SCOUTING IDAHO STATE: The Idaho State Bengals enter Thursday's game with the Vikings on their own five-game losing streak. That's included a couple of heartbreakers, including two single-possession losses to BYU and Montana State on Dec. 16 and 29, respectively. The Bengals lost to BYU 79-76 in overtime despite leading by 10 at the start of the fourth quarter. The Bengals were the aggressor in the fourth quarter against Montana State, going on a 17-3 run at one point, but then lost 58-56 as the Bobcats hit a jumper with 0.8 seconds left on the clock. The Bengals have a largely new roster this season with seven of their 14 players being new to the program. None of the 14 players are listed as seniors. Newcomer Maria Davis has led the Bengals with 11.1 points per game while adding 3.8 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game. Fellow newcomer Tasia Jordan, an NJCAA All-American while at Kirkwood CC, ranks second on the team with 10.5 points per game to go with 4.9 rebounds per game. One of the few returners, Laura Bello, ranks third on the team in points (9.2 per game) and second in rebounds (6.7 per game) after earning All-Big Sky honorable mention last season. Kasey Spink, another returner, leads the Bengals with 7.8 rebounds per game while ranking fourth on the team with 8.2 points per game. Rebounding has been a strength of the Bengals as a team. They lead the Big Sky with 13.2 offensive rebounds per game. Spink chips in 3.7 of those 13.2 offensive rebounds per game, giving her the individual conference lead in the category. The Bengals also rank fourth in the conference in total rebounds per game (38.6) and fifth in rebounding margin (+1.7). The Bengals, as is typical for their program under head coach Seton Sobolewski, also rank well defensively within the Big Sky Conference. They come into Thursday fourth in the conference in scoring defense (63.8), field goal percentage defense (.379), blocks per game (3.2) and turnovers forced per game (16.4).
ALL-TIME SERIES: The Bengals lead the all-time series between them and the Vikings, 43-25. The Bengals had won 22 of their previous 23 meetings with the Vikings before the Vikings took two of three last season. The Vikings won the teams' last meeting, a 73-58 victory in the first round of the Big Sky tournament in Boise on March 4, 2023. The Vikings' last win at Reed Gym came on Jan. 18, 2020, when they won 69-64. That was the Vikings' first win after 16 straight losses to the Bengals at the time.
 

