Complete game notes (PDF)

TIPOFF
It's a new year, a new season, and the Portland State women's basketball team hopes to be a new team. The Vikings will look to get back in the win column when they open Big Sky Conference play Saturday against Sacramento State. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. at Viking Pavilion.
 
The Vikings hope to have some players back they've sorely missed over their current four-game losing streak. The Vikings have lacked consistency in their starting lineup since their opening few games of the season. They've started six different lineups over their last six games, while nine different players have started at least one game for the Vikings this season.
 
The shuffling has been forced on the Vikings due to injuries. Lana Wenger, one of three returning starters coming into the year, has missed five straight games since suffering a hip injury against Cal State Fullerton on Nov. 24. The Vikings lost starter Taylor Moffat to a season-ending knee injury a few games later at Denver on Dec. 7. Kyleigh Brown made her first start in place of Moffat against University of Portland on Dec. 13, but then exited after 10 minutes and missed the following game against Air Force with concussion-like symptoms. Alaya Fitzgerald and Joy Haltom have also both missed games as starters this season.
 
But the holiday break – the Vikings have been off since their game against Air Force on Dec. 20 – gave the Vikings a chance to heal up.
 
A healthy Wenger or Brown would do wonders for the Vikings offensively. Wenger was leading the Vikings with 11.3 points per game at the time of her injury. Brown, meanwhile, had scored in double figures in three straight games – including back-to-back 18-point games against UC Davis and Omaha on Nov. 30 and Dec. 4, respectively – before suffering her injury early in the Vikings' game at Portland.
 
The Viking offense has suffered amid the absences, as they've failed to score more than 50 points in their last three games. What's more, the Vikings have gotten sloppy with the ball. They're averaging 25.0 turnovers per game over their last four games. Portland and Air Force forced the Vikings into 34 and 28 turnovers, respectively, while outscoring the Vikings 41-14 and 36-4 in points off turnovers.
 
Taking care of the ball will be key against a Sacramento State team that has also been known to force opponents into turnovers. The Hornets rank third in the Big Sky with 20.0 turnovers forced per game. They also stand third in the league with 10.0 steals per game.
 
Otherwise, the Hornets figure to be similar to the Vikings in a lot of ways. Both teams win with their defense. Both teams rank in the top five of the Big Sky Conference in both field goal percentage defense (PSU 5th, SAC 2nd) and three-point field goal percentage defense (PSU 3rd, SAC 5th). The Hornets also rank second in the Big Sky in scoring defense, holding opponents to 59.4 points per game on average.
 
Sixty points has been the magic number for the Vikings through non-conference play. They went 3-0 when scoring 60 points or more in a game and 0-6 when they didn't. Additionally, the Vikings are 2-1 this season when holding opponents to under 60 points and 1-5 when they don't.
 
The Hornets were expected to make a big jump this season. Big Sky coaches picked them to finish fourth in the conference, a year after they finished tied for eighth at 4-14 in Big Sky play. The Hornets returned Benthe Versteeg, who led the Big Sky with 6.7 assists per game last season. Versteeg picked up preseason All-Big Sky honors this season, a year after she was an All-Big Sky second-team selection, as well as a member of the inaugural Big Sky All-Defensive Team.
 
In addition to Versteeg, the Hornets welcomed back Katie Peneueta, who won a Big Sky title with the Hornets during the 2022-23 season but then played for NC State during the 2023-24 season. The Hornets also added two intra-conference transfers in Jaydia Martin from Eastern Washington and Fatoumata Jaiteh from Northern Arizona.
 
Martin leads the Hornets with 13.8 points per game this season, ranking her sixth in the Big Sky entering conference play. Sophomore Lina Falk ranks second on the team with 11.5 points per game, ranking her 13th in the Big Sky. Versteeg and Peneueta rank third and fourth on the team with 9.3 and 8.4 points per game, respectively.
 
Versteeg ranks second in the Big Sky with 5.3 assists per game this season. As a team, the Hornets rank second in the conference in assists with 14.8 per game.
 
The Vikings would like to see their assist numbers go up Saturday. That's been another symptom of their recent losses. While the Vikings were averaging 13.4 assists per game through their first five games, that number has dropped to 8.0 assists per game over their last four.
 
Again, injuries and absences have hurt the Vikings in that regard. But the Vikings hope they left that in 2024.
 
Saturday marks the start of a new year and a new season for the Vikings. They'll welcome the new possibilities promised within both.
 
