Vikings Host Rival Portland Sunday to Close Out Non-Conference Schedule

TIPOFF
The Portland State women's basketball team claimed one rivalry win already this week with an 85-62 victory over Seattle U Wednesday. The Vikings will go for another Sunday, when they host cross-town rival University of Portland for a 2 p.m. tipoff at Viking Pavilion.

The Pilots represent a closer rival than the Redhawks, certainly. So close, that first-year head coach Karlie Burris played for the Pilots in college. Sunday's game will be her first as head coach against her former team. The Vikings would love to gift their coach a 1-0 start to her time on the coaching side of the rivalry.

They did that in the Cascadia Rivalry against Seattle U Wednesday. The 23-point win represented the Vikings' largest against an NCAA Division I opponent since a 28-point win over Utah Tech on Nov. 12, 2021.

The Vikings stepped on the gas once they built their lead, outscoring the Redhawks 27-11 in the fourth quarter including a 17-3 finish to the game. The 27 points tied the most in a quarter for the Vikings this season, while the 49-point second half was the program's best half of the season.

Three-point shooting helped the Vikings stretch their lead. They were 4-for-17 (.235) from three-point range through the first half. But in the second half, the Vikings made 8-for-12 (.667) from deep as they outscored the Redhawks 49-26 after halftime.

The Vikings set a season high with their 12 three-pointers Wednesday – five more than they had in any other game this season. What's more, the Vikings held Seattle U to only five three-pointers, meaning they were +21 in terms of points from three-point range – the largest discrepancy in the Vikings' favor this season. It had been the opposite earlier in the season. In four games between Nov. 18 and 30, opponents outshot the Vikings by six or more from three-point range three times.

The Vikings helped their shooting numbers by assisting on 25 of their 33 field goals Wednesday. The 25 assists marked a new season high, as did the 75.8 assist percentage. It wasn't just one player dishing out all the assists, either. Six different players recorded at least three assists, while no one had more than five.

The balanced passing led to balanced scoring. Five different players scored in double figures for the Vikings. It was the second time the Vikings have had that balance in their last three games – the other time coming on Dec. 6 at Kansas City – after they hadn't had five players in double figures since 2021.

Two players – Cici Ellington and Ajae Yoakum – recorded double-doubles for the Vikings. Ellington finished with team highs for points (18) and rebounds (14), while Yoakum finished with 10 points and 12 rebounds for her second double-double in the past three games. Ellington and Yoakum – also teammates in high school at Benson Polytechnic – became the first pair of PSU teammates to record double-doubles in the same game since Jan. 20, 2020.

The Vikings have been best when they're scoring highly this season. They're 4-0 when scoring 70 points or more versus 0-7 when they fail to score that much. Wednesday's win over Seattle U marked the Vikings' third game with 85+ points this season, with the other two coming against Willamette (89) and Kansas City (85).

The Pilots could make it tough for the Vikings to get into their offense. They lead the West Coast Conference in both steals (11.4) and turnovers forced (21.3) per game.

That's been a bugaboo for the Vikings at times this season. Against a Cal State Fullerton team that was leading the nation in turnovers forced at the time, the Vikings fell into an early 10-0 hole they couldn't climb out of thanks to a few early turnovers. The Vikings finished with 26 giveaways against Cal State Fullerton, one of four games this season that the Vikings have had 20+.

The Vikings were better Wednesday against Seattle U, winning the turnover battle by one, 17-to-16. The Vikings are 3-1 when winning the turnover battle this season versus 1-6 when they lose it.

Outside of forcing turnovers, the Pilots also lead the WCC with 17.5 assists per game. Rhyan Mogel leads the team with 4.5 assists per game, ranking her fourth in the WCC individually.

The passing has led to a platoon approach to scoring. While no Pilot averages more than 10 points per game, nine different players average at least five points per game. The Pilots lead the WCC and rank in the top 30 nationally with 29.4 bench points per game.

Dani Ananiev leads the Pilots with 9.9 points per game. A Preseason All-WCC selection, Ananiev leads the conference with 3.1 steals per game.

She's helped lead a Portland team looking to replace five starters off last year's team that went 31-5 and won a share of the WCC regular-season title. The Pilots' 31 wins last season included a 71-46 victory over the Vikings at the Chiles Center.

The Pilots have won four straight games in the rivalry series between them and the Vikings, who last beat Portland on Dec. 15, 2019. Ten years before that, Burris was playing for the Pilots.

Her team would love to celebrate her return to the rivalry with another win.

