TIPOFF
The Portland State women's basketball team played its first-ever Big Sky-Summit Challenge game in Kansas City back on Jan. 3, 2024. The Vikings will return to the Barbecue Capital of the World Saturday (12 p.m. PT / 2 p.m. CT Tip) to face the Kansas City Roos for their second of two Big Sky-Summit Challenge games this season.
 
The Vikings dropped their first Big Sky-Summit Challenge game Wednesday, losing 75-51 at home against an 8-1 South Dakota team. The Vikings led the Coyotes after the opening quarter, 13-12, but cold shooting over the second and third quarters – as part of a season-low 22.0 percent shooting (13-for-59) night – ended up costing the Vikings.
 
Despite the cold shooting, head coach Karlie Burris was proud of her team's effort against a strong South Dakota team Wednesday.
 
"I told the group in the locker room that if they play that hard every night, then I'm happy," Burris said after the game. "I think we got better in a lot of areas on the defensive end. We held them to five points under their average, which I think is great for being down a player or two."
 
"We need to clean up some stuff, but I'm proud of the effort overall."
 
The Vikings set seasonal bests for three-pointers (7) and turnovers (8) against the Coyotes despite the loss. Both had been areas of the game that had been huge deficits for the Vikings in the past.
 
The Vikings' seven three-pointers meant they matched South Dakota as the Coyotes also hit seven three-pointers. That was a win for a Viking team that had been out-shot by six or more three-pointers in three of their previous four games. Opponents are still averaging nearly three more three-pointers a game than the Vikings, who rank last in the Big Sky with 4.25 three-pointers per game.
 
Multiple Vikings contributed to the three-point shooting Wednesday, which was another welcomed site for Burris and the Vikings. Kyleigh Brown, Cici Ellington and Taylor Moffat all went 2-for-4 from three-point range, while Laynee Torres-Kahapea went 1-for-3.
 
The Vikings' eight turnovers, meanwhile, meant they won the turnover battle for only the third time this season. The Vikings were +5 in the turnover margin against the Coyotes, which they turned into a 17-5 advantage in points off turnovers. The Vikings have now won the turnover battle in two of their last three games, which has been a sign of progress after they had large turnover deficits against Air Force on Nov. 16 (-10) and Utah Tech on Nov. 18 (-9).
 
Both the three-point shooting and turnover margin will be stats to watch Saturday, as those represent two of the Roos' biggest strengths this season. The Roos lead the Summit League in both three-pointers made per game (7.1) and percentage (.435). The Roos' 43.5 three-point shooting percentage ranks them second nationally this season, behind only LSU at 44.4 percent.
 
Jamyah Winter leads the Summit League and ranks fourth nationally with 3.5 three-pointers per game. Winter converts 50.9 percent of the time from beyond the arc to rank second in the Summit League and 13th nationally. Emani Bennett – a Preseason All-Summit League first-team selection – ranks third in the conference with 2.17 three-pointers per game. Bennett tops the conference in percentage at 52.0 percent, ranking her seventh nationally.
 
Additionally, the Roos lead the Summit League in steals per game (10.6), turnover margin (+4.75) and turnovers forced per game (20.9). Eight different players average at least 1.0 steals per game, led by Bennett and Tierra Trotters at 1.7 per game.
 
Elauni Bennett – Emani Bennett's twin sister – leads the Roos with 15.6 points per game this season. Emani Bennett and Winter follow at 14.3 and 11.2 points per game, respectively.
 
The Vikings will counter behind Brown, who will be coming off a career-high 28 points Wednesday against South Dakota. Brown's 28 points marked her fourth 20-point game of the season, as well as her third in the Vikings' last four games.
 
Brown scored half of her 28 points Wednesday from the free throw line where she was 14-for-14 on the night. That tied the most makes without a miss by a Viking in a single game. She also has a chance at the program record for most consecutive free throws made. She's made 24 in a row going into Saturday, which is 11 shy of Kiana Brown's record of 35 straight between Nov. 28, 2017, and Jan. 20, 2018.
 
But Burris wants to see balance behind Brown. Ellington had provided that recently with three straight games in double figures – including her first 20-point game since her freshman season in 2019-20 – but had the streak snapped amid the cold shooting Wednesday against South Dakota.
 
Hannah Chicken has also provided secondary scoring for the Vikings, going into double figures in four straight games between Nov. 16 and Nov. 28. But Chicken has been a victim of the Vikings' cold shooting the last two games, as well.
 
You could say that the Vikings are looking for just the right sauce. Something with a little kick that still tastes sweet. No better place to find that than Kansas City.
 
