Vikings to Test 2-0 Home Record against UC San Diego Sunday

TIPOFF
A return home for Thanksgiving served the Portland State women's basketball team well Friday, as the Vikings recorded their first win of the season against an NCAA Division I team with a 75-64 victory over San Jose State.

It was the Vikings' second victory in as many games at Viking Pavilion this season. They'll put that 2-0 home record to the test Sunday, when they host UC San Diego for a 2 p.m. tipoff.

The Tritons will be a good measuring stick for the Vikings' growth. They hold a win over a common opponent with the Vikings, having beaten Air Force, 55-43, on Nov. 22. The Vikings lost to the Falcons, 65-55, four days earlier on Nov. 18.

The Vikings have gotten better since that game against the Falcons. No game showed that more than Friday's win over San Jose State. The Vikings set overall season highs for rebounds (44), steals (10), blocks (5) and offensive rebounds (16), while setting seasonal bests against NCAA Division I opponents in rebounding margin (+6), turnover margin (+4), assists (20), three-pointers (6) and opponent field goal percentage (.397).

The 20 assists came on 27 field goals for the Vikings Friday, giving them an assist percentage of 74.1 percent against San Jose State. The Vikings hadn't assisted on more than 50 percent of their field goals in any other game against a Division I opponent before Friday. Laynee Torres-Kahapea led the Vikings with a career-high seven assists, though seven of the 10 Vikings who played recorded at least one assist.

The better passing opened up the offense for the Vikings, who scored a D1 season-high 75 points against the Spartans. Three different players went into double figures for the Vikings between Kyleigh Brown (22 points), Hannah Chicken (15) and Cici Ellington (14).

Brown's game-high 22 points marked her second straight 20-point game, after she set a career high with 26 points against Utah Tech on Nov. 22. Brown has scored 10+ points in 12 straight games entering Sunday, between the last six games of last season and the first six games of this season. Brown leads the Vikings with 18.3 points per game after Friday, ranking her fourth in the Big Sky Conference and 49th nationally.

Chicken has her own active scoring streak going into Sunday, having scored in double figures in four straight games. She set a career high with 18 points on 8-of-13 shooting against Utah Tech on Nov. 22, though her most complete game may have come against San Jose State Friday. Chicken scored 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting while setting career highs for rebounds (8, tied) and steals (4). She heads into Sunday's game against the Tritons averaging 13.8 points on 63.2 percent (24-of-38) shooting over the Vikings' last four games.

Ellington, the sixth-year senior and former OSAA 6A State Co-Player of the Year, put together her best performance as a Viking. She set a PSU career high with 14 points while setting season highs for rebounds (5, tied) and assists (4). Defensively, Ellington also contributed with two blocks and a steal.

Ellington scored the first basket of the game for the Vikings after a quick pass up the floor from Torres-Kahapea who collected the defensive rebound on the other end. It was part of a quick start for the Vikings, who led 18-15 after the first quarter for their first lead after the opening quarter against a Division I opponent this season.

The Vikings would love a fast start against the Tritons Sunday. UC San Diego – last year's Big West Tournament champions – represent a strong defensive team. The Tritons are giving up only 60.4 points per game while they rank second in the Big West in steals per game (10.3), as well as second in turnover margin (+6.86) and turnovers forced per game (21.6). Makayla Rose and Dymonique Maxie lead the team with 2.71 and 2.29 steals per game, respectively, ranking them third and fifth in the Big West this season.

Erin Condron, a preseason All-Big West pick, ranks third in the Big West with 1.43 blocks per game. Condron also leads the Tritons with 12.6 points and 8.1 rebounds per game.

Sabrina Ma – the 2025 Big West Newcomer of the year – ranks second on the team with 12.1 points per game. Ma stretches the floor for the Tritons as she ranks seventh in the Big West with 2.14 three-pointers per game, while also ranking ninth in the conference in three-point percentage (.333).

The Tritons' pressure defense will be a good test of growth for the Vikings. Friday's game marked the Vikings' first against a Division I opponent in which they won the turnover battle (20-16). That marked an improvement over the previous week when the Vikings had 20+ turnovers against Colorado (27) and Air Force (20).