GAME #12: PORTLAND STATE (4-7) vs. PORTLAND (5-6)
GAME DETAILS: Sunday, Dec. 21, 2 p.m. PT, Portland, Ore., (Viking Pavilion)
LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO
SCOUTING PORTLAND: The Portland Pilots have already played a number of Big Sky Conference teams this season. They're 1-2 against the conference going into Sunday's game against the Vikings. They dropped games to Montana State, 86-72, and Idaho State, 58-57, on Nov. 7 and 21, respectively, before beating Eastern Washington, 73-58, at home on Nov. 30. The win over the Eagles came as part of three of four wins for the Pilots between Nov. 29 and Dec. 11. They dropped their most recent game Thursday, losing 85-59 on the road to Oregon. The Pilots went into the season needing to replace all five starters off last year's team that went 31-5 overall and won a share of the West Coast Conference regular-season title. WCC coaches picked the Pilots to finish fourth in the conference in their preseason poll. Sophomore Dani Ananiev made the Preseason All-WCC team. She leads the Pilots with 9.9 points per game, just ahead of teammates Florence Dallow (9.8) and Rhyan Mogel (9.0). She leads the WCC with 3.1 steals per game, an average that also ranks her in the top 30 nationally. The Pilots lead the WCC with 11.4 steals per game as a team, while they also top the conference with 21.3 turnovers forced per game. Additionally, they lead the WCC with 17.5 assists per game, with Mogel ranked fourth individually in the WCC with 4.5 per game. Julia Dalan leads the WCC and the nation with 3.5 blocks per game. Offensively, the Pilots use a platoon approach. While no Pilot averages more than 10 points per game, nine different players average at least five points per game. That's allowed the Pilots to lead the WCC and rank in the top 30 nationally with 29.4 bench points per game.
ALL-TIME SERIES: The Pilots lead the all-time series between them and the Vikings, 32-26. The Pilots have won four in a row in the series, including a 71-46 victory at the Chiles Center on Dec. 13 last season. The Vikings' last victory in the series came on the road via a 77-71 win on Dec. 15, 2019.

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Recent Results

The Vikings beat Seattle U 85-62 Wednesday for their largest margin of victory over an NCAA Division I opponent in four years. The +23 margin was their best since they beat Utah Tech by 28 (80-52) on Nov. 12, 2021.
Five different Vikings scored in double figures between Cici Ellington (18), Kyleigh Brown (16), Laynee Torres-Kahapea (13), Hannah Chicken (13) and Ajae Yoakum (10). It was the second time in the past three games that the Vikings had five players in double figures, after they didn't have any in the previous four years.
The Vikings hit a season-high 12 three-pointers Wednesday, five more than their previous season high. They were 4-for-17 (.235) from deep in the first half but then went 8-for-12 (.667) in the second half.
The Vikings recorded a season-high 25 assists on 33 field goals Wednesday. Six different players recorded at least three assists in the game. Laynee Torres-Kahapea and Taylor Moffat led the way with five assists each.
The Vikings swiped a season-high 13 steals Wednesday. Hannah Chicken led the way with a career-high six steals individually.
The Vikings outscored Seattle U 49-26 in the second half, including a 27-11 advantage in the fourth quarter. The 27 points in the fourth quarter tied the highest scoring quarter by the Vikings this season. The 49 points in the second half, meanwhile, represented the Vikings' highest scoring half of the season.
Cici Ellington and Ajae Yoakum – high school teammates at Benson Polytechnic – became the first PSU teammates to record double-doubles in the same game since Jan. 20, 2020. Ellington led the Vikings in both points (18) and rebounds (14) for her first double-double since Jan. 8, 2022, when she was playing at Grambling State. Yoakum finished with 10 points and 12 rebounds for her second double-double in the last three games.
The Vikings shot 46.5 percent (33-for-71) from the field Wednesday, their second-best mark of the season. Their 85 points also tied their second-highest scoring output of the season.

Players
#12 Kyleigh Brown

Sophomore guard Kyleigh Brown has scored in double figures in 17 straight games going back to last season. She's scored 20+ in five of the team's 11 games this season.
Brown went 4-for-4 from the line last Wednesday, extending a streak of 18 straight makes from the line. She had a streak of 26 straight free throws earlier in the season, which included a 14-for-14 performance against South Dakota on Dec. 3. That tied a program record for most makes without a miss in a single game.
Brown leads the Big Sky and ranks ninth nationally with a .932 (55-for-59) free throw percentage. That would set a new single-season program record if the season ended today, surpassing the record Esmeralda Morales set at .913 during the 2021-22 season.
Brown leads the Vikings with 19.1 points per game this season, ranking her second in the Big Sky and 32nd nationally. She has the potential to become the first Viking to average more than 20 points per game since Stacey Liebl during the 1986-87 season.
Brown ranks ninth in the conference with 1.73 three-pointers made per game.
Brown ranks eighth in the Big Sky in field goal percentage (.422).
Brown is averaging a career-best 4.8 rebounds per game, 1.4 more per game than she averaged as a freshman.
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.

