Vikings Return Home for First Time in 19 Days, Host Eastern Washington Thursday

TIPOFF
The Portland State women's basketball team returns to Viking Pavilion for the first time in 19 days Thursday, as the Vikings host Eastern Washington for a 7 p.m. tip. The return home will be a welcomed change of scenery for the Vikings, who will look to snap a four-game losing streak when they play the Eagles.

Three of the four losses have been narrow defeats for the Vikings. A few plays go differently, and the Vikings could have been on the other side.

No game was that more true than last Saturday at Northern Arizona. The Vikings led 54-52 entering the fourth quarter and still led midway through the period when they went ice cold from the field. The Vikings missed 10 straight shots to turn a 63-62 lead with 5:52 remaining into a 72-63 deficit with 1:16 remaining.

The Vikings were shooting 46.7 percent from the floor against the Lumberjacks until going 5-for-19 (.263) from the field in the fourth quarter. They still finished above 40 percent from the field (.406) for the fourth straight game and fifth time out of the last seven games.

The cold finish to the NAU game was regrettable considering the number of things the Vikings improved between Thursday and Saturday last week. The Vikings started slowly against Northern Colorado last Thursday, falling behind 23-7 after the opening quarter. But against Northern Arizona, the Vikings responded to an early 6-0 deficit with an 11-0 run and only trailed by one at the end of the opening period (19-18).

Additionally, the Vikings went from shooting 0-for-12 from three-point range against Northern Colorado last Thursday to making eight shots – their second most in a game this season – from deep Saturday at NAU.

Defensively, the Vikings held Naomi White – the Big Sky's leading scorer at 22.4 points per game going into Saturday – to well below her average. White finished with 15 points on 6-for-15 shooting against the Vikings.

The Vikings still lost the turnover battle (16-11) against the Lumberjacks, which NAU turned into a 24-11 advantage in points off turnovers.

Extra possessions for their opponents have hurt the Vikings this season. Opponents are averaging 5.6 more field goal attempts per game than the Vikings this season. And while the Vikings were even with NAU (64-to-64) on shot attempts, Northern Colorado had 18 more than the Vikings two days earlier. The Bears earned those through offensive rebounds and PSU turnovers.

Both will be areas of focus for the Vikings Saturday against the Eagles. Eastern Washington represents one of the best rebounding teams in the Big Sky behind a strong frontcourt tandem of Kourtney Grossman and Jaecy Eggers. Behind those two, the Eagles rank in the top 10 nationally for total rebounds (43.9) and defensive rebounds (30.7) per game.

Grossman leads not only the Big Sky but the nation with 13.3 rebounds per game individually. She also tops all of NCAA Division I with 10.1 defensive rebounds per game. Grossman has recorded four straight double-doubles coming into Saturday's game, as she's averaging 13.0 points to go with her 13.3 rebounds per game.

Eggers, meanwhile, leads the Big Sky with 1.72 blocks per game while she adds 11.9 points and 7.8 rebounds per game.

Grossman and Eggers are two of four Eagles who average in double figures. Besides them, Ella Gallatin leads the Eagles with 14.3 points per game, ranking her eighth in the Big Sky Conference. Gallatin is averaging 18.4 points per game within Big Sky play, including two 20-point games against Montana (20) and Idaho State (22).

Elyn Bowers ranks second on the team with 13.5 points per game.

The Vikings will counter with Kyleigh Brown and Hannah Chicken, both of whom extended their double-digit scoring streaks through last week. Brown has now scored in double figures in 23 straight games – the longest such streak in the past 20 seasons at Portland State – while Chicken has scored 10+ in nine straight and 13 of the last 15 games.

The new element last weekend came from Taylor Moffat and Jamia Carter, who averaged 10.5 and 8.5 points per game last week, respectively. Moffat went into double figures for the first time as a Vik with 12 points against NAU last Saturday.

The Vikings will need that depth of scoring if they hope to break through at home against the Eagles. They're 4-4 at Viking Pavilion this season heading into Thursday. A win over the Eagles would put them on the right side of .500 in their home building.

It'd be a fitting way to honor their return to the home gym for the first time in 19 days.

