Complete game notes (PDF)

TIPOFF
Adversity has come at the Portland State women's basketball team fast. Down two starters at Denver Saturday, the Vikings lost a third during the game when Taylor Moffat exited in the second quarter with an injury. That proved a little too much adversity for the Vikings to face that day, but how the Vikings respond now will go a long way towards determining the outcome of their season.
 
The Vikings' response starts Friday when they head across town for a rivalry game against the University of Portland. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. at the Chiles Center.
 
The Pilots will be a tough opponent for the Vikings to face amid their absences. After back-to-back NCAA tournament appearances, the Pilots are off to their best start in program history at 10-0. That record includes a couple wins over common opponents with the Vikings in Hawai'i (76-65) and Seattle U (78-55), as well as a win over last year's Big Sky champion Eastern Washington, 74-62, on Nov. 17.
 
If the Vikings are going to have success against the Pilots, it'll have to start with their defense. That's been a strength for the Vikings, who have held their last five opponents all under 40 percent shooting from the field. Three of the Vikings' first seven opponents have failed to score more than 60 points, while only Hawai'i has scored more than 70 points against the Vikings this season.
 
As a result, the Vikings head into Friday's game ranked in the top half of the Big Sky Conference in scoring defense (5th, 60.9), field goal percentage defense (4th, .377) and three-point field goal percentage defense (2nd, .255).
 
The Vikings held an opponent below 30 percent shooting for the first time in nearly two years while beating Cal State Fullerton on Nov. 24. The Titans shot just 28.6 percent (18-of-63) from the field against the Vikings, the lowest mark for a Viking opponent since Idaho shot an identical 28.6 percent (16-of-56) on Jan. 7, 2023.
 
The Vikings followed up by slowing a potent UC Davis offense in a 66-61 win on Nov. 30. They held the Aggies to 35.9 percent (23-of-64) from the floor, a season low for a UC Davis offense that came into the game leading the Big West Conference in scoring, field goal percentage and three-point field goal percentage.
 
The Pilots will test the Vikings' defense Friday. They likely represent the best offense the Vikings have faced this season as they come into the game averaging 81.1 points per game. That ranks them first in the West Coast Conference and 30th nationally. The Pilots also lead the WCC in field goal percentage (.482) and free throw percentage (.780), while they rank second in the conference in assists per game (16.7).
 
Maisie Burnham and Emme Shearer – both All-WCC Preseason selections – lead the Pilot offense while averaging 17.4 and 17.1 points per game, respectively. That's a year-to-year increase of more than five points per game for both players and rank them third and fourth in the WCC this season. Alexis Mark gives the Pilots a third player in double figures with 11.0 points to go with a team-high 6.7 rebounds per game.
 
The Pilots also figure to challenge the Vikings' ball control Friday. That had been a strength for the Vikings until they committed a season-high 22 turnovers in last Wednesday's 65-57 loss to Omaha. The 22 turnovers were eight more than the Vikings averaged at the time, which had ranked them atop the Big Sky and in the top 50 nationally.
 
The Vikings still rank fourth in the Big Sky in turnovers per game (15.4 per game after last week), while they also rank fifth in the conference in turnover margin (-0.43).
 
If the Vikings can match those numbers against the Pilots Friday, then that'll mark a win for the Vikings as the Pilots come into the game leading the WCC and ranked in the top 25 nationally for steals per game (12.6), turnovers forced per game (23.0) and turnover margin (+7.50).
 
Shearer leads the WCC with 2.7 steals per game individually, while Mark ranks sixth in the conference with 2.1. McKelle Meek, meanwhile, limits the Pilots' turnovers on the other end as she leads the WCC and ranks 12th nationally with a 3.42 assist-to-turnover ratio.
 
Sharing the basketball should help the Vikings avoid turnovers against the Pilots. That's been a point of emphasis all season. The Vikings have gone away from it a bit in their last two games, as their assists have dipped below 50 percent of their field goals in their losses to Omaha and Denver, but the Vikings have been at their best when they are passing the ball around. They assisted on a season-high 15 of their 26 field goals in their win over Seattle U on Nov. 16. They then followed with 12 assists on 17 field goals against Cal State Fullerton on Nov. 24, and 14 assists on 26 field goals against UC Davis on Nov. 30.
 
Some of the Vikings' recent dip can be explained away by their absences. The Vikings were without two of their three leading scorers against Denver in Alaya Fitzgerald and Lana Wenger. Fitzgerald also leads the Vikings with 3.17 assists per game, while she's the Vikings' top threat from three-point range as well with 2.00 makes per game on 42.9 percent shooting from the outside.
 
