Vikings Go for Back-to-Back Road Wins at Cal State Fullerton Saturday

TIPOFF
Greed isn't a trait that earns a lot of praise during the December holiday season. Watch any version of How the Grinch Stole Christmas and you'll see.

But the Portland State women's basketball team is allowed to be greedy. After winning its first road game of the season, the Vikings will go for two in a row Saturday, when they play at Cal State Fullerton at 2 p.m.

The Vikings haven't won back-to-back road games since 2020, when they swept a road weekend at Northern Arizona and Sacramento State on March 4-6.

If the Vikings are going to snap that dry spell, they'll need a similar effort that they got in an 85-79 overtime victory at Kansas City last Saturday. The Vikings out-rebounded the Roos 56-to-33 in the game, including a 25-to-13 advantage in offensive rebounds.

The Vikings set a number of historical marks with the performance on the glass. The 56 total rebounds were the Vikings' most since 2021. The +23 rebounding margin was the Vikings' best since 2017, while the Vikings' 25 offensive rebounds were their most since 2012.

The Vikings had 15 offensive rebounds on 20 missed shots in the first half, meaning they were rarely one-and-done against the Roos.

They took advantage by getting to the free throw line, where they were 29-for-40 (.725) in the game. The 40 attempts were a season high for the Vikings, as well as their most in a game since they had 44 attempts against CSUN on Nov. 11, 2016. It was the second game out of the last three in which the Vikings had 39 or more attempts, as the Vikings also went 28-for-39 (.718) from the line against UC San Diego on Nov. 30.

The Vikings head into Saturday leading the Big Sky Conference in both free throws made (17.3) and attempted (23.3) per game.

Kyleigh Brown has led the Vikings' march to the line this season. She's made 10+ free throws in each of the Vikings' last three games, including a perfect 14-for-14 against South Dakota on Dec. 3. That tied a program record for most makes without a miss in a single game, while she followed up by going 12-for-13 against Kansas City.

The heavy free throw shooting has led Brown to back-to-back career highs in the last two games. She followed up her 28 points against South Dakota with a game-high 29 against Kansas City Saturday. Brown has now scored 20+ points in four of the Vikings' last five games, while she's scored in double figures in 15 straight games.

She heads into Saturday ranked second in the Big Sky and 20th nationally with 20.2 points per game. No Viking has averaged more than 20 points per game over a whole season since Stacey Liebl during the 1986-87 season.

Brown wasn't alone against the Roos, though. Four others scored in double figures, giving the Vikings five players with 10+ points in the same game for the first time since Nov. 12, 2021. Besides Brown, Hannah Chicken, Laynee Torres-Kahapea and Ajae Yoakum all scored 11 points each, while Sophie Buzzard added 10.

Yoakum added a game-high 14 rebounds to her 11 points, tying a career high and giving the sixth-year senior her first double-double as a Viking.

The one sour note for the Vikings last Saturday came in the turnover battle. The Roos forced 22 turnovers out of the Vikings, which they turned into a 17-9 advantage in points off turnovers.

The Vikings will have to be better in that aspect this Saturday against Cal State Fullerton. The Titans lead all of NCAA Division I with 27.8 turnovers forced per game. They also lead the Big West Conference and rank in the top 10 nationally in both steals per game (17.1) and turnover margin (+9.89).

Four different players rank in the top 10 of the Big West Conference for steals per game. Cristina Jones and Kya Pearson rank first and second with 3.63 and 3.11 steals per game, respectively. Jana Falsdottir and Nicole Steiner rank sixth and ninth with 2.22 and 1.89 steals per game behind them.

Jones leads the Titans with 14.3 points per game, ranking her 10th in the Big West. Steiner also averages in double figures with 12.4 points per game, while she leads the Titans and ranks third in the Big West with 8.2 rebounds per game. Steiner leads the conference and ranks seventh nationally with 4.6 offensive rebounds per game.

Only two Titans return from a meeting with the Vikings last season, which the Vikings won, 61-52, in Portland. Both teams have new head coaches since that game. Karlie Burris took over the reins at Portland State while John Bonner did so at Cal State Fullerton.

Both new head coaches have already had success at their new stops. For Bonner and the Titans, it came in a 2-0 start to Big West play last week, including a win over preseason conference favorite Hawai'i. For Burris and the Vikings, Saturday's road victory at Kansas City was as good as any this season. It not only was the Vikings' first road victory in over a year, but the program's first win (on its sixth try) within the Big Sky-Summit Challenge.

Now it's time to get greedy and try to grab another win on the road. Let 'em call you a mean one, Mr. Grinch.

