Complete game notes (PDF)

TIPOFF
The Portland State women's basketball team has one final chance to put it all together, as the Vikings close out the regular season Monday night with a 6:30 p.m. tipoff at Sacramento State.
 
The Vikings started well in their first two games of a three-game road trip to close the regular season. They jumped out to a 16-8 lead on Montana State Thursday, then led 15-3 out of the gates against Montana Saturday. But both the Bobcats and Lady Griz came back to beat the Vikings by double digits.
 
Second half runs saw both opponents sprint past the Vikings. Montana State outscored the Vikings 49-24 in the second half in its 78-49 victory over the Vikings Thursday. Montana, meanwhile, outscored the Vikings 40-22 after halftime in a 74-61 win Saturday. Big Sky opponents have outscored the Vikings 639-462 in the second halves of their 17 conference games this season, which equates to an average of 10.4 points per game.
 
So, that's why the Vikings are still in search of a complete game heading into Monday's regular-season finale.
 
Head coach Chelsey Gregg noted after Saturday's game that she'd like to see her team stay aggressive when their opponents go on runs. The Vikings only got to the free throw line three times Saturday, for instance, while the Lady Griz went 15-of-18 (.833). In general, the Vikings average 12.9 free throw attempts within Big Sky games this season, whereas their opponents average 17.1 attempts per game.
 
Rhema Ogele and Kyleigh Brown tried to stay aggressive for the Vikings Saturday. They put the Vikings back in front after the Lady Griz took their first lead in the third quarter. Brown hit a mid-range jumper to tie the game at 51-all at the start of the fourth quarter, but the Lady Griz broke the tie with a 9-0 run and didn't relinquish the lead from there.
 
Brown finished with a career-high 19 points to lead all scorers Saturday. She's now scored in double figures in four straight games, as well as 10 of the team's 17 Big Sky games.
 
Ogele, meanwhile, recorded her sixth double-double of the season Saturday with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Four of Ogele's six double-doubles have come in Big Sky play.
 
The Vikings will need more players to step up Monday if the Vikings hope to stem a run from the Hornets.
 
The Vikings couldn't do that on Jan. 4 in their first meeting with the Hornets this season. Sacramento State made up an 11-point deficit near the start of the fourth quarter of that game, forcing overtime where they won it 76-74. Benthe Versteeg hit two free throws with 19 seconds remaining in overtime to provide the winning points for the Hornets.
 
Fatoumata Jaiteh led the Hornets with 28 points in their earlier win over the Vikings. She scored 24 of those 28 points in the second half and overtime, with the majority of those coming from the free-throw line where she went 16-of-19.
 
The Hornets produced another second-half comeback against Montana State Saturday, pulling off the upset of the season with a 73-69 victory over the previously unbeaten Bobcats. Versteeg made a layup to give the Hornets a 71-69 lead 37 seconds remaining, then added two free throws to ice the game after the Sacramento State defense forced two empty possessions from the Bobcats.
 
Defense has led the Hornets throughout this season. They head into Monday's regular-season finale ranked second in the Big Sky in field goal percentage defense, allowing opponents to shoot just 38.8 percent from the field. Additionally, the Hornets rank third in the conference in both steals (8.57) and turnovers forced (17.3) per game, as well as fourth in scoring defense, allowing just 63.5 points per game.
 
Offensively, Jaydia Martin leads the Hornets with 14.4 points per game, an average that ranks her fourth in the Big Sky Conference. Versteeg averages 11.5 points per game, ranking her 12th in the conference. Versteeg also leads the conference with 6.21 assists per game, an average that ranks her in the top 10 nationally.
 
Besides her late basket in Saturday's upset victory, Versteeg is also coming off the first triple-double in Sacramento State program history as she recorded 14 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists at Montana Thursday.
 