If the Vikings can keep their turnovers below 20 Sunday, then they'll give themselves a chance to move to 3-0 at home with a win over the Tritons.

And that'd make for a very happy Thanksgiving weekend at home, indeed.

GAME #7: PORTLAND STATE (2-4) vs. UC SAN DIEGO (3-4)
GAME DETAILS: Sunday, Nov. 30, 2 p.m. PT, Portland, Ore. (Viking Pavilion)
LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO
SCOUTING UC SAN DIEGO: The UC San Diego Tritons have a win over a common opponent with the Vikings, having beaten Air Force, 55-43, on Nov. 22. The Vikings lost to the Falcons, 65-55, four days earlier on Nov. 18. The Tritons also played another Big Sky team in Sacramento State, losing to the Hornets, 71-60, on Nov. 12. They dropped a 67-50 game to No. 22 Washington Friday before traveling down to Portland for their game against the Vikings. The Tritons came into the season picked to finish fourth in the 11-team Big West Conference. They won their first Big West Tournament Title as the fourth seed last season. Junior Erin Condron was named to the seven-member preseason All-Big West team. She's made good on that pick, leading the Tritons with 12.6 points and 8.1 rebounds per game. Sabrina Ma – the 2025 Big West Newcomer of the Year – ranks second on the team with 12.1 points per game. Ma leads the Tritons with 2.14 three-pointers per game, ranking her seventh in the Big West, while she stands ninth in three-point percentage (.333). Rosa Smith also averages in double figures with 10.0 points per game. As a team, the Tritons rank highest defensively, ranking fourth in the Big West while allowing only 60.4 points per game. They rank second in the conference with 10.3 steals per game, as well as second in turnover margin (+6.86) and turnovers forced per game (21.6). Makayla Rose and Dymonique Maxie lead the team with 2.71 and 2.29 steals per game, respectively, ranking them third and fifth in the Big West this season. Condron ranks third in the Big West with 1.43 blocks per game defensively.
ALL-TIME SERIES: This will be the first-ever meeting between the Vikings and Tritons.

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The Vikings won their first game against a Division I opponent and second game overall this season with a 75-64 win over San Jose State Friday.
The Vikings led San Jose State 18-15 after the first quarter Friday, the first time they've held a lead after the opening quarter against a Division I opponent this season. The Vikings are 2-0 when leading after the first quarter – the other time coming against NCAA Division III Willamette – versus 0-4 when they're trailing after the first.
The Vikings set overall season highs for rebounds (44), steals (10), blocks (5) and offensive rebounds (16), while setting seasonal bests against NCAA Division I opponents in rebounding margin (+6), turnover margin (+4), assists (20), three-pointers (6) and opponent field goal percentage (.397).
The Vikings assisted on 20 of 27 field goals Friday, an assist percentage of 74.1 percent. The Vikings hadn't been above 50 percent in their four other games against NCAA Division I opponents before Friday. They assisted on 52.6 percent of their field goals – 20 of 38 – against NCAA Division III Willamette on Nov. 11.
The Vikings made more three-pointers than their opponent for the first time this season, making six Friday compared to five for San Jose State. The Vikings faced a deficit from the three-point line in their previous two games, making seven fewer three-pointers against Air Force on Nov. 18 and six fewer than Utah Tech on Nov. 22.
The Vikings went 15-of-19 from the free-throw line against San Jose State. They're averaging 18.3 attempts per game, five more than they did last season (13.2).

