Vikings Look for Back-to-Back Wins, Host Northern Arizona Thursday

TIPOFF
The Portland State women's basketball team broke through for a 64-62 win over Sacramento State last Saturday, snapping a nine-game losing streak in the process. Head coach Karlie Burris said afterwards that things felt different against the Hornets.

"It felt like we were really confident and connected," Burris said after the game. "In the past, I've looked at them and their eyes looked a little different. But today, it felt like we knew we were going to get it done."

Burris and the Vikings don't want to stop there, as they'll look to go on a run over the final month of the regular season. That run started last week and can continue Thursday as the Vikings host Northern Arizona at 7 p.m.

The Vikings lost 80-68 to Northern Arizona on Jan. 17 earlier in the season. They led entering the fourth quarter of that game, but a scoreless stretch of over five minutes in the final period meant the Lumberjacks ran away with it in the end.

That's what made Saturday's win over the Hornets so encouraging. The Hornets erased an eight-point PSU lead earlier in the fourth quarter to take a 57-56 lead with 3:43 remaining. But the Vikings had an answer this time. Hannah Chicken converted a three-point play to put the Vikings back in front immediately, and the team made enough plays from there to close it out.

Chicken finished with 22 points on 8-for-11 shooting against the Hornets while adding seven rebounds, four assists and two blocks. Chicken scored 15 of her 22 points in the second half when she was a perfect 6-for-6 from the field.

Chicken's efficiency led the Vikings to 50.0 percent (25-for-50) shooting as a team, marking a new conference season high. Besides Chicken, Cici Ellington scored 17 points on 6-for-8 shooting, while Kyleigh Brown matched her with 17 points on 7-for-15 shooting. The three of them – Chicken, Ellington and Brown – accounted for 56 of the Vikings' 64 points in the game, while they also scored 36 of the team's 38 points in the second half.

The Vikings' efficiency against the Hornets meant they overcame deficits that had hurt them in the past. The Vikings lost the turnover (-2) and rebound (-1) battles, while the Hornets also had eight more field goal attempts than them. Before last Saturday, the Vikings were 0-9 when losing the rebounding battle, 1-14 when losing the turnover battle and 1-16 when their opponent shot the same amount or more field goals.

Those were some of the key stats the last time the Vikings played the Lumberjacks. NAU outscored the Vikings 24-11 in points off turnovers as they forced five more turnovers while grabbing five more rebounds than the Vikings. The Lumberjacks also made 11 more free throws than the Vikings in that game, going 19-for-20 from the line while the Vikings were just 8-for-12.

The Vikings, meanwhile, outshot the Lumberjacks – one of the best three-point shooting teams in the Big Sky – from beyond the arc. They set a conference season high with eight three-pointers in the game. Chicken, Brown and Taylor Moffat all hit two three-pointers each, while Sophie Buzzard and Jamia Carter both added one.

The Viking defense also did relatively well against the leading scorer in the Big Sky in Naomi White. PSU held White to 15 points on 6-for-15 shooting, well below her average of 22.2 points per game that tops the conference and ranks her in the top 10 nationally. White was just 1-for-5 from three-point range despite leading the Big Sky in three-point makes (3.08) and percentage (.401) entering this week.

Madison Watts led the Lumberjacks in points (17) and rebounds (9) in the first game against the Vikings. Watts ranks second on the team with 10.9 points per game this season, while she leads NAU and ranks 11th in the conference with 6.9 rebounds per game.

Audrey Taylor and Simone Morris also scored in double figures for the Lumberjacks with 14 and 13 points, respectively.

NAU snapped its own losing streak last Saturday, ending a five-game drought with a 73-65 home win over Weber State. That gave the Lumberjacks the season sweep of the Wildcats.

The Vikings will look to avoid a similar fate against NAU Thursday. If they do, then it'll mark their first back-to-back wins of the season. That'd mark another sign of progress. As well as make another believer or two in the late-season run Burris hopes to see from her team.

GAME #24: PORTLAND STATE (6-17, 2-9) vs. NORTHERN ARIZONA (8-17, 4-8)
GAME DETAILS: Thursday, Feb. 12, 7 p.m. PT, Portland, Ore., (Viking Pavilion)
LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO
SCOUTING NORTHERN ARIZONA: The Northern Arizona Lumberjacks had a five-game losing streak snapped with a 73-65 home win over Weber State last Saturday. That gave the Lumberjacks the season sweep of the Wildcats, while they also have wins over Montana, 81-72, on Jan. 1, and Portland State, 80-68, on Jan. 17. The Vikings led entering the fourth quarter of that earlier meeting between the two teams, but NAU went on a crucial 10-0 run over a five-minute stretch in which the Vikings missed 10 straight shots. Statistically, the Lumberjacks represent one of the top offenses in the Big Sky this season. They rank third in the conference with 71.8 points per game. They also rank second in the Big Sky with 14.3 free throws made per game, as well as third in three-pointers (7.0) and assists (13.8) per game. Naomi White leads NAU's high-powered offense as she tops the conference while also ranking in the top 10 nationally with 22.2 points per game. White has scored 20+ points in seven of the team's 12 Big Sky games, including two 30-point games – both of which came against Weber State. White also leads the conference in both three-pointers per game (3.08) and percentage (.401). White and teammate Audrey Taylor rank ninth and 10th in the Big Sky with 1.96 and 1.88 steals per game, respectively. Madison Watts ranks second on the team with 10.9 points per game. Watts leads the team while ranking 11th in the Big Sky with 6.9 rebounds per game. Watts led NAU in points (17) and rebounds (9) in the Lumberjacks' earlier win over the Vikings. The Vikings held White to 15 points on 6-for-15 shooting, her third-lowest scoring total within Big Sky play this season. Audrey Taylor and Simone Morris also scored in double figures for the Lumberjacks with 14 and 13 points, respectively.
ALL-TIME SERIES: The Vikings lead the all-time series between them and the Lumberjacks, 32-30. NAU has won the last five games in the series, including an 80-68 win in Flagstaff on Jan. 17 earlier this season. The Vikings' last win in the series came at Viking Pavilion, 60-55, on Feb. 11.