GAME #10: PORTLAND STATE (3-6) vs. CAL STATE FULLERTON (4-5)
GAME DETAILS: Saturday, Dec. 13, 2 p.m. PT, Fullerton, Calif., (Titan Gym)
LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO
SCOUTING CAL STATE FULLERTON: The Cal State Fullerton Titans swept their opening weekend of Big West Conference play last week, beating Cal Poly, 96-64, last Thursday, then beating preseason conference favorite Hawai'i, 82-80, Saturday. The Titans snapped a 12-game losing streak to the Rainbow Wahine with the win, which they secured on two clutch free throws from Nicole Steiner with 3.2 seconds remaining. Saturday's win gives the Titans a victory over a Hawai'i team that beat the Vikings, 74-63, in the teams' season opener on Nov. 4. The Titans played another Big Sky Conference team in Sacramento State, with the Hornets beating the Titans 78-58 on Nov. 21. The Titans came into the year – their first under head coach John Bonner – picked to finish 10th in the 11-team Big West Conference. They've outperformed those expectations already behind a pressure defense that leads all of NCAA Division I with 27.8 turnovers forced per game. The Titans also lead the Big West Conference and rank in the top 10 nationally in both steals per game (17.1) and turnover margin (+9.89). Four different players rank in the top 10 of the Big West Conference for steals. Cristina Jones and Kya Pearson rank first and second with 3.63 and 3.11 steals per game, respectively. Jana Falsdottir and Steiner rank sixth and ninth with 2.22 and 1.89 steals per game behind them. Jones leads the Titans with 14.3 points per game, ranking her 10th in the Big West. Steiner also averages in double figures with 12.4 points per game, while she leads the Titans and ranks third in the Big West with 8.2 rebounds per game. Steiner leads the conference and ranks seventh nationally with 4.6 offensive rebounds per game. Steiner's game-winning free throws against Hawai'i were also symbolic of the Titans' success at getting to the line this season. They lead the Big West with 22.8 free throw attempts per game.
ALL-TIME SERIES: The Vikings lead the all-time series between them and the Titans, 4-2. They've won their last two against the Titans, including a 61-52 victory in Portland on Nov. 24 last season. The Titans won their last game against the Vikings in Fullerton, however, as they won 84-69 on Nov. 13, 2015.

QUICK HITTERS
Recent Results

The Vikings erased a six-point deficit at the start of the fourth quarter to beat Kansas City, 85-79, in overtime Saturday.
The victory over the Roos was the Vikings' first in six tries within the Big Sky-Summit Challenge.
Saturday's win also marked the Vikings' first road win in over a year (previous: Nov. 16, 2024). The Vikings haven't won back-to-back road games since March 4-6, 2020, but have the chance to do so with a win over Cal State Fullerton Saturday.
The Vikings out-rebounded Kansas City 56-to-33 Saturday. The +23 rebounding margin marked the biggest for the Vikings since they out-rebounded Multnomah by 24 on Nov. 25, 2017. Twenty-five of the Vikings' 56 rebounds came on the offensive glass, the program's most in a game since they had 26 against Corban on Nov. 20, 2012.
The Vikings shot a season-high 40 free throws against the Roos Saturday, going 29-for-40 (.725). The 40 free throw attempts were the Vikings' most in a game since they had 44 against CSUN on Nov. 11, 2016.
The Vikings are 1-0 in overtime games this season after winning Saturday, outscoring the Roos 14-8 in the extra period.
Five different Vikings scored in double figures in the same game for the first time since 2021. Kyleigh Brown led the five with a career-high 29 points. Hannah Chicken, Laynee Torres-Kahapea and Ajae Yoakum all scored 11 points behind her, while Sophie Buzzard added 10.
The Vikings held a Roos team leading the Summit League in three-pointers per game and percentage to just 4-for-14 (.286) from the beyond the arc Saturday. The Vikings matched that by going 4-for-14 (.286) themselves, including going 3-for-4 in the fourth quarter. The Vikings are 2-1 this season when either matching or making more three-pointers than their opponent versus 1-5 when their opponent makes more three-pointers.

Players
#12 Kyleigh Brown

Sophomore guard Kyleigh Brown set a career high for the second straight game, following up her 28 points against South Dakota earlier in the week with 29 points in the victory over Kansas City Saturday.
Brown has scored in double figures in 15 straight games going back to last season. She's scored 20+ in four of the last five games.
Brown has made 11 or more free throws in each of the last three games. She was 11-for-12 from the line against UC San Diego on Nov. 30. She then tied a program record for most makes without a miss while going 14-for-14 from the line against South Dakota on Dec. 3. She then went 12-for-13 from the line in Saturday's win over Kansas City.
Brown ranks second in the Big Sky and 15th nationally with a .922 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 20.2 points per game this season, ranking her second in the Big Sky and 20th nationally. Only three Vikings have ever averaged 20 or more points per game in a season. No Viking has done so since Stacey Liebl averaged exactly 20.0 points per game during the 1986-87 season.
Brown ranks 10th in the conference with 1.67 three-pointers made per game.
Brown ranks tied for eighth in the Big Sky in field goal percentage (.429).
Brown ranks tied for 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 against UC San Diego on Nov. 30. The 20-point game 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 and Kansas City held Ellington to six and eight points, respectively, during last week's Big Sky-Summit Challenge. The six points against South Dakota on Dec. 3 snapped a run of three straight games in double figures for Ellington.
Ellington's average of 8.8 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 ranks tied for eighth in the Big Sky with 0.88 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 returned to double figures with 11 points to go with a career high-tying eight rebounds Saturday against Kansas City. It was Chicken's first double-digit scoring game since she scored 10+ in four straight games between Nov. 16-28.
Chicken ranks second on the team with 9.6 points per game, while her five games with 10+ points rank second only to Kyleigh Brown.
Chicken leads the Vikings with 6.2 rebounds per game, ranking her 10th in the Big Sky Conference this season. Chicken also ranks eighth in the conference in offensive rebounds per game (2.3).
Chicken ranks second on the team with an .889 free throw percentage (16-for-18). She's made 13 straight free throws entering Saturday's game at Cal State Fullerton.
Chicken has recorded at least four rebounds in all nine games this season. She's grabbed a career-high eight rebounds four different times this season, including last Saturday against Kansas City.
Chicken leads the Vikings with a .466 field goal percentage this season. She's shot 60.0 percent or better from the field five times this season, including Saturday's win over Kansas City when she was 4-for-6 from the field.
Head coach Karlie Burris said of Chicken after the Vikings' 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.