Players
#12 Kyleigh Brown

Sophomore guard Kyleigh Brown recorded her second straight 20-point game Friday, scoring 22 points on 10-of-20 shooting to go with seven rebounds and two assists against San Jose State. It followed a career-high 26 points on 11-of-22 shooting against Utah Tech on Nov. 22.
Brown has scored in double figures in 12 straight games between the first six games of this season and the last six games of last season. She's scored 20+ points in three of six games this season.
Brown leads the Vikings with 18.3 points per game, ranking her fourth in the Big Sky Conference and 49th nationally this season.
Brown also ranks in the top 10 of the Big Sky Conference in three-pointers made and percentage. She ranks second in the Big Sky while making 46.2 percent of her shots from three-point range. She stands tied for eighth in the conference with 2.00 three-pointers made per game.
Brown had a streak of 19 straight free throws made snapped while going 3-for-5 from the line against Utah Tech on Nov. 22. She's still 10-for-12 (.833) from the line this season.
Brown accounts for most of the Vikings' three-point shooting this season. While she's 12-for-26 (.462) from three-point range, the rest of the team is a combined 11-for-55 (.200).
Brown was the OSAA 5A State Player of the Year as a senior at Silverton High School when she led her team to the 5A state title in 2024.

#9 Hannah Chicken

Freshman Hannah Chicken had one of her more complete games Friday in the win over San Jose State. She scored 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting to go with career highs for rebounds (8, tied) and steals (4). It came after Chicken scored a career-high 18 points on 8-of-13 shooting at Utah Tech on Nov. 22.
Chicken has scored in double figures in four straight games, during which time she's averaging 13.8 points per game on 63.2 percent (24-of-38) from the floor.
Chicken ranks second on the team with 6.00 rebounds per game, an average that ranks her tied for 10th in the Big Sky Conference this season. She also ranks tied for 11th with 4.17 defensive rebounds per game.
Head coach Karlie Burris said of Chicken after the win over San Jose State Friday: "She's at the beginning of how good she's going to be."
Chicken is one of three Australians on the Vikings' roster, joining Kailee Field from Brisbane and Taylor Moffat from Mount Barker, Australia. Chicken is from Taree, Australia.

#8 Cici Ellington

Cici Ellington put together her best game in just over a year at Portland State Friday against San Jose State. Ellington set a PSU career high with 14 points to go with season highs for rebounds (5, tied) and assists (4).
Ellington has scored in double figures in two straight games after she also had 10 points in only 20 minutes of action against Utah Tech on Nov. 22.
Ellington's average of 7.2 points per game this season is her best since she averaged 9.3 points per game in her second year at Loyola Marymount during the 2020-21 season. Ellington played 19 games during the 2021-22 season at Grambling State but then missed all but one game over the next two years due to injury before returning to action for the Vikings last season.
Ellington was a West Coast Conference All-Freshman Team selection at Loyola Marymount following the 2019-20 season.
Head coach Karlie Burris said of Ellington after the win over San Jose State Friday: "I feel like Cici's breakthrough is coming…I still don't think she's where she thinks she should be."
Ellington was named the OSAA 6A State Co-Player of the Year in 2019, sharing the award with future NCAA national champion and Los Angeles Sparks player Cameron Brink. Ellington and her Benson Polytechnic High School team – that included fellow Viking Ajae Yoakum – beat Brink and two-time defending champion Southridge in the 2019 state championship game.

#5 Ajae Yoakum

Ajae Yoakum reached 1,000-career points over her entire collegiate career with a field goal late in the third quarter against San Jose State Friday. She finished with five points, four rebounds and three assists for the game.
Yoakum scored a season-high 20 points on 9-of-12 shooting from the field while adding six rebounds and a career-high-tying three blocks in the Vikings' win over Willamette on Nov. 11.
Against the Vikings' five NCAA Division I opponents, Yoakum is averaging 4.4 points per game on 25.7 percent shooting.
Yoakum ranks third on the team with 4.8 rebounds per game. She's tied for second on the team with eight offensive rebounds this season.
Yoakum is finishing her career in her native Portland after previous stops at Eastern Arizona (2020-22), FIU (2022-24) and Arizona (2024-25). She won an Oregon 6A State title in 2019 with her Portland State teammate Cici Ellington when both were at Benson Polytechnic High School.