So, the Vikings have their work cut out for them given the Hornets' upset victory Saturday. But a post-upset hangover can affect the best of teams. The Vikings just have to worry about themselves. Stay aggressive and play a complete game, and the Vikings will give themselves a chance.
 
GAME #27: PORTLAND STATE (4-22, 1-16) vs. SACRAMENTO STATE (13-17, 6-11)
GAME DETAILS: Monday, March 3, 6:30 p.m. PT, Sacramento, Calif. (The Nest)
LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO
SCOUTING SACRAMENTO STATE: The Sacramento State Hornets pulled off the upset of the year within the Big Sky Conference Saturday, handing Montana State its first conference loss of the season with a 73-69 comeback win on the road. Benthe Versteeg gave the Hornets a 71-69 lead with 37 seconds remaining. The Hornets then forced two empty possessions from the Bobcats when they could have tied or taken the lead. Versteeg iced the game with two free throws with five seconds remaining. The Hornets had only won twice in their previous 10 games before beating the Bobcats. Additionally, it was only their fourth road win of the season as the Hornets have been better at home (8-6) than they have been on the road (4-9). One of the Hornets' earlier road wins came over the Vikings when they made up an 11-point fourth quarter deficit to force overtime, then beat the Vikings, 76-74, in Portland on Jan. 4. Fatoumata Jaiteh led the Hornets with 28 points, 24 of which she scored in the second half or overtime. Jaiteh went 16-of-19 from the free-throw line while the Hornets made 25-of-29 (.862) free throws as a team. Overall, the Hornets have led with their defense this season. They head into Monday's regular-season finale ranked second in the Big Sky in field goal percentage defense, allowing opponents to shoot just 38.8 percent from the field. Additionally, the Hornets rank third in the conference in both steals (8.57) and turnovers forced (17.3) per game, as well as fourth in scoring defense, allowing just 63.5 points per game. Four different Hornet players rank among the Big Sky leaders in steals. Jaiteh leads the way, ranking eighth in the conference with 1.59 steals per game. Versteeg, Jaydia Martin and Lina Falk rank 12th, tied for 13th, and 15th, respectively, with 1.45, 1.43 and 1.39 steals per game. Offensively, Martin leads the Hornets with 14.4 points per game, an average that ranks her fourth in the Big Sky Conference individually. Versteeg averages 11.5 points per game, ranking her 12th in the conference. Versteeg also leads the conference with 6.21 assists per game, an average that ranks her in the top 10 nationally. Besides her late basket in Saturday's upset victory, Versteeg is also coming off the first triple-double in Sacramento State program history as she recorded 14 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists at Montana Thursday.
ALL-TIME SERIES: The Vikings lead the all-time series between them and the Hornets, 34-26. The Hornets have dominated the series of late, however, winning seven of their last eight games against the Vikings. The Vikings' last win came on March 2 last season, 57-51. That was at Viking Pavilion in Portland. The Vikings' last win in Sacramento came via a 74-64 victory on Jan. 9, 2021.
 