The Vikings hope to get Fitzgerald back, as well as some others ideally, by Friday. But even if they don't, absences and injuries are part of any team sport. Teams are defined by how they respond to that adversity.
 
Fans will see how the Vikings respond Friday.
 
GAME #8: PORTLAND STATE (3-4) vs. PORTLAND (10-0)
GAME DETAILS: Friday, Dec. 13, 6 p.m. PT, Portland, Ore. (Chiles Center)
LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO
SCOUTING PORTLAND: The Portland Pilots are off to their best start in program history at 10-0. What's more, all 10 wins have come by at least 10 points. The victories include two common opponents with the Vikings in Hawai'i (76-65) and Seattle U (78-55), two opponents that the Vikings split against this season. The Pilots also beat last year's Big Sky champion Eastern Washington, 74-62, on Nov. 17. The Pilots came into the year picked to finish third in the West Coast Conference behind Gonzaga and Washington State. They finished third in the WCC during the regular season last year, but then went on to win the conference tournament and make the NCAA tournament for the second straight season. Emme Shearer and Maisie Burnham picked up All-WCC Preseason honors individually after leading the Pilots with 12.1 and 11.9 points per game, respectively, last season. Those two have upped their averages to more than 17.0 points per game so far this season. Burnham leads the Pilots while also ranking third in the WCC with 17.4 points per game. Shearer ranks right behind her at fourth in the WCC with 17.1 points per game. Alexis Mark gives the Pilots a third player in double figures with 11.0 points to go with a team-high 6.7 rebounds per game. Those three have helped the Pilots lead the WCC while ranking 30th nationally in scoring offense as they're averaging 81.1 points per game as a team. The Pilots also lead the WCC in field goal percentage (.482) and free throw percentage (.780) offensively. Defensively, the Pilots have been strong on the ball once again this season. They lead the WCC while also ranking in the top 25 nationally in steals per game (12.6), turnovers forced per game (23.0) and turnover margin (+7.50). Shearer and Mark lead the Pilots with 2.7 and 2.1 steals per game, ranking them first and sixth in the WCC, respectively. McKelle Meek, meanwhile, has limited the Pilots' own turnovers as she leads the WCC and ranks 12th nationally with a 3.42 assist-to-turnover ratio. She also ranks fourth in the WCC with 4.1 assists per game. As a team, the Pilots rank second in the WCC and 47th nationally with 16.7 assists per game.
ALL-TIME SERIES: The Pilots lead the all-time series between them and the Vikings, 31-26. They've won the last three in the series, including a 67-54 win over the Vikings at Viking Pavilion last season. The Vikings' last win in the series was a 77-71 victory at the Chiles Center on Dec. 15, 2019. The Vikings overcame a 15-point halftime deficit to come back and win that game.
 