STORYLINES/STREAKS/RECORDS

• The Vikings lost their sixth straight game Saturday, falling 62-44 to St. Thomas in their second of two games within the Big Sky-Summit Challenge series.
• The Vikings shot a season-low 12.5 percent from three-point range against St. Thomas, as they went 3-of-24 from beyond the arc.
• St. Thomas outscored the Vikings 20-6 off turnovers. That led to a 12-1 advantage in fast-break points in the second half of Saturday's game.
• Consistent offense has been a struggle during the Vikings' six-game losing streak. The 44 points the Vikings scored against St. Thomas were their lowest since scoring a season-low 38 points against New Mexico State on Nov. 18. The Vikings are averaging 55.0 points per game during their losing streak, while shooting 37.6 percent from the floor and 25.6 percent from three-point range. They're averaging just 9.67 assists per game during that stretch against 17.3 turnovers per game.
• 12 of the Vikings' 14 opponents this season have outscored the Vikings in the paint, while nine of those 12 have done so by at least 10 points. Both Kansas City and St. Thomas outscored the Vikings in the paint last week.
• The Vikings are 5-1 when they score 60 points or more and 0-8 when they don't. They're averaging 72.2 points per game in their five wins, but just 51.7 points per game in their eight losses.
• Esmeralda Morales continues to lead the Big Sky Conference with 18.7 points per game despite the team's recent struggles. She's scored in double figures in all 14 games, while she's topped 20 points in six of the 14. Her 18.7 points per game is the best scoring average by a Viking since Sherri Stemple averaged 19.7 ppg during the 1992-93 season.
• Besides scoring, Esmeralda Morales also leads the conference while ranking eighth nationally with 3.29 three-pointers made per game. Morales has hit at least three shots from three-point range in 10 of the Vikings' 14 games this season.
• In her second game back from an injury that held her out for seven games earlier in the season, Alaya Fitzgerald scored a season-high 17 points while tying a career high with four three-pointers against Idaho on Dec. 30. She followed with 14 points last Wednesday against Kansas City, including 10 straight for the Vikings in the fourth quarter.
• Juniors Rhema Ogele and Mia 'Uhila are averaging career bests in a number of categories. Ogele is averaging career bests for points (10.8) and rebounds (6.5) per game while shooting a career-best 53.3 percent from the floor. 'Uhila, meanwhile, is averaging career bests for points (8.8), rebounds (5.0) and assists (2.9) per game.
• The two most common areas of struggle for the Vikings have been field goal percentage defense and rebounding. The Vikings rank 10th in the Big Sky in field goal percentage defense (.452), as well as 10th in all four rebounding categories between rebounds per game (30.8), offensive (9.86) and defensive (21.0) rebounds per game, and rebounding margin (-4.07).
• The Vikings rank fifth in the Big Sky with 8.07 steals per game as a team. Freshman Joy Haltom ranks second in the conference individually with 2.00 steals per game individually. However, after averaging 11.0 steals per game through their first five games, the Vikings are averaging just 6.44 steals per game over their last nine games.
• Lana Wenger blocked a career-high four shots Saturday against St. Thomas, while leading the Vikings to a season-high nine blocks as a team. Wenger has increased her contributions in the team's last eight games when she's averaging 8.5 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game.
• The Vikings have been bitten by the injury bug this season. With Cinco McCartney out for the year, the Vikings are guaranteed to never have all 15 players dressed for a single game this season. The bug started when starter Rhema Ogele missed the Vikings' games against San Diego and Warner Pacific on Nov. 11 and 14, respectively. Alaya Fitzgerald, another starter, then missed all seven games between Nov. 18 and Dec. 20. McCartney, a third different starter, went down before the Vikings' game against Eastern Washington on Dec. 28.
• Big Sky coaches and media members picked the Vikings to finish fifth in the conference in their respective preseason polls.
• The Vikings set a program record with eight more conference wins last season than they won the previous year. That was one off the best year-to-year turnaround in Big Sky Conference history.
• The Vikings advanced to the Big Sky semifinals last season for the first time since the 2018-19 season. The Vikings beat Idaho State, 73-58, in the first round of last year's tournament, then upset second-seeded and defending-champion Montana State, 77-65, in the quarterfinals.
• The Vikings returned four starters and nine letterwinners off last year's team. That group includes All-Big Sky second-team selection Esmeralda Morales, as well as third-leading scorer Alaya Fitzgerald and leading rebounder Rhema Ogele. Cinco McCartney, who averaged 6.0 points and 4.9 rebounds per game, while starting 30 of 31 games also returns.
• The Vikings have more upperclassmen (8) than they do underclassmen (7) for the first time since the 2018-19 season.
• The Vikings made the program's first international trip with a tour of Costa Rica in September. The Vikings played two exhibitions against members of the Costa Rica National Team during the trip, winning both.

 

STEPPING UP AS UPPERCLASSMEN

The four juniors who have been with the Vikings since they were freshman – Alaya Fitzgerald, Esmeralda Morales, Rhema Ogele and Mia 'Uhila – have all elevated their game now as upperclassmen. Morales, Ogele and 'Uhila are all averaging career bests in the scoring column, and all three have done so by wide margins. Morales is averaging 18.7 points per game, making her the Big Sky Conference's scoring leader so far and giving her nearly three points per game more than she averaged as a sophomore (15.8). Ogele has more than doubled her previous best scoring average as she's scoring 10.8 points per game this year after averaging just 5.3 points per game as a sophomore. 'Uhila has increased her scoring average to 8.8 points per game, up from 6.1 as a sophomore. Both Ogele and 'Uhila have seen increases in other respects as well. Ogele is shooting a career-best 53.3 percent from the floor, while also averaging a career-best 6.5 rebounds per game. 'Uhila, meanwhile, is averaging career bests for rebounds (5.0) and assists (2.9) per game. Fitzgerald would be on a similar trajectory if not for an injury she suffered against Warner Pacific on Nov. 14. She showed her potential with a season-high 17 points against Idaho on Dec. 30, then followed up with 14 points last Wednesday against Kansas City.
 

