Vikings Look to Give Themselves Another Chance at a Breakthrough Saturday at Montana State

TIPOFF
The Portland State women's basketball team was unlucky not to come away with a breakthrough road victory Thursday night against Montana. The Vikings led by six points with 8:24 to go, but went cold from there and ended up losing 69-63 to the Lady Griz.

It continued a run of near misses for the Vikings on the road. Portland State has led or been tied in the fourth quarter in three of their four conference road losses. Besides Thursday night's game at Montana, the Vikings also led in the fourth quarter against Northern Arizona on Jan. 17, while they were tied late with Sacramento State on Jan. 10.

So, the Vikings have been right there. They just need to get over the hump. They'll look to do that Saturday (1 p.m. PT / 2 p.m. MT) against their toughest competition on the road yet in Big Sky-leading Montana State.

The Vikings gave themselves a chance to win Thursday behind an improved defensive effort. After four straight opponents scored 80+ against them, the Vikings held Montana to 69 points. That included giving up only four points in the second quarter, the lowest output for a Viking opponent in any quarter this season.

Head coach Karlie Burris praised her team's ability to execute the game plan to limit the Lady Griz's three-point shooting. Montana came into the game leading the Big Sky and ranked in the top 10 nationally with 9.7 three-pointers per game, and yet the Vikings held them to just two makes on 9.5 percent shooting from three-point range.

The Vikings also limited their turnovers against the Lady Griz, committing a season-low four Thursday. The Vikings won the turnover battle, eight-to-four, which meant they recorded more field goals than their opponent (70-to-63) for the first time since the Vikings' Big Sky opener against Weber State. That's been a key stat for the Vikings, as opponents average 5.7 more field goal attempts than the Vikings this season.

Taking care of the ball will be key to Saturday's game at Montana State. The Bobcats figure to make it more difficult than the Lady Griz as they lead the Big Sky and rank in the top five nationally for steals (15.8) and turnovers forced (26.6) per game, as well as turnover margin (+10.5).

Taylee Chirrick – last year's Big Sky Defensive Player of the Year – spearheads the Montana State defense. She leads the Big Sky and ranks fifth nationally with 4.0 steals per game. Teammates Jamison Philip and Ella Johnson rank third and 10th in the Big Sky with 2.8 and 2.0 steals per game, respectively.

Chirrick has expanded her game as a sophomore beyond just being a defensive force. She leads the Bobcats in points (17.6), rebounds (7.0), assists (3.6) and steals (4.0) per game. Chirrick's 17.6 points per game rank her third in the Big Sky, while teammate Addison Harris ranks right behind her at fourth with 15.1 points per game.

Both trail Portland State's Kyleigh Brown, who ranks second in the Big Sky with 18.7 points per game. Brown heads into Saturday having scored 20+ points in three straight games, while she's scored in double figures in 26 straight.

Hannah Chicken missed scoring in double figures for only the second time out of the Vikings' last 12 games. But she compensated for that with her best all-around game yet as a Viking. Chicken finished with eight points, 12 rebounds, four assists and three blocks Thursday against the Lady Griz. Both the 12 rebounds and three blocks represented career highs for Chicken.

Cici Ellington and Ajae Yoakum – high school teammates at Benson Polytechnic – joined Brown in double figures with 12 and 10 rebounds, respectively, Thursday. Both also had six rebounds in the game, with Ellington reaching 500-career rebounds in the process.

The Vikings could use a better rebounding game Saturday against the Bobcats. The Lady Griz out-rebounded the Vikings by nine (47-to-38) Thursday, the fourth straight game in which the Vikings have been out-rebounded. Opponents are averaging 14.3 more rebounds per game than the Vikings over the last four games. That had been a strength for the Vikings earlier in the season, as they had only been out-rebounded in four of their first 16 games of the season.

Get back on track on the glass and take care of the ball, and the Vikings will give themselves another chance on the road Saturday.

Burris said after Thursday's game at Montana that her team is still learning how to win. They just need the breakthrough win to get it started.