#5 Ajae Yoakum

Ajae Yoakum recorded the first double-double by a Viking this season with 11 points and 14 rebounds in the Vikings' win over Kansas City Saturday. The 14 rebounds tied a career high for Yoakum. Five of the 14 came on the offensive end.
It was Yoakum's first double-double as a Viking and 11th of her career.
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. She missed the next two games with a broken tooth but returned against Kansas City Saturday.
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 second on the team and 12th in the Big Sky with 6.1 rebounds per game. She also ranks 13th in offensive (1.86) and 11th in defensive (4.29) rebounds per game.
Yoakum ranks 14th in the Big Sky with 0.71 blocks per game.
Yoakum ranks 14th in the Big Sky with 29.7 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 two of the Vikings' last three games, including 11 points against Kansas City Saturday.
Torres-Kahapea – despite being just five-feet, six-inches tall – ranks tied for third on the team with 5.3 rebounds per game. She set a career high with nine rebounds against Utah Tech on Nov. 22.
Torres-Kahapea leads the Vikings while ranking eighth in the Big Sky with 4.67 defensive rebounds per game.
Torres-Kahapea shot an uncharacteristic 5-for-10 (.500) from the line Saturday against Kansas City. She had a streak of 15 straight made free throws snapped against South Dakota on Dec. 3. She still ranks 10th in the conference in free throw percentage (.757), 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).
Torres-Kahapea went 2-for-2 from three-point range against Kansas City Saturday. She ranks second on the team with nine made three-pointers this season while shooting 9-for-25 (.360) from beyond the arc.
Torres-Kahapea ranks sixth in the Big Sky with 32.2 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 returned to double figures for the first time since the Vikings' season opener with 10 points against Kansas City Saturday. Buzzard added five rebounds to her 10 points, four of which came on the offensive end.
Buzzard went 4-for-7 from the line Saturday against Kansas City. Her 28 free throw attempts this season rank her third on the team. She's 19-for-28 (.679) from the line 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.

#23 Taylor Moffat

Taylor Moffat has started each of the last two games for the Vikings, her first two starts of the season.
Moffat is 3-for-5 (.600) from three-point range over her last two starts. That includes a go-ahead three-pointer in the fourth quarter against Kansas City Saturday.
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.

#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 three made field goals outside of the game against Air Force, however.
Munk has started the first nine 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.

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.

Team Tendencies/Stats

The Vikings lead the Big Sky Conference while ranking in the top 25 nationally in both free throws made (17.3) and attempted (23.3) per game this season. Their 23.3 attempts per game are 6.2 more per game than their opponents.
The Vikings' 40 attempts Saturday against Kansas City marked their sixth game with 20+ attempts this season, as well as their second with 30+. For comparison's sake, the Vikings only had four games with 20+ attempts last season.
The Vikings rank fourth in the Big Sky and 79th nationally in free throw percentage (.743).
The Vikings have won the rebounding battle in four of nine 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 fifth in the Big Sky in total rebounds per game (38.3) as well as sixth in rebounding margin (+0.67). The Vikings haven't finished a season with a positive rebounding margin since they finished the 2018-19 season at +1.0.
The one sour note of Saturday's victory at Kansas City was the Vikings being minus-11 in the turnover battle (22-11). The Vikings had been 0-5 when losing the turnover battle this season before winning Saturday. The Vikings still rank last in the Big Sky in turnover margin (-3.22).
The Vikings topped 40 percent from the field Saturday against Kansas City. The Vikings are 3-1 when shooting over 40 percent this season versus 0-5 when they shoot below 40 percent. Saturday's game against Kansas City followed back-to-back games below 30 percent against UC San Diego (.291) and South Dakota (.220).
Four different players average at least 5.0 rebounds per game for the Vikings this season. That list includes Hannah Chicken (6.2), Ajae Yoakum (6.1), Laynee Torres-Kahapea (5.3) and Kyleigh Brown (5.3).
The Vikings have matched their last two opponents from three-point range, making a season-high seven against South Dakota on Dec. 3, followed by four at Kansas City last Saturday. The Vikings are 1-5 this season when their opponent makes more three-pointers versus 2-1 when they either tie or outshoot their opponent from three-point range.

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.