STORYLINES/STREAKS/RECORDS

• The Vikings went 0-2 within the Big Sky-Summit Challenge last week, losing at home to Omaha, 65-57, last Wednesday, and then 57-41 on the road Saturday against Denver. The Vikings led by as many as 12 points in the first half against Omaha, but couldn't hold off the Mavericks' second-half comeback.
• Recent absences have hurt the Vikings. They were without two starters – Alaya Fitzgerald and Lana Wenger, two of the team's top three scorers – at the start of Saturday's game against Denver. They then lost a third during the game when Taylor Moffat suffered a knee injury in the second quarter.
• The Vikings committed a season-high 22 turnovers against Omaha, which the Mavericks turned into a 23-16 advantage in points off turnovers.
• The Mavericks shot 12 more free throws than the Vikings while going 20-of-24 (.833) from the free-throw line. Omaha's 20 made free throws were five more than any other team has had against the Vikings this season.
• The Vikings shot just 32.7 percent (16-of-49) against Denver Saturday. The Vikings had topped 40 percent in three of their last four games coming into the contest. Even still, they head into Friday's game ranked ninth in the Big Sky in field goal percentage (.376) and 10th in three-point field goal percentage (.294).
• The Vikings went into last week on a three-game winning streak. If they had beaten Omaha last Wednesday, then it would have matched their longest winning streak in five seasons.
• Freshman Kyleigh Brown has led the Vikings in scoring in three games. That includes back-to-back 18-point games against UC Davis and Omaha. She heads into Friday's game at Portland averaging 13.0 points per game over the team's last five games.
• Rhema Ogele has two double-doubles in the Vikings' last five games, while she was two points shy of a third with eight points and 10 rebounds in last Saturday's game at Denver. Ogele heads into Friday's contest averaging 12.0 points and 8.8 rebounds per game over the team's last five games.
• The Vikings erased a nine-point fourth-quarter deficit to beat UC Davis 66-61 on Nov. 30. It was the second-largest fourth-quarter comeback in program history. Kyleigh Brown scored 14 of the Vikings' first 16 points in the fourth quarter.
• The Vikings have held their last five opponents to under 40 percent shooting. They now rank second in the Big Sky in three-point field goal percentage defense (.255) as well as fourth in field goal percentage defense (.377). They also rank fifth in scoring defense while allowing only 60.9 points per game.
• The Vikings' 22 turnovers against Omaha last Wednesday were eight more than their Big Sky-leading average (14.0 per game) coming into the game. They still rank fourth in the Big Sky in turnovers per game (15.4 now) and fifth in turnover margin (-0.43).
• The Vikings assisted on less than half of their field goals in both losses last week. They assisted on only eight of 22 field goals against Omaha, then just seven of 16 field goals against Denver. The Vikings had assisted on at least 50 percent of their field goals in their first five games of the season, including 13 of 15 in their season opener against Hawai'i.
• The Vikings rank second in the Big Sky and 34th nationally in free throw percentage (.766). They went 23-of-25 (.920) from the free throw line against Cal State Fullerton on Nov. 24, but have shot 75.0 percent or worse from the line over their last three games.
• Senior Alaya Fitzgerald ranks among the Big Sky leaders in five statistical categories between assists per game (9th, 3.17), three-point field goal percentage (2nd, .429), three-pointers made per game (6th, 2.00), assist-to-turnover ratio (5th, 1.73) and minutes played per game (5th, 31.6).
• Laynee Torres-Kahapea leads the Big Sky and ranks 23rd nationally while playing 35.7 minutes per game.
• Rhema Ogele ranks fourth in the Big Sky with 8.14 rebounds per game this season. She also stands fourth in the conference in defensive (5.86) and seventh in offensive (2.29) rebounds per game.
• Lana Wenger leads the Vikings with 11.3 points per game, though she hasn't played in the Vikings' last three games. She had scored in double figures in back-to-back games, including a career-high 18 points at San Francisco on Nov. 12, before being held to six points against Cal State Fullerton in the game she suffered her injury.
• The Vikings return three starters from last season in Alaya Fitzgerald, Rhema Ogele and Lana Wenger. Fitzgerald and Ogele will both be four-year starters for the Vikings this season, while Wenger enters her second year as a starter.
• Big Sky coaches picked the Vikings to finish ninth in the Big Sky in their preseason poll, while conference media members picked the Vikings to finish 10th.
• The Vikings brought in eight newcomers to mesh with their eight returners. Out of the eight newcomers, three are freshmen – Katelyn Best, Kyleigh Brown and Avery Kraft – while five are transfers – Jamia Carter (Seward County CC/Salt Lake CC), Cici Ellington (Grambling State/Loyola Marymount), Taylor Moffat (Williston State/UAlbany) Kirstine Munk (Central Arizona) and Courtney Turner (FIU/USC Upstate/Harcum College).
• The Vikings have two former Oregon State Players of the Year on their roster now in Kyleigh Brown and Cici Ellington. Brown was the 5A State Player of the Year in 2024 after leading Silverton to the 5A state title. Ellington, meanwhile, was the 6A State Co-Player of the Year – sharing the award with former NCAA champion and current WNBA star Cameron Brink – in 2019 when she led Benson Polytechnic to the 6A state title.
• The Four R's of the Portland State women's basketball program are: Relational, Resilient, Reliable and Ready.
• The Vikings picked five words to define their 2024-25 season: Accountable, Driven, Commitment, Trust and Together. They worked that into a mantra, which is "TOGETHER we rise, DRIVEN by TRUST and COMMITTED to ACCOUNTABILITY."

 
BALL CONTROL
The Vikings committed an uncharacteristic 22 turnovers in last Wednesday's loss to Omaha. That was eight more than the Vikings averaged coming into the game (14.0), which had put them atop the Big Sky and in the top 50 nationally. The Vikings still stand fourth in the Big Sky in turnovers per game (15.4 per game after last week), while they also rank fifth in the conference in turnover margin (-0.43). The Vikings' three primary ball handlers all had an off game against Omaha. Laynee Torres-Kahapea, Taylor Moffat and Kyleigh Brown all had four turnovers or more. The Vikings' ability to go to any of those three, as well as Alaya Fitzgerald on the wing, had been a tribute to their success on the ball this season. Fitzgerald still leads the Vikings with 3.17 assists per game, ranking her ninth in the Big Sky. She also ranks fifth in the conference in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.73).
 