STORYLINES/STREAKS/RECORDS

• The Vikings jumped out to a 15-3 lead against Montana Saturday, and held a 23-10 lead after the first quarter. But the Lady Griz outscored the Vikings 40-22 in the second half while coming back to beat them, 74-61.
• The 13-point lead was the largest the Vikings have forfeited in a game this season.
• The Vikings have now lost 13 games in a row and 20 of their last 21.
• Montana State also ran away from the Vikings in the second half Thursday, after the Vikings started the game hot. Big Sky opponents are now outscoring the Vikings 639-462 in the second half of games this season, an average of 10.4 points per game. It's split fairly evenly between the third quarter (313-227, 5.06 per game) and fourth quarter (326-235, 5.69 per game).
• Kyleigh Brown scored a career-high 19 points to lead all scorers in Saturday's game. She's scored in double figures in four straight games and 10 of the team's 17 Big Sky games.
• Rhema Ogele recorded her sixth double-double of the season with 14 points and 10 rebounds against Montana Saturday. She now ranks tied for seventh on the single-season list for double-doubles, as well as tied for fifth on the career list with 12.
• The Vikings swiped a season-high 14 steals Thursday against a Montana State team that came into the game ranked in the top 10 nationally for turnover margin. Laynee Torres-Kahapea led the way with six steals individually, the most by a Viking since Nov. 7, 2022.
• Joy Haltom made her first three attempts from three-point range Thursday while leading the Vikings to an early 16-8 lead over the Bobcats. Haltom finished with a career-high 13 points to lead the Vikings. She then made her fifth start of the season Saturday at Montana.
• The Vikings have shot better than 43 percent from the field in four of their last six games. That includes a conference season-high 47.4 percent (27-of-57) against Idaho State on Feb. 20. But at the same time, seven of the Vikings' last 11 opponents have also shot better than 43 percent from the field.
• Seven of 17 conference opponents have out-rebounded the Vikings by 10 or more this season, including Montana State, 39-to-27, Thursday. The Vikings have won the rebounding battle outright in only two of their 17 conference games, while they finished tied in another.
• The Vikings set a season high with 80 points against Idaho State on Feb. 20. The Vikings also tied their most points in a regulation game with 67 at Northern Arizona on Feb. 13.
• The Vikings averaged 6.67 three-pointers per game over their last six home games. That's a sharp uptick over their season-long average of 4.77 three-pointers per game. But the Vikings average only 4.08 three-pointers in road games this season.
• Alaya Fitzgerald has scored in double figures in 12 of the Vikings' 17 Big Sky games this season, though she was held under 10 points at both Montana State Thursday and Montana Saturday. She heads into Monday's regular-season finale averaging 13.5 points per game against Big Sky opponents. Across all games, Fitzgerald ranks ninth in the Big Sky in points (12.3), tied for 15th in three-pointers made (1.40) and fourth in minutes played (33.4) per game.
• Rhema Ogele has entered the career top 10s for rebounds (7th, 661), games started (4th, 111) and double-doubles (T-5th, 12) as a senior. Within this season, she ranks seventh in the Big Sky with 7.38 rebounds per game. She also ranks fourth in the conference in offensive rebounds (2.96) and 11th in defensive rebounds (4.42) per game.
• Sixty points has been the magic number for the Vikings this season, more so defensively than offensively. Defensively, the Vikings are 3-1 when holding opponents below 60 points and 1-21 when they don't. Offensively, the Vikings are 3-6 when scoring 60 or more points this season and 1-16 when they don't.
• Defensively, the Vikings rank third in the Big Sky in three-point field goal percentage defense (.309). They had ranked in the top half of the Big Sky for scoring defense, but their last 13 opponents have all scored more than 60 points.
• Laynee Torres-Kahapea played all 50 minutes of the Vikings' double-overtime loss to Idaho State on Feb. 20. She leads the Big Sky with 35.7 minutes played per game this season. She also ranks tied for 13th in the conference with 2.50 assists per game.
• Lana Wenger scored 12 of her 16 points against Idaho State on Feb. 20 in the final two minutes of regulation and overtime. It was her seventh time in double figures this season and the 12th time of her career. Wenger has been plagued by injuries at various times this season, but she still averages 7.7 points and 3.8 rebounds per game for the Vikings.
• The Vikings returned three starters from last season in Alaya Fitzgerald, Rhema Ogele and Lana Wenger. Fitzgerald and Ogele will both be four-year starters for the Vikings this season, while Wenger enters her second year as a starter.
• Big Sky coaches picked the Vikings to finish ninth in the Big Sky in their preseason poll, while conference media members picked the Vikings to finish 10th.
• The Vikings brought in eight newcomers to mesh with their eight returners. Out of the eight newcomers, three are freshmen – Katelyn Best, Kyleigh Brown and Avery Kraft – while five are transfers – Jamia Carter (Seward County CC/Salt Lake CC), Cici Ellington (Grambling State/Loyola Marymount), Taylor Moffat (Williston State/UAlbany) Kirstine Munk (Central Arizona) and Courtney Turner (FIU/USC Upstate/Harcum College).
• The Vikings have two former Oregon State Players of the Year on their roster now in Kyleigh Brown and Cici Ellington. Brown was the 5A State Player of the Year in 2024 after leading Silverton to the 5A state title. Ellington, meanwhile, was the 6A State Co-Player of the Year – sharing the award with former NCAA champion and current WNBA star Cameron Brink – in 2019 when she led Benson Polytechnic to the 6A state title.
• The Four R's of the Portland State women's basketball program are: Relational, Resilient, Reliable and Ready.
• The Vikings picked five words to define their 2024-25 season: Accountable, Driven, Commitment, Trust and Together. They worked that into a mantra, which is "TOGETHER we rise, DRIVEN by TRUST and COMMITTED to ACCOUNTABILITY."