#8 Cici Ellington

Cici Ellington led the Vikings in both points (18) and rebounds (14) Wednesday against Seattle U. She recorded her first double-double since Jan. 8, 2022, when she was playing at Grambling State.
Ellington set or tied season highs for field goal percentage (.636), field goals (7), three-pointers (2), rebounds (14), assists (4) and blocks (3) Wednesday.
Ellington was held to just two points in the first half Wednesday, but recorded 16 points on 6-for-8 shooting to go with 11 rebounds in the second half.
Ellington's average of 9.2 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. She returned from the injury absence while playing for the Vikings last season, when she averaged 6.7 points per game.
Ellington is 54 points away from reaching 1,000 points over her entire collegiate career. She is also 60 rebounds away from reaching 500 in her career.
Ellington ranks tied for fourth in the Big Sky with 1.00 blocks per game.
Ellington was a West Coast Conference All-Freshman Team selection at Loyola Marymount following the 2019-20 season.
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.

#9 Hannah Chicken

Freshman Hannah Chicken scored in double figures for the seventh time out of the last nine games with 13 points on 6-for-9 shooting Wednesday against Seattle U. She added a career-high six steals.
Chicken recorded the first double-double of her career with 15 points and 10 rebounds against Cal State Fullerton on Dec. 13. She led the Vikings in both categories in the game.
Chicken ranks second on the team with 10.4 points per game. That would be the best average by a PSU freshman since Esmeralda Morales averaged 12.5 points per game during the 2021-22 season.
Chicken ranks 10th in the Big Sky with 6.4 rebounds per game. Chicken also ranks seventh in the Big Sky in offensive (2.3) and tied for 13th in defensive (4.1) rebounds per game.
Chicken had a streak of 16 straight made free throws snapped at Cal State Fullerton on Dec. 13. She ranks second on the team this season with an .885 (23-for-26) free throw percentage.
Chicken leads the Vikings with a .494 field goal percentage this season. She's shot 60.0 percent or better from the field six times this season.
Head coach Karlie Burris said of Chicken after a game during the first month of the season: "She's at the beginning of how good she's going to be."
Chicken and fellow freshman Sophie Buzzard are roommates, making for a very bird-friendly dorm room at Portland State University.
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.

#5 Ajae Yoakum

Ajae Yoakum recorded her second double-double in the past three games with 10 points and 12 rebounds Wednesday against Seattle U.
Yoakum's first double-double came against Kansas City on Dec. 6, when she had 11 points and 14 rebounds. The 14 rebounds tied a career high for Yoakum. Five of the 14 came on the offensive end.
Yoakum took over the team lead in rebounds with her double-double Wednesday. She now ranks eighth in the Big Sky with 6.7 rebounds per game. She also ranks ninth in offensive (2.11) and 10th in defensive (4.56) rebounds per game.
Yoakum ranks tied for ninth in the Big Sky with 0.78 blocks per game.
Yoakum reached 1,000-career points over her entire collegiate career with a field goal late in the third quarter against San Jose State on Nov. 28.
Yoakum scored a season-high 20 points on 9-for-12 shooting from the field to go with a career high-tying three blocks in the Vikings' win over Willamette on Nov. 11.
Yoakum ranks 13th in the Big Sky with 29.6 minutes played per game.
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 has scored in double figures in three of the Vikings' last five games. She's averaging 10.2 points per game over the last five games.
Torres-Kahapea tied her career high with three three-pointers Wednesday against Seattle U while finishing with 13 points, five rebounds and five assists.
Torres-Kahapea – despite being just five-feet, six-inches tall – ranks third on the team with 5.1 rebounds per game. She set a career high with nine rebounds against Utah Tech on Nov. 22.
Torres-Kahapea leads the Vikings while ranking tied for 13th in the Big Sky with 4.1 defensive rebounds per game.
Torres-Kahapea ranks tied for sixth in the Big Sky in free throw percentage (.763). She had a streak of 15 straight made free throws earlier in the season.
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).
Torres-Kahapea ranks second on the team with 12 made three-pointers this season while shooting 12-for-36 (.333) from beyond the arc.
Torres-Kahapea leads the Vikings with 2.2 assists per game. She had a career-high seven assists against San Jose State on Nov. 28.
Torres-Kahapea ranks fifth in the Big Sky with 31.9 minutes played per game. That's actually down from last season when she led the conference with 35.8 minutes per game.