EMERGING DEFENSIVE STRENGTH
The Vikings held an opponent below 30 percent shooting for the first time in nearly two years while beating Cal State Fullerton on Nov. 24. The Titans shot just 28.6 percent (18-of-63) from the field against the Vikings, the lowest mark for a Viking opponent since Idaho shot an identical 28.6 percent (16-of-56) on Jan. 7, 2023. The Vikings followed up by slowing a potent UC Davis offense in a 66-61 win on Nov. 30. They held the Aggies to 35.9 percent (23-of-64) from the floor, a season low for a UC Davis offense that came into the game leading the Big West Conference in scoring, field goal percentage and three-point field goal percentage. The Vikings head into Friday's rivalry game against the Pilots having held their last five opponents to under 40 percent shooting. Meanwhile, three of the Vikings' seven opponents this season have failed to score 60 points against the Vikings, while only Hawai'i has scored more than 70. On the back of those performances, the Vikings now rank in the top half of the conference in scoring defense (5th, 60.9), field goal percentage defense (4th, .377) and three-point field goal percentage defense (2nd, .255).
 
SOMETIMES THE BEST OFFENSE IS GETTING TO THE LINE
The Vikings made 23-of-25 shots from the free-throw line in their 61-52 win over Cal State Fullerton on Nov. 24. The 23 makes were the most by the Vikings in nearly two years, dating back to their game against New Mexico State on Dec. 17, 2022. The 23 makes also accounted for more than a third of the Vikings' scoring against the Titans. They now rank second in the Big Sky and 34th nationally for free throw percentage, as they're making 76.6 percent of their shots from the line. Laynee Torres-Kahapea had been ranked fourth in the Big Sky and in the top 75 nationally while making 86.7 percent of her shots from the line but fell below the 2.5 makes per game minimum after not attempting any free throws over the team's last three games.
 
SHARING IS CARING
A point of emphasis during preseason practices was to share the basketball. While the Vikings dipped last week, recording assists on less than 50 percent of their field goals in both games, they've been at their best when they've fulfilled that brief this season. The Vikings assisted on only eight of their 22 field goals against Omaha last Wednesday, then followed with only seven assists on 16 field goals against Denver Saturday. Those were the first two times this season the Vikings had assisted on less than 50 percent of their field goals. The Vikings opened the season with 13 assists on 15 field goals in their season opener against Hawai'i on Nov. 9. That was a higher assist percentage (86.7%) than the Vikings had in any game last season. The Vikings followed up by assisting on 15 of 26 field goals in their win over Seattle U on Nov. 16. They helped on 12 of 17 field goals against Cal State Fullerton on Nov. 24, then 14 of 26 against UC Davis on Nov. 30, both wins. Alaya Fitzgerald leads the Vikings with 3.17 assists per game this season, ranking her ninth in the Big Sky Conference. Laynee Torres-Kahapea had also ranked among the conference's leaders in the category, but dropped to 2.71 assists per game after last week.
 
BAD, BAD, KYLEIGH BROWN
Like Leroy Brown, Kyleigh Brown proved she's the baddest (player) in the whole darn (gym). We may have made a few edits there, but the sentiment remains the same given recent performances. With the Vikings trailing 49-40 entering the fourth quarter against UC Davis on Nov. 30, Brown went off for 14 points in the final period while leading the Vikings all the way back to a 66-61 victory over the Aggies. Brown's 14 points all came within the Vikings' first 16 points in the quarter, turning the team's nine-point deficit at the start of the period into a 56-all tie with 3:57 remaining. Brown finished with a game-high 18 points. She matched that with 18 points last Wednesday against Omaha while adding 10 rebounds for the first double-double of her career. She led the Vikings in scoring for a third straight game with 11 points and five rebounds against Denver Saturday. She heads into Friday's game at Portland averaging 13.0 points per game over the team's last five games.
 