GAME #18: PORTLAND STATE (5-12, 1-4) vs. EASTERN WASHINGTON (9-9, 2-3)
GAME DETAILS: Thursday, Jan. 22, 7 p.m. PT, Portland, Ore. (Viking Pavilion)
LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO
SCOUTING EASTERN WASHINGTON: The Eastern Washington Eagles won back-to-back games against Montana, 65-58, and Weber State, 73-58, before falling at home against Idaho State, 66-57. All three of the Eagles' conference losses have been by fewer than 10 points, including a two-point road loss at league-leader Montana State. The Eagles – two years removed from sweeping the Big Sky regular-season and tournament titles – still represent a relatively young team with 10 underclassmen on their 16-player roster. That includes a sophomore front court of Kourtney Grossman and Jaecy Eggers. Grossman leads not only the Big Sky but the nation with 13.3 rebounds per game. She also leads the nation with 10.1 defensive rebounds per game, while she leads the Big Sky and ranks sixth nationally with 11 double-doubles this season. Eggers, meanwhile, ranks fourth in the Big Sky with 7.8 rebounds per game. She leads the conference and ranks 46th nationally with 1.72 blocks per game. Behind those two, the Eagles rank in the top 10 nationally for total rebounds (43.9) and defensive rebounds (30.7) per game. That's fueled a defense that ranks third in the Big Sky in field goal percentage defense (.383) and fifth in scoring defense (66.5). Offensively, four different Eagles average in double figures. Ella Gallatin leads that group with 14.3 points per game, ranking her eighth in the Big Sky. Elyn Bowers ranks behind her with 13.5 points per game, with Grossman (13.0) and Eggers (11.9) behind them. Gallatin is averaging 18.4 points per game so far in Big Sky play, including two 20-point games against Montana (20) and Idaho State (22). Grossman heads into Thursday's game against the Vikings having recorded four straight double-doubles.
ALL-TIME SERIES: The Eagles lead the all-time series between them and the Vikings, 47-36. The Eagles have won four in a row over the Vikings and seven of the last eight. The Vikings' last win came on the road, 80-71, on Feb. 4, 2023.

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The Vikings fell 80-68 at Northern Arizona last Saturday. It was their fourth straight loss after opening Big Sky play with a 68-58 win over Weber State on Jan. 1.
The Vikings led 54-52 entering the fourth quarter Saturday but went just 5-for-19 (.263) from the field in the final period. That included 10 straight misses during a 10-0 NAU run that turned a 63-62 PSU lead into a 72-63 deficit with less than 90 seconds remaining.
After going 0-for-12 from three-point range against Northern Colorado last Thursday, the Vikings went 8-for-23 (.348) against NAU Saturday. The eight makes were their second-highest total this season.
NAU was the first Big Sky team to out-shoot (.438-to-.406) and out-rebound (41-to-36) the Vikings.
NAU shot eight more free throws than the Vikings (20-to-12), the largest discrepancy against the Vikings this season.
After Northern Colorado dominated the first quarter last Thursday, outscoring the Vikings 23-7, PSU was better in the opening period against NAU. They responded to a 6-0 NAU lead with an 11-0 run of their own and only trailed by one, 19-18, at the end of the quarter.
Northern Colorado's 23-7 lead after the first quarter Thursday marked the fifth time this season that the Vikings have trailed by 10 or more points after the opening quarter. The Vikings never got closer than 15 points down the rest of the way.
Portland State and NAU both finished with 64 field goals last Saturday. That was an improvement from the previous Thursday when Northern Colorado had 18 more field goal attempts than the Vikings, 13 of which came in the opening quarter.
The Vikings shot better than 40 percent from the field (.406 against NAU) for the fourth straight game and fifth time out of their last seven contests.
In their current streak of four straight losses, the Vikings have lost the turnover battle by an average of minus-8.5. Last Saturday, they were minus-5 against NAU which led to a 24-11 advantage in points off turnovers for the Lumberjacks.
Kyleigh Brown and Hannah Chicken both extended their double-digit scoring streaks, scoring 16 points each last Saturday at Northern Arizona. Brown has now scored in double figures in 23 straight games while Chicken has done so in nine straight.
Taylor Moffat set a new season high for the second straight game with 12 points against NAU. She also set season highs for field goals (4), rebounds (4), steals (3) and minutes played (33).

