Vikings Look for First Win in Home Opener against Willamette Tuesday

Game Notes (PDF)

TIPOFF
The Portland State women's basketball team opened its season with promise, making it a one-point game late in the fourth quarter against Hawai'i – the two-time defending Big West regular-season champs – before the Rainbow Wahine pulled away. The Vikings will now look to turn that promise into concrete results as they host Willamette University Tuesday (7 p.m.) in their home opener.

The Vikings would have loved to open their season with an upset win over the Rainbow Wahine. The Vikings cut the deficit to a single possession three different times in the fourth quarter, but could never get over the hump.

Laynee Torres-Kahapea and Sophie Buzzard starred for the Vikings, scoring 22 and 20 points, respectively while shooting a combined 13-of-18 (.722) from the floor.

For Torres-Kahapea, it was a career performance in what was a homecoming for her. The 2023 Hawai'i State Gatorade Player of the Year was playing in front of her friends and family in her home state for the first time in her collegiate career. Spurred by the familiar crowd, Torres-Kahapea set career highs for points (22), field goals made (6), field goal percentage (.750), free throws made (8) and rebounds (6, tied). She scored five of the Vikings' seven points in a 7-0 run that turned a 59-50 deficit into a two-point game with 7:13 remaining in the fourth quarter.

Buzzard, meanwhile, finished 7-of-10 from the floor in scoring her 20 points, while she got to the line 11 times. Buzzard's 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.

Sophomore Kyleigh Brown chipped in 12 points to go with five rebounds, two assists, two blocks and a steal.

The three guards were particularly effective driving to the basket and either finishing in the paint or getting to the line. The Vikings recorded 34 points in the paint against the Rainbow Wahine, thanks largely to Brown, Buzzard and Torres-Kahapea. Comparatively, the Vikings only scored 12 points in the paint against Hawai'i last season. Additionally, the Vikings finished with 28 free-throw attempts Tuesday, which would have been their second-most attempts in a game last season. The 28 attempts were more than double their average per game last season, when they averaged 13.2.

The Vikings will learn more about their next opponent, the Bearcats, when they open their season Friday at home against Warner Pacific. The Bearcats were picked to finish fifth in the nine-team Northwest Conference (NCAA Division III) before the start of the season. That would be one spot ahead of where they finished last year when they went 8-17 overall and 5-11 in NWC play, finishing tied for sixth.

The Bearcats' season opener against Warner Pacific will give them a common opponent with the Vikings already, as the Vikings beat the Knights 88-51 in an exhibition on Oct. 30.

Ajae Yoakum led the Vikings with 26 points on 11-of-16 shooting from the floor in the exhibition. She was held to just three points at Hawai'i, but still contributed to a strong rebounding effort from the Vikings with five boards.

Yoakum was one of four Vikings to record at least five rebounds against the Rainbow Wahine with the other three – Torres-Kahapea (6), Brown (5) and Buzzard (5) – all being guards. The team rebounding effort meant the Vikings finished level with the Rainbow Wahine on the glass, 38-38, including a 14-14 draw on the offensive end.

Rebounding was one of head coach Karlie Burris' main points of emphasis going into the season, including transition offense and defense, and execution.

Burris will be going for her first official win when the Vikings host the Bearcats Tuesday. It'll be ironic if it does come over the Bearcats considering the Portland State ties on Willamette's coaching staff. Willamette head coach Peg Swadener served as associate head coach at Portland State from 2007-12, helping lead the Vikings to three straight postseason appearances between one NCAA tournament (2010) and two WNITs (2009, 2011). Assistant coach Sarah Hedgepeth also played for the Vikings from 2001-04, earning All-Big Sky first-team honors after each of her last two years on the Park Blocks.

But then again, if Burris' first win does come against Willamette, then it'll have been blessed by a fellow Viking.