 
IMPROVING OFFENSE
The Vikings were deserving of a win in their double-overtime loss to Idaho State on Feb. 20. They didn't get it, but even still, the Vikings set or tied conference season highs for points (80), field goal percentage (.474) and three-pointers made (9). It was the latest in a run of improved offensive performances for the Vikings. The Vikings have shot better than 43 percent in four of their last six games. Besides their 47.4-percent mark against Idaho State, the Vikings shot 45.8 percent against Weber State on Feb. 22. They also made 44.1 percent of their shots against Northern Arizona on Feb. 13, which was their best shooting percentage in over a month at the time. The Vikings' 67 points against NAU also tied their most in regulation this season – the Vikings had 65 points at the end of regulation against Idaho State – matching their total in their win over Seattle U on Nov. 16. The Vikings' nine three-pointers against ISU tied the season high they set against Seattle U and later matched against Montana on Jan. 30. The Vikings averaged 6.67 three-pointers made per game over their last six home games, a sharp uptick from their season-long average of 4.77 makes per game. Besides their nine three-pointers against Montana and Idaho State, the Vikings also hit eight three-pointers against Eastern Washington on Feb. 8. Additionally, the Vikings have taken care of the ball better of late. They set a season low with only eight turnovers against Montana on Jan. 30, then matched that against Idaho on Feb. 6.
 
DEFENSIVE STRENGTH
The Vikings held Northern Colorado to 52 points in their lone conference win of the season on Jan. 16. That'll usually do the job. The 52 points tied a season low for a Viking opponent this season. The Vikings also held Cal State Fullerton to a season-low 52 points in a non-conference win on Nov. 24. The Vikings' last 13 opponents have all topped 60 points, including three 80-point games between their games against Montana State (85 points on Feb. 1), Northern Arizona (83 points on Feb. 13) and Idaho State (89 points on Feb. 20). But defense can still be a strength for the Vikings this season. They showed that early with the Cal State Fullerton game. The Vikings held the Titans to 28.6 percent (18-of-63) from the floor, the lowest mark by a Viking opponent since Idaho shot an identical percentage against the Vikings on Jan. 7, 2023. Coincidentally, the Vikings would also hold Idaho below 30 percent shooting in their first meeting of the season. The Vandals shot just 29.9 percent (20-of-67) from the floor on Jan. 11 despite them pulling out a 60-56 win over the Vikings. Defense has usually been key for the Vikings in victories. They are 3-1 when holding opponents below 60 points this season and 1-21 when they don't. Statistically, the Vikings rank third in the Big Sky in three-point field goal percentage defense (.309).
 