#11 Laynee Torres-Kahapea

Laynee Torres-Kahapea – despite being just five-feet, six-inches tall – leads the Vikings with 6.33 rebounds per game. She set a career high with nine rebounds against Utah Tech on Nov. 22. She's grabbed six or more rebounds in five of the team's six games.
Torres-Kahapea set a career high with seven assists Friday against San Jose State. She only had six assists through the Vikings' first five games of the season.
Torres-Kahapea ranks eighth in the Big Sky in total rebounds per game (6.33), while she ranks third in the conference for defensive rebounds per game (5.67).
Torres-Kahapea has made 13 straight free throws after going 2-for-2 Friday against San Jose State. She's 21-of-24 (.875) from the line this season, ranking her second in the Big Sky and 74th nationally for free throw percentage.
In her first game back in her native Hawai'i, Torres-Kahapea – the 2023 Hawai'i State Gatorade Player of the Year – scored a career-high 22 points while also setting career highs for field goals (6), field goal percentage (.750), free throws (8) and rebounds (6, since broken). She hasn't scored more than seven points in any game since then, however.
Torres-Kahapea ranks fourth in the Big Sky with 32.7 minutes played per game. That's actually down from last season when she led the conference with 35.8 minutes per game.

#4 Sophie Buzzard

Freshman Sophie Buzzard scored eight points Friday against San Jose State while setting a career high with two three-pointers.
Buzzard's eight points Friday were her most against an NCAA Division I opponent since she scored 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting in her collegiate debut against Hawai'i on Nov. 4. Her 20 points were the most by a Viking freshman in their first collegiate game since Esmeralda Morales opened with 32 points against Warner Pacific on Nov. 9, 2022.
Buzzard ranks eighth in the Big Sky for free throw percentage, making 71.4 percent of her shots this season.
Buzzard got to the free throw line for the first time in the past three games, going 2-for-2 from the line Friday against San Jose State. Buzzard had 19 free throw attempts through the Vikings' first three games of the season but then didn't get to the line against Air Force or Utah Tech on Nov. 18 and 22, respectively.

#10 Kirstine Munk

Kirstine Munk set PSU/Division I career highs for points (11), rebounds (6), assists (2), and steals (2) in the Vikings' loss to Air Force on Nov. 18. She was 3-for-5 from the field against the Falcons, and 5-for-5 from the free throw line.
Munk ranks tied for third on the team with 14 free throw attempts this season. She's 12-for-14 (.857) from the line after going 4-for-5 Friday against San Jose State.
Munk has started the first six games of the season for the Vikings, recording the first Division I starts of her career. Munk started 26 of 28 games while at Central Arizona, a junior college, during the 2023-24 season.

#23 Taylor Moffat

Taylor Moffat returned from an 11-month injury absence to play 14 minutes in the Vikings' season opener at Hawai'i on Nov. 4. She returned to the scoring column against Willamette on Nov. 11, finishing with eight points on 3-of-4 shooting to go with two rebounds and three assists.
Moffat ranks second on the team with 2.0 assists per game.
Moffat had been out since tearing her ACL in the Vikings' game against Denver on Dec. 7, 2024.

Additional Players

Katelyn Best scored a career-high 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the field against Willamette last Tuesday. Best hasn't scored outside of that game, however.
Ryme Jaekel made her collegiate debut against Utah Tech on Nov. 22, after sitting the first four games of the season with a hand injury. However, Jaekel sat Friday's game against San Jose State with a separate knee injury.
Alani Encinas started the first two games of the season. However, she's only played a total six and a half minutes over the team's last four games since those two starts.