Team Tendencies/Miscellany

Opponents are averaging 5.6 more field goal attempts per game than the Vikings. The Vikings are 4-0 when they record more field goal attempts than their opponent this season versus 1-12 when they finish with the same or fewer attempts.
The Vikings are 4-4 at home this season versus 1-7 on the road. The Vikings' home wins came over Willamette (89-52), San Jose State (75-64), Seattle U (85-62) and Weber State (68-58). The Vikings' lone road victory this season came in overtime against Kansas City, 85-79, on Dec. 6.
Despite NAU outscoring the Vikings 28-14 in the fourth quarter last Saturday, the Vikings average 1.4 more points per game than their opponents in the fourth quarter this season. That includes a pair of fourth-quarter comebacks as the Vikings erased six-point and eight-point deficits in wins over Kansas City (Dec. 6) and Weber State (Jan. 1), respectively.
The Vikings lead the Big Sky Conference in both free throws made (15.2) and attempted (21.1) per game this season. Their 21.1 attempts per game are 4.4 more per game than their opponents.
The Vikings have been outscored by an average of 4.9 points per game in the opening quarter this season. They've trailed by double digits after the opening quarter five times. The Vikings are 4-1 when leading after the first quarter this season versus 1-11 when they're trailing.
Opponents are outscoring the Vikings by an average of 7.9 points per game in the first half this season.
The Vikings are outshooting their opponents within Big Sky play, .412-to-.394. They've topped 40 percent in their last four games after only doing so five times within non-conference play. The Vikings rank fourth in the Big Sky for field goal percentage in Big Sky play. They ranked eighth through non-conference play.
Three-point shooting has been a sore spot for the Vikings. They rank last in the Big Sky in both three-pointers per game (4.59) and three-point field goal percentage defense (.336).
The Vikings have attempted at least 20 free throws in 10 of 17 games this season, including a season-high 40 against Kansas City on Dec. 6. For comparison's sake, the Vikings only had four games with 20+ free throws last season.
The Vikings have won the rebounding battle eight times this season, while they finished tied with their opponent four other times. 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 (38.1) as well as sixth in rebounding margin (+0.59). The Vikings haven't finished a season with a positive rebounding margin since they finished the 2018-19 season at +1.0.
The Vikings are 4-0 when they score 70 points or more this season versus 1-12 when they fail to score 70 points.
The Vikings are 4-1 when winning the turnover battle versus 1-11 when they lose it. In their five wins, the Vikings are plus-0.6 in the turnover battle. But in their 12 losses, the Vikings are minus-6.1.
The Vikings rank eighth in the Big Sky in turnovers per game (17.8), ninth in turnovers forced per game (13.5) and 10th in turnover margin (-4.12).
The Vikings are still 5-1 when holding their opponent below 40 percent versus 0-11 when their opponent shoots over 40 percent.
Three different players average at least 5.8 rebounds per game for the Vikings between Ajae Yoakum (6.9), Hannah Chicken (5.9) and Cici Ellington (5.8). Yoakum and Ellington are both averaging 8.0 rebounds per game within Big Sky play.
The Vikings' five wins this season have all come on different days of the week. The Vikings are 1-2 on Tuesday, 1-1 on Wednesday, 1-1 on Thursday, 1-0 on Friday, 1-5 on Saturday and 0-3 on Sunday.

Players
#12 Kyleigh Brown

Sophomore guard Kyleigh Brown has scored in double figures in 23 straight games, the longest such streak by any player over the last 20 seasons at Portland State. She's scored 20+ six times this season.
Brown has struggled in the first half of the Vikings' last three games. In the first half of those three games, Brown is averaging just 1.67 points on 15.4 percent shooting. In the second half of those three games, she's averaging 13.0 points on 56.0 percent shooting.
Brown leads the Vikings with 17.9 points per game this season, ranking her third in the Big Sky and 57th nationally.
Brown leads the Big Sky and ranks seventh nationally with a .910 (71-for-78) free throw percentage. That's just off the single-season program record that Esmeralda Morales set at .913 during the 2021-22 season.
Brown ranks tied for 13th in the conference with 1.41 three-pointers made per game. She's shooting 40.0 percent (24-for-60) from three-point range this season.
Brown ranks seventh in the Big Sky in field goal percentage (.427).
Brown is averaging a career-best 4.2 rebounds per game, 0.8 more per game than she averaged as a freshman.
Brown leads the Vikings while ranking 10th in the Big Sky with 31.5 minutes played per game.
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.

#9 Hannah Chicken

Freshman Hannah Chicken scored in double figures for the ninth straight game and 13th out of the last 15 with 16 points on 7-for-10 shooting from the field against Northern Arizona Saturday.
Chicken ranks second on the team with 11.4 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 leads the Vikings with a .514 field goal percentage this season. She's shot 60.0 percent or better in eight games this season.
Chicken ranks second on the team in free throw percentage while shooting 82.2 percent (37-for-45) from the line. She doesn't meet the minimum requirements of 2.5 makes per game in order to be ranked statistically, however.
Chicken ranks 12th in the Big Sky with 2.12 offensive rebounds per game.
Chicken is 6-for-9 (.667) from three-point range over the Vikings' last four games. She went 3-for-4 from distance against Idaho State on Jan. 3, then went 1-for-1 against Sacramento State on Jan. 10. She didn't have an attempt at Northern Colorado but then went 2-for-4 against Northern Arizona.
Chicken recorded the first double-double of her career with 15 points and 10 rebounds against Cal State Fullerton on Dec. 13. She nearly had a second with 17 points and nine rebounds against Weber State on Jan. 1.
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.