ROOTING FOR LAY IS A LAYUP
Alaya Fitzgerald – nicknamed Lay – put together a career performance in the Vikings' conference opener against Sacramento State on Jan. 4. The four-year starter scored a career-high 27 points while tying her then-season highs for rebounds (5) and assists (5) against the Hornets. That kicked off what's been a strong conference season for the Viking senior. She nearly matched her conference opener against Northern Arizona on Feb. 13. Playing in her home state for the final time in her PSU career, Fitzgerald scored a game-high 25 points while dishing out a season-high six assists to go with five rebounds. Fitzgerald heads into Monday's regular-season finale having scored in double figures in 12 of the team's 17 conference games. That includes the two 20-point games against Sacramento State and Northern Arizona. Fitzgerald reached the 1,000-point career milestone in the first half against Eastern Washington on Feb. 8 while tying for the game high with 17 points. She reached another milestone at NAU with her 100th-career start, becoming just the 10th player to start 100 games in program history. Within Big Sky play this season, Fitzgerald is averaging 13.5 points per game. Across all games, Fitzgerald ranks ninth in the Big Sky in points (12.3), tied for 15th in three-pointers made (1.40) and fourth in minutes played (33.4) per game.
 
CALL HER SHERWIN-WILLIAMS BECAUSE SHE OWNS THE PAINT
One of two four-year starters on the roster with Alaya Fitzgerald, Rhema Ogele has owned the paint for the Vikings. She's scored in double figures 12 times this season, including six double-doubles. Her latest double-double came Saturday against Montana, recording 14 points and 10 rebounds to go with four steals. Ogele also had a double-double on her Senior Day against Weber State on Feb. 22, totaling 14 points and 14 rebounds. She also had two other double-doubles within Big Sky play between the Vikings' games against Eastern Washington on Feb. 8 (15 points, 11 rebounds) and Northern Colorado on Jan. 16 (14 points, 10 rebounds). The double-double against UNC led the Vikings to their lone conference victory of the season, a 58-52 win over the Bears. Ogele's two double-doubles in non-conference play also came in wins against Seattle U on Nov. 16 (12 points, 10 rebounds) and UC Davis on Nov. 30 (16 points, 13 rebounds). She now has 12 double-doubles in her Portland State career, ranking her tied for fifth all-time since game-by-game records were kept starting with the 2006-07 season. She hit another career milestone at Weber State on Jan. 23, when she started her 100th career game. Additionally, she entered the career top 10 for rebounds with 12 against Northern Arizona on Feb. 13. She now ranks seventh all-time with 661 rebounds in her career. Within this season, Ogele leads the Vikings with 7.38 rebounds per game, ranking her seventh in the Big Sky Conference. She also ranks fourth in the conference in offensive rebounds (2.96) and 11th in defense rebounds (4.42) per game.
 
BAD, BAD, KYLEIGH BROWN
Like Leroy Brown, Kyleigh Brown proved she's the baddest (player) in the whole darn (gym). We may have made a few edits there, but the sentiment remains the same. With the Vikings trailing 49-40 entering the fourth quarter against UC Davis on Nov. 30, Brown went off for 14 points in the final period while leading the Vikings all the way back to a 66-61 victory over the Aggies. Brown's 14 points all came within the Vikings' first 16 points in the quarter, turning the team's nine-point deficit at the start of the period into a 56-all tie with 3:57 remaining. She finished with a game-high 18 points, then matched that with 18 points against Omaha five days later on Dec. 4. She added 10 rebounds to her 18 points against Omaha, giving the freshman the first double-double of her career. Recently, Brown has found her stroke again, scoring in double figures in each of the last four games. That includes a career-high 19 points at Montana Saturday. She scored 17 points to go with six rebounds and four assists against Idaho State on Feb. 20 while playing over 49 minutes in the Vikings' double-overtime loss to the Bengals. Outside of scoring, Brown recorded nine assists in the team's lone conference win over Northern Colorado on Jan. 16. The nine assists tied the single-game freshman record, while it led the Vikings to a season-high 17 as a team.
 