GAME #9: PORTLAND STATE (2-6) vs. KANSAS CITY (2-6)
GAME DETAILS: Saturday, Dec. 6, 12 p.m. PT / 2 p.m. CT, Kansas City, Mo. (Swinney Center)
LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO
SCOUTING KANSAS CITY: The Kansas City Roos will take an identical record to the Vikings into the teams' meeting Saturday. The Roos' two wins came over William Jewell, 90-35, on Nov. 8, and Hesston, 121-43, on Nov. 20. The Roos don't have a win over an NCAA Division I opponent yet this season. They lost their first Big Sky-Summit Challenge game earlier this week, falling at Northern Colorado, 72-59, Wednesday. The Roos went into the season picked to finish sixth in the nine-team Summit League before the start of the season. Emani Bennett was named to the Preseason All-Summit League First Team after averaging more than 15 points per game within league play last season. Bennett is averaging around 15 points per game against this season – 14.3 to be precise – though she actually ranks second on the team behind twin sister Elauni Bennett. Elauni Bennett leads the Roos with 15.6 points per game, ranking her and her sister eighth and 10th in the Summit League this season. Jamyah Winter also averages in double figures with 11.2 points per game. Winter's scoring comes behind a Summit League-leading 3.5 three-pointers per game, an average that ranks her fourth nationally. Emani Bennet and Winter also rank 1-2 in the Summit League in terms of percentage, as they're converting at 52.0 and 50.9 percent, respectively, this season. Elauni Bennett also leads the Summit League and ranks 16th nationally with 4.1 offensive rebounds per game. She ranks third in the league and 21st nationally while making 60.5 percent of her shots from the field. The Roos also have two players ranked in the top five of the league in assists per game, as Tierra Trotter and Alyssa Febres rank first and fourth with 3.6 and 3.3 assists per game, respectively. As a team, the Roos lead the Summit League in both makes (7.1 per game) and percentage (.435) from three-point range. Their 43.5 percent three-point shooting ranks them second nationally. The Roos also lead the Summit League in steals per game (10.6), as well as turnover margin (+4.75) and turnovers forced per game (20.9).
ALL-TIME SERIES: The Roos have won all three previous meetings between them and the Vikings. All three have come in Kansas City. The latest came during the first year of the Big Sky-Summit Challenge, when the Roos beat the Vikings 75-56 on Jan. 3, 2024.
 
QUICK HITTERS
Recent Results

• The Vikings dropped their first game within the Big Sky-Summit Challenge, 75-51, at home against South Dakota Wednesday. The Vikings are 0-5 all-time in the Big Sky-Summit Challenge, including a 75-56 loss to Kansas City on Jan. 3, 2024.
• The Vikings shot a season-low 22.0 percent (13-for-59) from the field against South Dakota Wednesday. They were 6-for-39 (.154) from inside the arc.
• The Vikings set seasonal bests for three-pointers (7) and turnovers (8) against South Dakota Wednesday despite the loss.
• The Vikings went 18-for-21 (.857) from the free throw line Wednesday. It was the Vikings' fifth game with at least 20 free throw attempts this season, more than they had during all of last season (4). The Vikings had 39 free throw attempts against UC San Diego last Sunday, the program's most attempts since they had 44 against CSUN on Nov. 11, 2016.
• South Dakota out-rebounded the Vikings 54-to-29 Wednesday. That was atypical for the Vikings, who went into the game with a +1.14 rebounding margin this season but left it at minus-2.13. The Vikings are 3-3-2 in the rebounding battle this season, a significant improvement over last season when the Vikings were out-rebounded in all but six games.
• The Vikings matched South Dakota with seven three-pointers Wednesday. That was a victory for the Vikings, who had had been out-shot by six or more three-pointers in three of their previous four games.

 
Players
#12 Kyleigh Brown

• Sophomore guard Kyleigh Brown scored a career-high 28 points Wednesday against South Dakota, with half of it coming from the free throw line. Brown's 14-for-14 performance from the free throw line Wednesday tied a program record for most makes without a miss in a single game.
• Brown has made 24 free throws in a row heading into Saturday's game. The program record is 35 straight, which Kiana Brown set between Nov. 28, 2017, and Jan. 20, 2018.
• Brown has scored in double figures in 14 straight games between the first eight games of this season and the last six games of last season. She's scored 20+ points four times, including three of the Vikings' last four games.
• Brown leads the Vikings with 19.1 points per game, ranking her third in the Big Sky Conference and 37th nationally this season.
• Brown ranks 11th in the conference with 1.75 three-pointers made per game.
• Brown ranks eighth in the Big Sky in field goal percentage (.437) and second in free throw percentage (.921).
• Brown ranks third on the team with 5.3 rebounds per game this season, nearly two rebounds 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 put together her best two games as a Viking back-to-back over Thanksgiving Weekend. She set a PSU career high with 14 points against San Jose State on Nov. 28, then topped that with 20 points last Sunday against UC San Diego. The 20-point game Sunday was Ellington's first since her freshman year at Loyola Marymount during the 2019-20 season, as well as only the third of her career.
• South Dakota held Ellington to six points Wednesday, snapping a streak of three straight games in double figures for Ellington.
• Ellington's average of 8.9 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.
• 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 got the first start of her career last Sunday against UC San Diego. She came off the bench again Wednesday against South Dakota, however.
• Chicken had one of her more complete games in the Vikings' win over San Jose State on Nov. 28. 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 had a streak of four straight double-digit scoring games snapped last Sunday, when UC San Diego held her to six points on 1-of-8 shooting. Brown was 0-for-6 from the field Wednesday against South Dakota. Those two shooting performances were atypical of Chicken, though, as she had been shooting 54.7 percent (29-for-53) for the season before the last two games.
• Chicken ranks second on the team with 9.4 points per game this season.
• Chicken leads the Vikings with 6.0 rebounds per game, ranking her 10th in the Big Sky Conference this season. Chicken also ranks 10th in the conference in offensive rebounds per game (2.1).
• She has recorded at least four rebounds in all eight games this season.
• Head coach Karlie Burris said of Chicken after the win over San Jose State on Nov. 28: "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.