THREE-POINT SHOOTING

The Vikings haven't had reliable three-point shooting during their losing streak. After seemingly breaking out of a slump against Idaho, shooting 9-of-24 (.375) in their game on Dec. 30, the Vikings reverted to going 6-of-21 (.286) against Kansas City last Wednesday. They followed that with a season-worst shooting performance against St. Thomas, going 3-of-24 (.125) from three-point range last Saturday. That leaves the Vikings averaging just 5.0 makes per game on 25.6 percent shooting from three-point range during their current six-game losing streak. The recent dip leaves the Vikings sixth in the Big Sky in both three-point field goal percentage (.310) and makes per game (6.36) this season. The Vikings still have the firepower to be a strong three-point shooting team, however. Esmeralda Morales, despite an off-shooting game against St. Thomas, has been outstanding individually. Morales leads the Big Sky with 3.29 three-pointers made per game, an average that also ranks her eighth nationally in the category. Additionally, Morales ranks fourth in the Big Sky and 90th nationally in percentage, making 38.0 percent of her shots from beyond the arc. No other Viking is ranked among the Big Sky leaders. Alaya Fitzgerald would be if she hadn't missed seven straight games with an injury. Fitzgerald has only played in seven games due to her early season injury but is averaging a career-best 2.1 makes per game on 33.3 percent shooting. Fitzgerald has hit eight shots from deep in the Vikings' last three games, including tying a career high with four against Idaho on Dec. 30. Mia 'Uhila also has 11 makes from deep this season.
 

SWIPING LEFT AND RIGHT

The Vikings head into Thursday's game at Idaho State ranked fifth in the Big Sky Conference with 8.07 steals per game. Multiple players have contributed to the strong perimeter defense. Freshman Joy Haltom has been a revelation for the Vikings in that regard, as she ranks second in the Big Sky with 2.00 steals per game despite being in her first collegiate season. Mia 'Uhila and Esmeralda Morales, meanwhile, join Haltom in the top 15 of the Big Sky, as they rank tied for 10th and tied for 13th with 1.50 and 1.36 steals per game, respectively. The Vikings haven't recorded as many steals of late, however. After recording 10 or more steals in four of their first five games of the season, the Vikings have averaged just 6.44 steals per game over their last nine games.
 

AROUND HERE, WE SPELL M-V-P AS E-S-M-E

Esmeralda Morales has proven her preseason Big Sky MVP credentials in the early going of the season. She's scored in double figures in all 14 games, including six games with 20+ points. Morales heads into Thursday's game at Idaho State leading the Big Sky Conference and ranked 40th nationally with 18.7 points per game. Morales' 18.7 points per game is the best scoring average by a Viking since Sheri Stemple averaged 19.7 points per game during the 1992-93 season. Besides scoring, Morales also leads the Big Sky in three-pointers made per game (3.29) and free throw percentage (.881), numbers that rank her eighth and 29th nationally in both categories, respectively. Morales is no stranger to being ranked among the statistical leaders, though. She's ranked in the top 15 of the Big Sky in eight different statistical categories, a season after she was ranked in nine different categories. Besides the three categories she leads, Morales also ranks among the conference leaders in field goal percentage (6th, .416), assists per game (T-11th, 2.50), steals per game (T-13th, 1.36), three-point field goal percentage (4th, .380) and minutes played per game (2nd, 35.9). At the same time, Morales is also moving up the career rankings at Portland State. She became the 21st member of the 1,000-point club at Portland State during the Vikings' game against Bushnell on Dec. 12. Additionally, Morales ranks eighth in career scoring average (15.1), fourth in free throw percentage (.849), and seventh in both three-point field goals made (170) and attempted (465). Her 21 points against San Francisco on Dec. 16 also marked her 21st career 20-point game, ranking her eighth all time.
 