GAME #21: PORTLAND STATE (5-15, 1-7) vs. MONTANA STATE (15-5, 8-1)
GAME DETAILS: Saturday, Jan. 31, 1 p.m. PT / 2 p.m. MT, Bozeman, Mont. (Brick Breeden Fieldhouse)
LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO
SCOUTING MONTANA STATE: The Montana State Bobcats stayed a half game ahead of Idaho atop the Big Sky standings with a 66-31 win over Sacramento State Thursday night. The Bobcats won six straight games to open Big Sky play before a 79-60 road loss at Idaho State on Jan. 22. They bounced back with a 92-72 win over Weber State two days later, however, then followed with their win over the Hornets Thursday. The Bobcats were the preseason pick to win the conference after sweeping the Big Sky regular-season and tournament titles a year ago. Taylee Chirrick, the Big Sky Defensive Player of the Year a season ago, earned preseason All-Big Sky honors. She's earned that honor and then some while expanding her game as a sophomore. Chirrick leads the Bobcats in points (17.6), rebounds (7.0), assists (3.6) and steals (4.0) per game. Chirrick's 4.0 steals per game also rank her first in the Big Sky Conference and fifth nationally. She headlines a Montana State defense that leads the Big Sky and ranks in the top five nationally for steals (15.8) and turnovers forced (26.6) per game, as well as turnover margin (+10.5). Besides Chirrick, Jamison Philip and Ella Johnson rank third and 10th in the Big Sky with 2.8 and 2.0 steals per game, respectively. Scoring wise, Chirrick and Addison Harris (15.1 points per game) rank third and fourth in the Big Sky, respectively. Isobel Bunyan ranks third on the team with 8.0 points per game while leading the Bobcats from beyond the arc. Bunyan ranks eighth in the Big Sky with 1.85 three-pointers per game. The Bobcats rank second in the Big Sky with 7.5 three-pointers per game, though they're seventh in terms of percentage (.288). The Bobcats also lead the conference with 15.4 assists per game. Chirrick and Philip (3.5 assists per game) rank sixth and seventh in the Big Sky, respectively.
ALL-TIME SERIES: The Montana State Bobcats lead the all-time series between them and the Vikings, 45-32. The Bobcats swept the series last season, but the Vikings had won two of three against the Bobcats before then, including a 60-55 win at Viking Pavilion on Feb. 22, 2024. The Vikings have lost their last five games in Bozeman, however, where they are 9-25 all-time. Their last win in Bozeman came on March 9, 2019.

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The Vikings led by as many as six points in the fourth quarter of Thursday's game against Montana but ended up losing 69-63 to the Lady Griz. The Vikings went just 2-for-15 (.133) from the field in the fourth quarter.
Despite the loss, the Vikings snapped a streak of four straight games giving up 80+ points defensively. Big Sky opponents are still averaging 74.0 points per game against the Vikings.
The Vikings held Montana – the top three-point shooting team in the Big Sky and ranked in the top 10 nationally – to a season-low two three-pointers on 9.5 percent shooting Thursday. The Vikings were 3-for-22 (.136) from three-point range themselves.
The Vikings were out-rebounded for the fourth straight game as Montana won the glass, 47-to-38. The Vikings' last three opponents have all out-rebounded the Vikings by nine or more between Eastern Washington (-31), Idaho (-12) and Montana (-9).
The Vikings committed a season-low four turnovers against the Lady Griz. They won the turnover battle, 8-to-4.
The Vikings recorded more field goals than their opponent (70-to-63) for the first time since their Big Sky-opening win over Weber State on Jan. 1. The Vikings had been 4-0 when recording more field goals than their opponent this season before losing Thursday's game.
After topping 40 percent from the field in five straight games between Jan. 3-22, the Vikings have shot 36.5 percent or lower in their last two games. Against Montana, the Vikings shot 35.7 percent (25-for-70) from the field.
The Vikings started their seventh different starting lineup of the season Thursday at Montana. It was their second different starting lineup out of the last three games.
Kyleigh Brown scored 20+ points for the third straight game – a career-best streak – while finishing with a team-high 20 points on 7-for-17 shooting. Brown scored 25 and 23 points against Eastern Washington and Idaho, respectively, last week.
Hannah Chicken had one of her best all-around games as a Viking with eight points, 12 rebounds, four assists and three blocks Thursday.
Cici Ellington scored in double figures for the fourth time in the last seven games with 12 points on 5-for-10 shooting to go with six rebounds and two assists against Montana Thursday.
Ajae Yoakum scored in double figures for the first time since the Vikings' Big Sky opener with 10 points to go with six rebounds Thursday against Montana.