#8 Cici Ellington

Cici Ellington had a tough weekend at Northern Colorado and Northern Arizona, being held to seven points on 2-for-14 shooting combined between both games. She had scored in double figures in three of the five games before last weekend.
Ellington set a career high with 16 rebounds against Weber State on Jan. 1, recording the most rebounds by a Viking since Pia Jurhar had 16 against Multnomah on Nov. 25, 2017.
Ellington is five points away from reaching 1,000 points over her entire collegiate career. She is also 17 rebounds away from reaching 500 in her career.
Ellington ranks 15th in the Big Sky Conference with 1.75 offensive rebounds per game.
Ellington's average of 8.8 points per game this season is her best since her true sophomore season at Loyola Marymount when she averaged 9.3 points per game.
Ellington ranks fifth in the Big Sky with 0.94 blocks per game.
Ellington played her first two years at Loyola Marymount (2019-21) before transferring to Grambling State (2021-24). She played 19 games at Grambling during the 2021-22 season 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. She was granted a rare seventh year for COVID and medical hardship.
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.

#5 Ajae Yoakum

Ajae Yoakum led the Vikings in rebounds (10) and assists (3) Thursday at Northern Colorado.
She went 8-for-10 combined across both games last weekend, scoring eight points in both games against Northern Colorado and Northern Arizona.
Yoakum has two double-doubles this season. The first came with 11 points and 14 rebounds (tying a career high) against Kansas City on Dec. 6. The second came with 10 points and 12 rebounds against Seattle U on Dec. 17. Both double-doubles came in Portland State wins.
Yoakum leads the Vikings while ranking 10th in the Big Sky Conference with 6.93 rebounds per game. She also ranks sixth in offensive (2.87) and 15th in defensive (4.07) rebounds per game.
Yoakum ranks tied for third on the team with 1.9 assists per game. That's a career-best average for Yoakum.
Yoakum reached 1,000-career points over her entire collegiate career (including junior college points) 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 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 tied her career high with three three-pointers against Seattle U on Dec. 17 while finishing with 13 points, five rebounds and five assists. She's averaging just 2.3 points per game in the six games since then, however.
Torres-Kahapea – despite being just five-feet, six-inches tall – is averaging a career-best 3.8 rebounds per game. That's 1.0 more per game than her previous career-best average (2.8 as a sophomore).
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 13 made three-pointers this season while shooting 13-for-47 (.277) from beyond the arc.
Torres-Kahapea leads the Vikings with 2.4 assists per game. She had a career-high seven assists against San Jose State on Nov. 28.

#23 Taylor Moffat

Taylor Moffat set or tied PSU career highs in back-to-back games last weekend. She started with nine points against Northern Colorado Thursday, then topped that with 12 points against Northern Arizona Saturday.
Moffat also set season highs for field goals (4), rebounds (4, tied), steals (3) and minutes (33) against Northern Arizona Saturday.
Moffat broke out of a slump from three-point range against NAU Saturday, going 2-for-6 from deep. She had been 1-for-9 over the previous five games.
Moffat ranks second on the team with 2.0 assists per game. She set a PSU career high with seven assists in the Vikings' game against Idaho State on Jan. 3.
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 recorded one of her better all-around games at Sacramento State on Jan. 10, totaling nine points, three rebounds, two steals and two blocks. She had three points each against Northern Colorado and Northern Arizona.
Buzzard ranks fourth on the team in both free throws made (27) and attempted (40) 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.

Additional Players

Jamia Carter set season highs for points (9), rebounds (4) and minutes played (22) in last Thursday's game at Northern Colorado. She followed up with eight points on 3-for-6 shooting at Northern Arizona Saturday.
Carter missed the first nine games of the season after suffering a knee injury last February. She's averaging 2.3 points and 8.0 minutes per game since her return.
Kirstine Munk started the first nine games of the season for the Vikings before coming off the bench for every game since. She's averaging 2.0 points and 2.1 rebounds per game this season.
Katelyn Best scored a career-high 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the field against Willamette on Nov. 11. She's averaging 1.4 points per game this season.
Alani Encinas started the first two games of the season. She's only appeared in seven of the 14 games since then, however, while averaging 5.9 minutes played per game 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.
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.