GIVE HER A GATORADE…PLAYER OF THE YEAR, THAT IS
Sophomore Laynee Torres-Kahapea – the 2023 Gatorade Player of the Year for the state of Hawai'i – put together a career performance against Idaho on Feb. 6. She scored a career-high 15 points while tying her career high with five assists. All while not committing a single turnover in the game despite playing nearly 35 minutes. She nearly matched that with 14 points and five assists while playing all 50 minutes in the team's double-overtime loss to Idaho State on Feb. 20. The 50-minute game shouldn't come as a surprise as Torres-Kahapea has been the Vikings' Iron Woman this season. She leads the Big Sky while playing 35.7 minutes per game. She also ranks tied for 13th in the Big Sky with 2.50 assists per game.
 
CICI IS PLAYING A+ IN HER RETURN FROM TWO-YEAR INJURY ABSENCE
A former OSAA 6A State Co-Player of the Year, Cici Ellington went through a two-year injury absence before arriving at Portland State. Her first game back in two years came against Air Force on Dec. 20. Her first points in nearly three years came against Eastern Washington on Jan. 9, while her first start since the 2021-22 season came against Idaho State on Jan. 25. All the milestones have been rewards for Ellington's increasingly strong play for the Vikings. She scored a season-high 13 points against Northern Arizona on Jan. 18, then matched that in the Vikings' second game against NAU on Feb. 13. She went into double figures again with 11 points against Northern Colorado on Feb. 15. Against Montana on Jan. 30, Ellington scored 11 points while grabbing a season-high six rebounds.
 
SHE'S HER FROM HERSBERG
Lana Wenger – from Hersberg, Switzerland – made an immediate impact at the start of Big Sky play as she returned from a five-game absence due to a hip injury. Starting again immediately, Wenger posted 14 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the floor against Sacramento State on Jan. 4. She went into double figures again in the Vikings' breakthrough win over Northern Colorado on Jan. 16, scoring 13 points on 6-of-11 shooting while also grabbing seven rebounds. She came back from another injury to score 12 points against Northern Arizona on Feb. 13. She followed up with 16 points against Idaho State on Feb. 20, scoring 12 of those 16 points in the final two minutes of regulation and overtime. Wenger has now scored in double figures in seven of her 21 appearances this season. Two of her double-digit scoring games came before her injury absence. That included a career-high 18 points to go with eight rebounds in the Vikings' loss at San Francisco on Nov. 12.
 
SEASON HIGHLIGHTS
Feb. 20, 2025, Idaho State 89, Portland State 80 (2OT): The Vikings played their first double-overtime game since Nov. 15, 2012. They set or tied conference season highs for points (80), field goal percentage (.474) and three-pointers made (9).
Feb. 8, 2025, Eastern Washington 65, Portland State 58: Alaya Fitzgerald became the 22nd player to reach the 1,000-point career milestone at Portland State while finishing with 17 points. Rhema Ogele also recorded her 10th-career double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds.
Jan. 16, 2025, Portland State 58, Northern Colorado 52: The Vikings won their first conference game of the season behind a season-high 17 assists. They out-rebounded the Bears 35-to-28, while tying their fewest points allowed with 52.
Nov. 30, 2024, Portland State 66, UC Davis 61: The Vikings erased a nine-point fourth-quarter deficit to complete their second-biggest comeback in school history. Kyleigh Brown led the way, scoring 14 of her game-high 18 points in the final period.
Nov. 24, 2024, Portland State 61, Cal State Fullerton 52: The Vikings held Cal State Fullerton to just 28.6 percent (18-of-63) shooting Sunday, the lowest mark by a Viking opponent since Idaho shot an identical 28.6 percent (16-of-56) from the floor on Jan. 7, 2023. The Vikings also went 23-of-25 from the free throw line in the win.
Nov. 16, 2024, Portland State 67, Seattle U 57: The Vikings picked up their first win of the season as six different players scored eight or more points. They shot season highs from the field (49.1 percent) and from three-point range (42.9 percent) while out-rebounding the Redhawks 35-to-28.