Team Tendencies/Miscellany

Opponents are averaging 5.7 more field goal attempts per game than the Vikings. The Vikings are 4-1 when they record more field goal attempts than their opponent this season versus 1-14 when they finish with the same or fewer attempts.
The Vikings go into Saturday's game at Montana State having lost 25 straight Big Sky road games. The Vikings' last conference road victory came at Eastern Washington, 80-71, on Feb. 4, 2023.
The Vikings have either led or been tied in the fourth quarter in three of their four Big Sky road games this season. Besides Thursday night's game at Montana, the Vikings led in the fourth quarter against Northern Arizona on Jan. 17, while they were tied with Sacramento State late on Jan. 10.
The Vikings average 1.1 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 (14.9) and attempted (20.8) per game this season. Their 20.8 attempts are 4.1 more per game than their opponents.
The Vikings have been outscored by an average of 5.2 points per game in the opening quarter this season. The Vikings are 4-1 when leading after the first quarter this season versus 1-14 when they're trailing.
Opponents are outscoring the Vikings by an average of 7.6 points per game in the first half this season.
The Vikings rank sixth in the Big Sky with a .401 field goal percentage during conference play. They've topped 40 percent from the field in five of their eight conference games, while they've out-shot five of their eight conference opponents as well.
Three-point shooting has been a sore spot for the Vikings. They rank last in the Big Sky in both three-pointers per game (4.40) and three-point field goal percentage (.265). Opponents are averaging 2.1 more three-pointers per game than the Vikings this season.
The Vikings have attempted at least 20 free throws in 11 of 20 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.
Despite the large rebounding deficits in their last three games, the Vikings rank sixth in the Big Sky in total rebounds per game (37.3) as well as seventh in rebounding margin (-2.10). 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 1-15 when they fail to score 70 points.
The Vikings are 4-3 when winning the turnover battle versus 1-12 when they lose it. The Vikings rank sixth in the Big Sky in turnovers per game (16.6), ninth in turnovers forced per game (13.2) and 10th in turnover margin (-3.35).
The Vikings are 5-2 when holding their opponent below 40 percent shooting versus 0-13 when their opponent shoots over 40 percent.
Three different players average at least 5.8 rebounds per game for the Vikings between Ajae Yoakum (6.6), Hannah Chicken (6.1) and Cici Ellington (5.8). Ellington and Yoakum are averaging 7.1 and 6.9 rebounds per game within Big Sky play, respectively.
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, 1-3 on Thursday, 1-0 on Friday, 1-6 on Saturday and 0-3 on Sunday.