MIA OOOOOO-HE-LUH ('UHILA)

Mia 'Uhila has sparked some "oooo's" from fans at times this season. She scored a career-high 20 against Oregon on Dec. 9, and is averaging career bests for points (8.8), rebounds (5.0) and assists (2.9) per game. She heads into Thursday's game at Idaho State ranked in the top 15 of the Big Sky in five different statistical categories. She ranks highest in assists where she stands eighth in the Big Sky with 2.93 per game. She also ranks among the conference leaders in free throw percentage (10th, .696), steals per game (T-10th, 1.50), defensive rebounds per game (12th, 4.00) and minutes played per game (13th, 29.8).
 

RHEMA REMADE

Junior center Rhema Ogele signaled that she's leveled up over the offseason with a standout showing in the team's season opener against UC Davis. Ogele set a career high with 24 points on 12-of-14 shooting while adding 11 rebounds for what was then only her third career double-double. Ogele posted her second double-double of the season in the Vikings' 72-61 win over Fresno State on Nov. 29, finishing with 19 points and 10 rebounds. She added a third against Eastern Washington on Dec. 28, leading the Vikings with 14 points to go with a career-high 14 rebounds. Ogele heads into Saturday averaging career bests for points (10.8) and rebounds (6.5) per game while shooting a career-best 53.3 percent from the floor. Ogele ranks ninth in the Big Sky in rebounds per game (6.5) and 15th in points (10.8) per game. Ogele also ranks fifth in the Big Sky in offensive rebounds per game (2.58).
 

SHE'S HER FROM HERSBERG

Lana Wenger – from Hersberg, Switzerland – has come into her own recently for the Vikings. Wenger has recorded a new career high in three of the Vikings' last eight games, including her latest with a 13-point showing against Eastern Washington on Dec. 28. That bettered her previous best of 12 points, which she set while going 5-of-6 from the floor against Bushnell on Dec. 12. Wenger also set a career high with four blocked shots against St. Thomas Saturday, while leading the Vikings to a season-high nine blocks, the program's most in a game since the 2019-20 season. In the Vikings' last eight games, Wenger is averaging 8.5 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game. She now ranks second in the Big Sky with 1.21 blocks per game over the course of the season.
 

ROOTING FOR LAY IS A LAYUP

Junior Alaya Fitzgerald – nicknamed Lay – returned from a seven-game injury absence during the Vikings' game against Eastern Washington on Dec. 28. She fully announced her return with a season-high 17 points against Idaho two days later while tying her career high with four made three-pointers. Fitzgerald followed that performance with 14 points against Kansas City on Jan. 3, including 10 straight points for the Vikings in the fourth quarter of the game. Thursday's game at Idaho State will be Fitzgerald's fifth game since her return.
 

SEASON HIGHLIGHTS

Dec. 30, 2023, Idaho 61, Portland State 55: In just her second game back from an injury that held her out of seven games early in the season, Alaya Fitzgerald scored a season-high 17 points while tying a career high with four three-pointers against Idaho.
Dec. 12, 2023, Portland State 69, Bushnell 60: Esmeralda Morales hit the 1k career scoring mark in the second quarter while leading the Vikings with 26 points. Rhema Ogele (13 points) and Lana Wenger (12 points) joined Morales in double figures.
Nov. 29, 2023, Portland State 72, Fresno State 61: The Vikings won back-to-back games for the first time this season while shooting a season-high 57.1 percent from the field. Rhema Ogele recorded her second double-double of the season (19 points, 10 rebounds), while Esmeralda Morales led all scorers with 21 points for her fourth 20-point game of the season.
Nov. 25, 2023, Portland State 75, Seattle U 68: Esmeralda Morales scored a season-high 27 points while Mia 'Uhila (16 points) and Rhema Ogele (11) joined her in double figures. The Vikings made 11 three-pointers as a team and swiped 11 steals.
Nov. 14, 2023, Portland State 74, Warner Pacific 62: The Vikings went 13-of-24 (.542) from three-point range and swiped 17 steals against the Knights.
Nov. 9, 2023, Portland State 71, UC Davis 62: Rhema Ogele led the Vikings to a road win in their season opener with a career-high 24 points on 12-of-14 shooting from the field. The win was the Vikings' sixth straight in their season opener.