Team Tendencies/Stats

The Vikings won the turnover battle against San Jose State Friday, the team's first victory against an NCAA Division I opponent this season. The Vikings still rank last in the Big Sky for turnover margin (-2.83), however.
The Vikings' 20 assists Friday against San Jose State was more than double the team's average coming into the game (9.8). The Vikings still rank last in the Big Sky with 11.5 assists per game after Friday.
The Vikings rank fifth in the Big Sky with a .424 field goal percentage. They shot 55.9 percent (38-of-68) against Willamette on Nov. 11, the team's best shooting percentage since Feb. 4, 2023, when they shot 60.4 percent against Eastern Washington. The Vikings have shot better than 40 percent from the field in three of their six games, including Friday against San Jose State when the Vikings shot 40.9 percent (27-for-66) from the field. The Vikings are 2-1 this season when shooting better than 40 percent.
The Vikings are averaging 32.3 points per game in the paint this season, which amounts to just under 50 percent (49.7) of their total scoring per game. Comparatively, the Vikings averaged only 25.6 points per game in the paint last season.
The Vikings have won the rebounding battle in three of their six games this season, while they finished tied in another. That's a significant improvement over last season, when the Vikings were out-rebounded in all but six games. The Vikings rank sixth in the Big Sky in rebounding margin (+1.33), a significant improvement over last year when they ranked last in the conference at minus-6.33. The Vikings haven't finished a season with a positive rebounding margin since 2018-19.
Four different players average at least 4.7 rebounds per game for the Vikings this season. That list includes Laynee Torres-Kahapea (6.3 rebounds per game), Hannah Chicken (6.0), Ajae Yoakum (4.8) and Kyleigh Brown (4.7).
The Vikings rank last in the Big Sky in three-pointers made per game (3.83), while they rank seventh in the conference in percentage (.284). The Vikings tied their season high with six three-pointers Friday against San Jose State.
The Vikings rank third in the Big Sky in free throw percentage (.736). Their 18.3 free throw attempts per game ranks the Vikings sixth in the Big Sky.

Coaching Staff

Karlie Burris earned the first win of her head coaching career with an 89-52 victory over Willamette on Nov. 11. Friday's win over San Jose State marked her first win over an NCAA Division I opponent.
Burris is a first-time head coach. She spent the past four years as an assistant coach at UNLV where she helped the Lady Rebels win four straight Mountain West Conference regular-season titles (2022-25), as well as three Mountain West Conference tournament titles (2022-24).
Burris outlined three areas of focus for the Vikings this season: 1) Transition offense and defense; 2) Rebounding; and 3) Execution. Execution is an umbrella term for winning the turnover battle, executing the scouting report, and holding the opposing team's best player to under 17 points.
Burris said of the lack of expectations on her team this year: "We're going to be the hunters this year at Portland State. We're super excited about that. No one has any expectations for us, other than ourselves. And we're excited to be the hunters. That's a good spot to be. You get to play really hard with reckless abandon and really not worry about the result because all the expectations are on the other team. It's a fun place to be. It's hunting season."
Assistant coach Raina Perez is a former finalist for the Nancy Lieberman Award, which honors the nation's best point guard. She made the finalist list while at NC State where she was part of runs to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight in 2021 and 2022, respectively.

General/Preseason Info

The Vikings returned nine letterwinners and had four incoming freshmen already committed to the roster when Karlie Burris was named head coach. Burris' one addition to the 2025-26 roster was Ajae Yoakum, who signed with the Vikings in April.
The Vikings were picked to finish tied for ninth and 10th in the Big Sky Conference in the preseason coaches and media polls, respectively. The Vikings have finished 10th in the conference three of the past four seasons.
The Vikings feature only one player listed as taller than six feet in Katelyn Best, who stands 6-3. However, the Vikings have five players listed at six feet exactly in Hannah Chicken, Cici Ellington, Kirstine Munk, Brooklyn Strandy and Ajae Yoakum.
The Vikings have three players who won Oregon state titles in high school. Ellington and Yoakum won the 2019 OSAA 6A state title with Benson Polytechnic High School. Ellington was named the OSAA 6A State Co-Player of the Year that year alongside current WNBA player Cameron Brink. Kyleigh Brown, meanwhile, won the 5A state title with Silverton High School in 2024 when she was also named the OSAA 5A State Player of the Year.
The Vikings signed a five-player recruiting class this fall that features the 2025 Hawai'i State Gatorade Player of the Year in Nihoa Dunn. She'll join Torres-Kahapea, who won the award in 2023, in giving the Vikings two Hawai'i State Gatorade Players of the Year on the roster next season. Dunn is also one of two state champions in the Vikings' recruiting class along with Alex Padilla, who won an Oregon 6A state title with Tualatin High School. Emma Zuniga, from West Salem High School, represents a second Oregon product in the recruiting class, while Liv Collins and Aspen McClees will join the Vikings from Sumner, Wash., and Gilbert, Ariz., respectively.