Players
#12 Kyleigh Brown

Sophomore guard Kyleigh Brown has scored in double figures in 26 straight games, the longest such streak by any player over the last 20 seasons at Portland State. She's scored 20+ in three straight games going into Saturday, scoring 25 against Eastern Washington (Jan. 22), 23 against Idaho (Jan. 24) and 20 against Montana (Jan. 29).
Brown leads the Vikings with 18.7 points per game this season, ranking her second in the Big Sky and 39th nationally.
Brown has shot 50 percent or better from the field in four of the Vikings' last six games. Brown ranks fifth in the Big Sky with a .437 field goal percentage this season.
Brown has been especially effective in the second half of games recently. Since Jan. 10 against Sacramento, Brown is averaging 13.2 points per game on 52.9 percent shooting in the second half alone.
Brown is 3-for-19 (.158) from three-point range over the Vikings' last six games. She had been 22-for-50 (.440) from three-point range through the Vikings' first 14 games of the season.
Brown has made 15 straight free throws entering Saturday's game at Montana State. She's had streaks of 21 and 26 straight free throws earlier in the season. The school record is 35 straight free throws made by Kiana Brown between Nov. 28, 2017, and Jan. 20, 2018.
Brown leads the Big Sky and ranks 21st nationally with an .891 free throw percentage. That would rank seventh on the single-season list at Portland State if the season ended today.
Brown is averaging a career-best 3.9 rebounds per game, 0.5 more per game than she averaged as a freshman.
Brown leads the Vikings while ranking eighth in the Big Sky with 32.2 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 missed out on scoring in double figures for only the second time in the last 12 games Thursday at Montana. But she compensated with an all-around game with eight points, 12 rebounds, four assists, three blocks and one steal.
Chicken's 12 rebounds and three blocks Thursday were both career highs for the freshman.
Chicken shot an uncharacteristic 4-for-13 from the field Thursday. That was her worst shooting performance since going 0-for-6 from the field against South Dakota on Dec. 3. She still leads the Vikings with a .503 field goal percentage this season.
Part of Chicken's tough shooting night against Montana was a 0-for-4 showing from three-point range. That reversed a recent trend for Chicken, as she was 10-for-13 from three-point range over the Vikings' previous six games.
Chicken ranks second on the team with 11.3 points per game. That would be the best average by a PSU freshman since Esmeralda Morales averaged 12.5 points per game during the 2021-22 season.
Chicken ranks second on the team in free throw percentage while shooting 80.0 percent (40-for-50) 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 13th in the Big Sky with 6.05 rebounds per game. She's 12th in the conference with 2.15 offensive rebounds per game.
Chicken recorded the first double-double of her career with 15 points and 10 rebounds against Cal State Fullerton on Dec. 13. She's been close to a second a couple of different times, including Thursday against Montana.
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 reached the 1,000-point career milestone in the fourth quarter of the Vikings' game against Eastern Washington on Jan. 22. She hit 500 career rebounds with six boards Thursday night against Montana.
Ellington has scored in double figures in four of the Vikings' last seven games. That includes 12 points on 5-for-10 shooting, eight of which came during a key 15-3 PSU run in the third quarter.
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's average of 8.9 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 1.00 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 returned to double figures for the first time since the Vikings' Big Sky opener against Weber State on Jan. 1 with 10 points to go with six rebounds Thursday at Montana.
Yoakum has scored at least eight points in seven of the Vikings' eight Big Sky games, with the one exception being last Saturday against Idaho when she played a season-low 10:46 due to foul trouble.
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 11th in the Big Sky Conference with 6.61 rebounds per game. She also ranks eighth with 2.78 offensive rebounds per game.
Yoakum ranks third on the team with 1.67 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 returned to double figures for the first time since the Vikings' game against Seattle U on Dec. 17, scoring 12 points last Saturday against Idaho. She was held to three points on 1-for-7 shooting Thursday at Montana, however.
Torres-Kahapea – despite being just five-feet, six-inches tall – is averaging a career-best 3.6 rebounds per game. That's 0.8 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 16 made three-pointers this season while shooting 16-for-59 (.271) from beyond the arc.
Torres-Kahapea leads the Vikings with 2.40 assists per game, ranking her tied for 14th in the Big Sky. She had a career-high seven assists against San Jose State on Nov. 28.

#23 Taylor Moffat

Taylor Moffat returned to the starting lineup Thursday at Montana after sitting the Vikings' previous two games against Eastern Washington and Idaho.
Moffat set or tied PSU career highs in back-to-back games against Northern Colorado and Northern Arizona. She started with nine points against Northern Colorado on Jan. 15, then topped that with 12 points against Northern Arizona on Jan. 17.
Moffat also set season highs for field goals (4), rebounds (4, tied), steals (3) and minutes (33) against Northern Arizona.
Moffat is 3-for-19 from three-point range over her last seven games. That stretch followed an 8-for-16 (.500) stretch from Dec. 3-17.
Moffat ranks second on the team with 1.94 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.

#2 Jamia Carter

Jamia Carter was held scoreless Thursday while playing only 1:13 against Montana. She had been averaging 6.75 points and 21.5 minutes per game over the previous four games.
Carter set season highs for points (9), rebounds (4) and minutes played (22) against Northern Colorado on Jan. 15. She followed up with eight points on 3-for-6 shooting at Northern Arizona on Jan. 17.
Carter missed the first nine games of the season after suffering a knee injury last February. She's averaging 3.1 points and 11.0 minutes per game since her return.

Additional Players

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 1.8 points and 1.9 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 1.3 points per game this season.
Alani Encinas started the first two games of the season. She's averaging 0.5 points and 6.0 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.