GAME #2: PORTLAND STATE (0-1) vs. WILLAMETTE (0-0)
GAME DETAILS: Tuesday, Nov. 11, 7 p.m. PT, Portland, Ore. (Viking Pavilion)
LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO
SCOUTING WILLAMETTE: The Willamette Bearcats will open their 2025-26 season Friday, when they host Warner Pacific at 7:30 p.m. Coaches within the Bearcats' Northwest Conference (NWC) picked Willamette to finish fifth in the nine-team conference. That would be one spot above where the Bearcats finished last season, when they went 8-17 overall and tied for sixth at 5-11 in NWC play. The Bearcats returned their leading scorer, rebounder and assist leader off last year's team. Kaitlin Imai led the Bearcats with 13.4 points per game last season, and returns as a senior this season. The Bearcats lost their second- and third-leading scorers from last season, however, in Elyse Waldal (12.1 ppg) and Gio Horner (9.8). Daisy Boling-Schmidt returns for the Bearcats after leading the team with 5.8 rebounds per game as a freshman. Peyton Gardner, meanwhile, led the Bearcats with 3.0 assists per game as a junior last season. The Bearcats played an exhibition at University of Portland on Tuesday, losing 95-43 to the Pilots. UP held Imai to just four points in the game, as freshman Riley Walden led the Bearcats instead with 17 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field and 3-of-7 from three-point range. Senior Emma Floyd also went 3-of-7 from three-point range against the Pilots while chipping in 11 points. The Bearcats' coaching staff has a deep Portland State connection, as head coach Peg Swadener served as associate head coach at Portland State from 2007-12. She helped lead the Vikings to three straight postseason appearances between one NCAA tournament appearance in 2010 and two WNIT appearances (2009, 2011). Assistant coach Sarah Hedgepeth played at Portland State from 2001-04, earning back-to-back All-Big Sky first-team selections in 2003 and 2004. This coming Tuesday's game between the Vikings and Bearcats will count as an exhibition for the Bearcats, even as it's a counting game for the Vikings.
ALL-TIME SERIES: This will be the first counting game between the Vikings and Bearcats. The Vikings haven't played a counting game against an NCAA Division III team like the Bearcats since Nov. 9, 2012, when they opened their 2012-13 season against George Fox.

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The Vikings dropped their season opener at Hawai'i, 74-63. They cut it to a one-point game with just under four minutes remaining, but the Rainbow Wahine ended the game on an 11-1 run.
The Vikings beat Warner Pacific 88-51 in an exhibition on Oct. 30. The 88 points would have been the Vikings' most in a game since March 6, 2020 – a 91-68 PSU win at Sacramento State – if it had been a counting game.

Players

Laynee Torres-Kahapea scored a career-high 22 points while also setting career highs for field goals made (6), field goal percentage (.750), free throws made (8) and rebounds (6, tied) against Hawai'i on Tuesday. Torres-Kahapea was making her homecoming, as the 2023 Hawai'i State Gatorade Player of the Year was playing her first collegiate game in her home state.
Freshman Sophie Buzzard scored 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting while making her collegiate debut Tuesday at Hawai'i. 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.
Torres-Kahapea and Buzzard shot a combined 13-of-18 (.722) from the field against Hawai'i, while the rest of the team went 7-of-37 (.189).
Kyleigh Brown was the third player in double figures for the Vikings against Hawai'i. The sophomore guard finished with 12 points to go with five rebounds, two assists, two blocks and a steal.
Redshirt senior forward Ajae Yoakum was held to three points and five rebounds in Tuesday's season opener against Hawai'i. She led the Vikings with 26 points on 11-of-16 shooting from the field in their exhibition win over Warner Pacific, however. She needs 38 more points to reach 1,000 across her entire collegiate career, which includes stops at Eastern Arizona (2020-22), FIU (2022-24) and Arizona (2024-25).
Alani Encinas and Kirstine Munk both made the first starts of their PSU careers in Tuesday's season opener.
Encinas scored 17 points on 7-of-14 shooting in the Vikings' exhibition win over Warner Pacific but was held scoreless in Tuesday's season opener at Hawai'i. She still played a career-high 12 minutes in the game.
Taylor Moffat returned from an 11-month injury absence after tearing her ACL in the Vikings' game against Denver on Dec. 7, 2024. She led the Vikings with three assists across 14 minutes of game time Tuesday against Hawai'i.

Team Tendencies/Stats

The Vikings matched Hawai'i, 38-38, in total rebounds, and were even (14-14) on the offensive glass, too. Laynee Torres-Kahapea led the Vikings with six rebounds, while three other players had five rebounds between Kyleigh Brown, Sophie Buzzard and Ajae Yoakum. Three of the Vikings' four leading rebounders in the game – Brown, Buzzard and Torres-Kahapea – were guards.
The Vikings went 20-of-28 (.714) from the free-throw line against Hawai'i. The 28 free throw attempts would have been their second-most in a game last season. The Vikings averaged just 13.2 free throw attempts per game a year ago.
The Vikings scored 34 points in the paint Tuesday at Hawai'i, with the team's guards responsible for most of those. For comparison's sake, the Vikings scored only 12 points in the paint against Hawai'i last season. In their exhibition game against Warner Pacific, the Vikings scored 52 points in the paint – 14 more than they had in any game last season.
The Vikings went just 3-of-16 (.188) from three-point range in Tuesday's season opener at Hawai'i. They were 17-of-39 (.436) from inside the arc.
The Vikings only had 10 of their 14 players dressed for Tuesday's season opener at Hawai'i. Jamia Carter, Cici Ellington, Kailee Field and Ryme Jaekel were all out due to injury or other reasons.

Coaching Staff

Tuesday's game at Hawai'i was the first counting game for Karlie Burris as Portland State head coach. She's 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."

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.