GAME #10: PORTLAND STATE (3-6, 0-0) vs. SACRAMENTO STATE (7-6, 0-0)
GAME DETAILS: Saturday, Jan. 4, 2 p.m. PT, Portland, Ore. (Viking Pavilion)
LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO
SCOUTING SACRAMENTO STATE: Like the Vikings, the Sacramento State Hornets have been off since Dec. 20. They went 7-6 over the non-conference portion of their schedule, starting the season 4-0 before going 3-6 over their next nine games. The Hornets share three non-conference opponents with the Vikings in Cal State Fullerton, UC Davis and Omaha. Both teams beat Cal State Fullerton (PSU: 61-52; SAC: 67-40) and lost to Omaha (PSU: 57-65; SAC: 63-67). Meanwhile, the Vikings beat UC Davis, 66-61, while the Hornets lost to the Aggies, 76-45. Coming into the season, the Hornets were expected to make a big jump this season. Big Sky coaches picked the Hornets to finish fourth in the conference, a year after they finished tied for eighth at 4-14 in Big Sky play. They returned Benthe Versteeg, who earned preseason All-Big Sky honors after leading the Big Sky in assists last season. In addition to Versteeg, the Hornets welcomed back Katie Peneueta, who won a Big Sky title with the Hornets during the 2022-23 season but then played for NC State during the 2023-24 season. The Hornets also added two intra-conference transfers in Jaydia Martin from Eastern Washington and Fatoumata Jaiteh from Northern Arizona. Martin leads the Hornets with 13.8 points per game this season, ranking her sixth in the Big Sky entering conference play. Sophomore Lina Falk ranks second on the team with 11.5 points per game, ranking her 13th in the Big Sky. Versteeg and Peneueta rank third and fourth on the team with 9.3 and 8.4 points per game, respectively. Versteeg ranks second in the Big Sky with 5.3 assists per game so far this season, while she also ranks sixth in the conference with 1.83 steals per game. Passing and ball control have been strengths for the Hornets as a team this season. Besides Versteeg, Sofia Alonso ranks seventh in the conference with 3.3 assists per game. As a team, the Hornets rank second in the Big Sky with 14.8 assists per game. They rank third in the conference with a +1.00 turnover margin thanks to forcing 20.0 turnovers behind 10.0 steals per game. Defensively, the Hornets have held opponents to just 37.9 percent shooting through non-conference play, ranking them second in the Big Sky. They also rank fourth in the conference while holding opponents to 59.4 points per game on average.
ALL-TIME SERIES: The Vikings lead the all-time series between them and the Hornets, 34-25. The Hornets had won six in a row against the Vikings before the Vikings beat them, 57-51, on Senior Day at Viking Pavilion on March 2 last season.
 
STORYLINES/STREAKS/RECORDS

• The Vikings have been off since Dec. 20 when they closed their non-conference schedule with a 69-40 home loss to Air Force. It was the Vikings' fourth straight loss, a streak that followed a three-game winning streak for the Vikings from Nov. 16-30.
• The Vikings are averaging 25.0 turnovers per game over their last four games. Their last two opponents – Portland and Air Force – outscored them by 27 points or more in points off turnovers (UP, 41-14; Air Force, 36-4). Ball control had been a strength for the Vikings, who led the Big Sky Conference with only 14.0 turnovers committed per game through their first five games.
• Recent absences have hurt the Vikings. The Vikings have used six different starting lineups in their last six games. Lana Wenger has missed the last five games, while fellow starters Kyleigh Brown, Alaya Fitzgerald, Joy Haltom and Taylor Moffat have also missed time.
• Sixty is the magic number for the Vikings. They're 3-0 when scoring 60 or more points and 0-6 when they don't. Additionally, they're 2-1 when holding their opponent below 60 points and 1-5 when they don't.
• Offensively, the Vikings rank last in the Big Sky in scoring offense (53.8), field goal percentage (.369), three-pointers made per game (4.89), three-point field goal percentage (.284), assists per game (11.0) and assist-to-turnover ratio (0.58).
• The Vikings assisted on at least 50 percent of their field goals in their first five games of the season. But they've failed to hit 50 percent in three of their four recent losses. They're averaging just 8.0 assists per game over their four recent losses after averaging 13.4 over their first five games.
• Freshman Kyleigh Brown had scored in double figures in three straight games before exiting the Vikings' game against University of Portland on Dec. 13 with a head injury.
• Rhema Ogele has scored in double figures in five of the Vikings' last seven games, including a team-high 14 points on a seasonal-best 87.5 percent (7-of-8) shooting from the field. Ogele heads into conference play ranked fifth in the Big Sky in total rebounds per game (8.11), as well as fourth in offensive rebounds (2.78) and sixth in defensive rebounds (5.33) per game.
• The Vikings held five of their nine non-conference opponents to under 40 percent shooting. They rank in the top half of the conference in both field goal percentage defense (5th, .393) and three-point field goal percentage defense (3rd, .261). They also rank sixth in the conference in both scoring defense (62.9) and steals per game (7.56).
• The Vikings rank fourth in the Big Sky and 30th nationally in free throw percentage (.767). They've shot more free throws than five of their nine opponents and they're 2-3 in those five games.
• Senior Alaya Fitzgerald ranks among the Big Sky leaders in three statistical categories between assists per game (14th, 2.50), three-pointers made per game (9th, 1.63) and minutes played per game (10th, 30.7).
• Laynee Torres-Kahapea leads the Big Sky and ranks 35th nationally while playing 35.1 minutes per game. She also ranks 13th in the Big Sky with 2.67 assists per game.
• Lana Wenger leads the Vikings with 11.3 points per game, though she hasn't played since the Vikings' game against Cal State Fullerton on Nov. 24. 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.
• The Vikings returned 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."