#23 Taylor Moffat

Taylor Moffat has started the last four games for the Vikings, her first four starts of the season.
Moffat is 8-for-16 (.500) from three-point range over her three starts. She was 1-for-9 over the team's first seven games.
Moffat set or tied season highs for points (9), three-pointers (3), rebounds (3), assists and steals (2) in Wednesday's win over Seattle U.
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 had been out since tearing her ACL in the Vikings' game against Denver on Dec. 7, 2024.

#4 Sophie Buzzard

Freshman Sophie Buzzard scored in double figures in back-to-back games with 10 points against both Kansas City (Dec. 6) and Cal State Fullerton (Dec. 13). She scored six points Wednesday against Seattle U.
Buzzard ranks third on the team in both free throws made (24) and attempted (33) this season.
Buzzard scored 20 points on 7-for-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 and fellow freshman Hannah Chicken are roommates, making for a very bird-friendly dorm room at Portland State University.

#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 is 4-for-26 from the field outside of the Air Force game, however.
Munk started the first nine games of the season for the Vikings before coming off the bench for the last two. The nine starts were 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.

Additional Players

Katelyn Best scored a career-high 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the field against Willamette on Nov. 11. Best hasn't scored outside of that game, however.
Alani Encinas started the first two games of the season. She saw her most extensive action since those two starts while playing close to nine minutes against UC San Diego on Nov. 30.
Jamia Carter saw her first action of the season at Cal State Fullerton on Dec. 13. She had been out with a knee injury since the Vikings' game against Montana State on Feb. 1 last season.

Team Tendencies/Stats

The Vikings lead the Big Sky Conference in both free throws made (16.6) and attempted (22.5) per game this season. Their 22.5 attempts per game are 5.7 more per game than their opponents.
The Vikings had their fewest free throw attempts in their past eight games while going 7-for-12 (.583) from the line against Seattle U Wednesday. The Vikings had recorded at least 20 free throw attempts in their previous four games, including a season-high 40 against Kansas City on Dec. 6.
The Vikings rank fourth in the Big Sky and 76th nationally in free throw percentage (.741).
The Vikings have won the rebounding battle in six of 11 games this season, while they finished tied with their opponent in two of the other five. 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 total rebounds per game (38.6) as well as sixth in rebounding margin (+1.82). The Vikings haven't finished a season with a positive rebounding margin since they finished the 2018-19 season at +1.0.
The Vikings rank fifth in the Big Sky with 13.8 offensive rebounds per game. They recorded 20+ offensive rebounds in back-to-back games against Kansas City and Cal State Fullerton on Dec. 6 and 13, respectively. They're averaging 20.7 offensive rebounds per game over their last three games.
The Vikings are 4-0 when they score 70 points or more this season versus 0-7 when they fail to score 70 points.
The Vikings won the turnover battle for only the fourth time this season, finishing +1 Wednesday against Seattle U. The Vikings are 3-1 when winning the turnover battle versus 1-6 when they lose it. The Vikings rank last in the Big Sky in turnover margin (-3.18).
The Vikings are 4-1 when shooting over 40 percent this season versus 0-6 when they shoot below 40 percent. The Vikings shot better than 40 percent in all four quarters Wednesday, while they finished at 46.5 percent (33-for-71) for the game.
Five different players average at least 4.8 rebounds per game for the Vikings this season. That list includes Ajae Yoakum (6.7), Hannah Chicken (6.4), Laynee Torres-Kahapea (5.1), Cici Ellington (5.0) and Kyleigh Brown (4.8).
The Vikings are +10 in three-pointers over their last four games. That's been an improvement after three of four opponents outshot the Vikings by six or more from the three-point line during their stretch of games between Nov. 18-30. The Vikings are 3-2 when they either tie or outshoot their opponent from three-point range versus 1-5 when their opponent outshoots them.
With their season-high 25 assists Wednesday, the Vikings moved up from last to eighth in the Big Sky for assists per game (11.7).
Despite only having one player taller than 6-1, the Vikings rank fifth in the Big Sky with 3.00 blocks per game. The Vikings tied their season high with five blocks Wednesday.

Coaching Staff

Karlie Burris earned the first win of her head coaching career with an 89-52 victory over Willamette on Nov. 11.
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.