A LEADER IN THE MIDDLE, RHEMA OGELE
One of two four-year starters on the roster with Alaya Fitzgerald, Rhema Ogele has owned the paint for the Vikings so far this season. She's posted two double-doubles in the Vikings' last five games, and was two points shy of a third with eight points and 10 rebounds in the Vikings' loss at Denver last Saturday. She goes into Friday's game at Portland averaging 12.0 points and 8.8 rebounds per game over the team's last five games. Her first double-double of the season came in the Vikings' first win of the season against Seattle U on Nov. 16. She finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds in that game, then followed up with 16 points and 13 rebounds two games later against UC Davis on Nov. 30. She now has eight double-doubles in her Portland State career, ranking her 10th all-time since game-by-game records were kept starting with the 2006-07 season. Ogele leads the Vikings with 8.14 rebounds per game, ranking her fourth in the Big Sky Conference. She also ranks fourth in the conference in defensive rebounds (5.86) and seventh in offensive rebounds (2.29) per game.
 
ROOTING FOR LAY IS A LAYUP
Alaya Fitzgerald – nicknamed Lay – will enter her fourth year in the Vikings' starting lineup this season, joining classmate Rhema Ogele as one of the two veterans in the team's starting five. Her presence was missed last Saturday in the Vikings' loss to Denver, which she missed due to illness. She had scored in double figures in four of the Vikings' first six games of the season. Her 10.5 points per game so far this season match her career-best average from her sophomore season. Her last double-digit scoring game came against UC Davis on Nov. 30 when she scored eight of her 10 points in the fourth quarter of the Vikings' comeback victory. She hit two go-ahead three-pointers within the final two minutes, including the one that gave the Vikings the lead for good. She had 13 points in the Vikings' win over Cal State Fullerton on Nov. 24, after leading the Vikings with 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting overall and 4-of-6 from three-point range in their road win over Seattle U on Nov. 16. Fitzgerald now ranks among the Big Sky leaders in five different statistical categories. She ranks ninth in the Big Sky in assists per game (3.17), second in three-point field goal percentage (.429), sixth in three-pointers made per game (2.0), fifth in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.73) and fifth in minutes played per game (31.6).
 
GIVE HER A GATORADE…PLAYER OF THE YEAR, THAT IS
Sophomore Laynee Torres-Kahapea – the 2023 Gatorade Player of the Year for the state of Hawai'i – has seamlessly stepped into the starting lineup for the Vikings. Torres-Kahapea scored in double figures in back-to-back games against San Francisco and Seattle U, then followed with seven points and five assists in the Vikings' win over Cal State Fullerton on Nov. 24. She's been an integral part of the Vikings' success on the ball this season while leading the Big Sky and ranking 23rd nationally with 35.7 minutes played per game. She's also ranked among the Big Sky leaders in assists per game, assist-to-turnover ratio and free throw percentage at various points this season.
 
SHE'S HER FROM HERSBERG
Lana Wenger – from Hersberg, Switzerland – posted career numbers in the Vikings' close loss to San Francisco on Nov. 12. She scored a career-high 18 points to go with eight rebounds and three blocks against the Dons. She followed with 12 points to go with five rebounds in the Vikings' 67-57 win over Seattle U on Nov. 16. She's missed the Vikings' last three games due to a hip injury she suffered against Cal State Fullerton on Nov. 24. Because of that, she's dropped out of the statistical rankings but would rank among the scoring leaders as she leads the Vikings with 11.3 points per game. Wenger's strong start to the season follows a big finish to the previous year. Over the team's final seven games of the 2023-24 regular season, Wenger averaged 9.4 points per game while shooting 55.1 percent (27-of-49) from the field and 47.1 percent (8-of-17) from three-point range. That was a big jump from her season-long averages of 6.3 points per game on 44.3 percent shooting overall and 31.1 percent from three-point range.
 
SEASON HIGHLIGHTS
Portland State 66, UC Davis 61: The Vikings erased a nine-point fourth-quarter deficit to complete their second-biggest comeback in school history. Kyleigh Brown led the way, scoring 14 of her game-high 18 points in the final period.
Portland State 61, Cal State Fullerton 52: The Vikings held Cal State Fullerton to just 28.6 percent (18-of-63) shooting Sunday, the lowest mark by a Viking opponent since Idaho shot an identical 28.6 percent (16-of-56) from the floor on Jan. 7, 2023. The Vikings also went 23-of-25 from the free throw line in the win.
Portland State 67, Seattle U 57: The Vikings picked up their first win of the season as six different players scored eight or more points. They shot season highs from the field (49.1 percent) and from three-point range (42.9 percent) while out-rebounding the Redhawks 35-to-28.