 
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. All told, five of nine non-conference opponents failed to shoot better than 40 percent against the Vikings. Additionally, six of nine opponents failed to top 30 percent from three-point range against the Vikings. Those remain strengths for the Vikings, who enter Big Sky play ranked fifth in the conference in field goal percentage defense (.393) and third in three-point field goal percentage defense (.261). The Vikings also rank sixth in the conference in both scoring defense (62.9) and steals per game (7.56).
 
SOMETIMES THE BEST OFFENSE IS GETTING TO THE LINE
Free throw shooting has been the Vikings' best offense at times this season. Against Cal State Fullerton on Nov. 24, the Vikings used a 23-of-25 performance from the line to beat the Titans 61-52. 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. They enter Big Sky play ranked fourth in the conference and 30th nationally for free throw percentage, as they're making 76.7 percent of their shots from the line. Jamia Carter leads the Vikings in both makes (21) and attempts (28) while shooting 75.0 percent from the line. Laynee Torres-Kahapea ranks second to her in both makes (18) and attempts (21) while making 85.7 percent of her free throws.
 
BALL CONTROL
What was once a strength has become a source of frustration for the Vikings over their last four games. Through their first five games of the season, the Vikings led the Big Sky Conference while committing only 14.0 turnovers per game. But they've followed that up by averaging 25.0 turnovers per game over their last four games. That included a season-high 34 turnovers against Portland on Dec. 13, which the Pilots turned into a 41-14 advantage in points off turnovers. The 34 turnovers were the most by the Vikings since they had 42 in a neutral-site game against Oklahoma on Dec. 21, 2016. The Vikings followed up with 28 turnovers against Air Force on Dec. 20, which the Falcons turned into a 36-4 advantage in points off turnovers. It hasn't helped that the Vikings have been without several key players. They started the year playing three different point guards in Kyleigh Brown, Taylor Moffat and Laynee Torres-Kahapea. But the Vikings lost Moffat during their game at Denver on Dec. 7, then lost Brown after the opening 10 minutes against Portland.
 
SHARING IS CARING
A point of emphasis during preseason practices was to share the basketball. The Vikings had been on target with that goal through their first five games, as they averaged 13.4 assists per game while assisting on at least 50 percent of their field goals in all five games. But since then, the Vikings have averaged only 8.0 assists per game during their four-game losing streak. They've failed to assist on at least 50 percent of their field goals in three of their four recent losses. The Vikings hit their high-water mark in their season opener against Hawai'i, assisting on 13 of 15 field goals back 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.
 
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 her 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. She finished with a game-high 18 points, then matched that with 18 points against Omaha five days later on Dec. 4. She added 10 rebounds to her 18 points against Omaha, giving the freshman her 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 on Dec. 7. That earned her a spot in the starting lineup for the first time against Portland on Dec. 13, but she exited the game after playing only 10 minutes due to an injury.
 
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 scored in double figures in five of the Vikings' last seven games, including two double-doubles. 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 8.11 rebounds per game, ranking her fifth in the Big Sky Conference. She also ranks fourth in the conference in offensive rebounds (2.78) and sixth in defense rebounds (2.78) 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. She has scored in double figures in five of the eight games she's played this season. She's proven capable of scoring the clutch points for the Vikings this season. She scored eight of her 10 points against UC Davis on Nov. 30 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. That came after she led 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 three different statistical categories. She ranks 14th in the Big Sky in assists per game (2.50), ninth in three-pointers made per game (1.63) and 10th in minutes played per game (30.7).
 
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 handled duties as the Vikings' primary ball handler while leading the Big Sky and ranking 35th nationally with 35.1 minutes played per game. She also ranks 13th in the conference with 2.67 assists per game.
 
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.