 
#11 Laynee Torres-Kahapea

• Laynee Torres-Kahapea – despite being just five-feet, six-inches tall – ranks second on the team with 5.5 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 eight games.
• Torres-Kahapea ranks 13th in the Big Sky in total rebounds per game (5.5), while she ranks sixth in the conference for defensive rebounds per game (4.8).
• Torres-Kahapea had a streak of 15 straight made free throws snapped after missing on her lone attempt Wednesday against South Dakota. Torres-Kahapea still ranks third in the conference in free throw percentage (.852), however.
• 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 scored in double figures for the first time since the season opener with 11 points last Sunday against UC San Diego.
• Torres-Kahapea tied her career high with three three-pointers last Sunday. She ranks second on the team with seven made three-pointers.
• Torres-Kahapea ranks eighth in the Big Sky with 31.7 minutes played per game. That's actually down from last season when she led the conference with 35.8 minutes per 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 has been held out of the last two games, though, due to a broken tooth.
• 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.
• Yoakum ranks fourth on the team with 4.8 rebounds 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.

 
#4 Sophie Buzzard

• Freshman Sophie Buzzard scored eight points against San Jose State on Nov. 28 while setting a career high with two three-pointers.
• Buzzard's eight points against San Jose State were her most against an NCAA Division I opponent since she 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 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. She still ranks fourth on the team in free throw attempts this season.
• 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 only has two made field goals outside of the game against Air Force, however.
• Munk ranks fifth on the team with 17 free throw attempts this season. She's 13-for-17 (.765) from the line.
• Munk has started the first eight 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 started her first game of the season Wednesday against South Dakota. She responded with six points on 2-for-4 shooting from three-point range while adding three rebounds.
• Moffat played a season-high 24 minutes against South Dakota. She also set or tied season highs for three-pointers (2), rebounds (3) and blocks (1).
• 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.

 
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.
• 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 last Sunday against UC San Diego.

 
Team Tendencies/Stats

• The Vikings lead the Big Sky Conference with 21.3 free throw attempts per game this season, 5.75 attempts more per game than their opponents. Additionally, the Vikings aren't just getting to the line, they're making them as they rank third in the Big Sky Conference and 63rd nationally in free throw percentage (.747).
• The Vikings have won the rebounding battle in three of eight games this season, while they finished tied 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 won the turnover battle against South Dakota Wednesday while committing a season-low eight turnovers. The Vikings are 2-1 when winning the turnover battle this season, compared to 0-5 when they lose it. The Vikings still rank last in the Big Sky in turnover margin (-2.25) this season.
• The Vikings have shot under 30 percent in two straight games, shooting 29.1 percent (16-for-55) against UC San Diego last Sunday, then 22.0 percent (13-for-59) against South Dakota Wednesday. That's been unusual for the Vikings, who had topped 40 percent in three of their first six games this season. That included a 55.9 percent (38-of-68) shooting performance against Willamette on Nov. 11, the team's best percentage since Feb. 4, 2023, when they shot 60.4 percent against Eastern Washington. The Vikings are 2-1 this season when shooting better than 40 percent.
• Five different players average at least 4.0 rebounds per game for the Vikings this season. That list includes Hannah Chicken (6.0), Laynee Torres-Kahapea (5.5), Kyleigh Brown (5.3), Ajae Yoakum (4.8) and Cici Ellington (4.1).
• The Vikings set a season high with seven three-pointers Wednesday against South Dakota. Despite that, they still rank last in the Big Sky in three-pointers made per game (4.25), while they rank ninth in the conference in percentage (.286). Opponents are making nearly three more three-pointers per game than the Vikings this season.

 
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.