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The Vikings snapped a nine-game losing streak with a 64-62 home win over Sacramento State last Saturday. It was the Vikings' first win since their Big Sky opener against Weber State on Jan. 1.
The Vikings outshot the Hornets .500-to-.397 Saturday. The 50.0 percent mark from the field represented the Vikings' second-best shooting percentage this season, as well as their best within Big Sky play.
The Vikings assisted on 16 of their 25 field goals against the Hornets. Laynee Torres-Kahapea tied her career high with seven assists to lead the Vikings.
Portland State beat Sacramento State Friday despite losing the rebounding (-1) and turnover battles (-2), while also having fewer field goal attempts than the Hornets (58-to-50). All three had previously been devastating for the Vikings. Before last Saturday, the Vikings were 0-9 when losing the rebounding battle, 1-14 when losing the turnover battle and 1-16 when their opponent shot the same amount or more field goals.
The Vikings had an eight-point fourth-quarter lead erased as Sacramento State took a 57-56 lead with 3:43 remaining. The Vikings had lost two other games when leading in the fourth quarter between games at Northern Arizona (Jan. 17) and Montana (Jan. 29). But the Vikings outscored the Hornets 8-5 down the stretch Saturday to secure the win.
Head coach Karlie Burris said of the change she noticed in her team: "In the past, I've looked at them and their eyes looked a little different. But today, it felt like we knew we were going to get it done."
The trio of Hannah Chicken (22 points), Cici Ellington (17) and Kyleigh Brown (17) combined for 56 of the Vikings' 64 points against the Hornets. The three of them scored 36 of the team's 38 points in the second half.
Chicken's 22 points, which came on 8-for-11 shooting, marked a new career high for the freshman. Fifteen of her 22 points came in the second half when she was a perfect 6-for-6 from the field. Chicken added seven rebounds, four assists and two blocks to her career-high point total, as well.
Ellington's 17 points – on 6-for-8 shooting – against the Hornets marked a new conference season high. It also marked the fourth time she's scored in double figures over the last six games.
Brown's 17 points came on 7-for-15 shooting and extended her double-digit scoring streak to 29 straight games.
The Vikings snapped a streak of three straight games in which an opposing player scored 30+ against them. Natalie Picton was the Hornets' leading scorer with 17 points last Saturday.

Team Tendencies/Miscellany

Opponents are averaging 7.09 more field goal attempts per game than the Vikings. Portland State won last Saturday despite Sacramento State having eight more attempts than them, all of which came in the fourth quarter. The Vikings are 4-1 when they record more field goal attempts than their opponent this season versus 2-16 when they finish with the same or fewer attempts.
The Vikings lead the Big Sky Conference in both free throws made (14.8) and attempted (20.6) per game this season. Their 20.6 attempts are 4.3 more per game than their opponents. They have attempted at least 20 free throws 12 times this season.
Depth of scoring has been a recent theme for the Vikings. They had three different players score 15+ points against Sacramento State last Saturday, a first for the season. Against Idaho State on Feb. 2, they had four players in double figures for the first time within Big Sky play and first time overall since their win over Seattle U on Dec. 17.
The Vikings have been outscored by an average of 5.65 points per game in the opening quarter this season. Montana State became the seventh team to out-score the Vikings by more than 10 points in the first quarter on Jan. 31. The Vikings are 4-2 when leading after the first quarter this season versus 2-15 when they're tied or trailing.
Opponents are outscoring the Vikings by an average of 8.30 points per game in the first half this season.
Three-point shooting has been a sore spot for the Vikings. They rank last in the Big Sky in three-point makes per game (4.13) and percentage (.257), while they rank ninth in three-point percentage defense (.324). Opponents are averaging 2.22 more three-pointers per game than the Vikings this season.
The Vikings have lost the rebounding battle in seven straight games entering this week. That's been a strange turnaround. The Vikings were out-rebounded only four times in their first 16 games of the season. They had a +0.94 rebounding margin through their first 16 games versus -10.7 over their last seven games.
The Vikings are 4-0 when they score 70 points or more this season versus 2-17 when they fail to score 70 points. Both of their Big Sky wins came when they scored under 70 points.
The Vikings are 4-3 when winning the turnover battle versus 2-14 when they lose it. The Vikings rank seventh in the Big Sky in turnovers per game (17.4), ninth in turnovers forced per game (13.3) and 10th in turnover margin (-4.09).
All six wins this season have come when the Vikings held their opponent below 40 percent shooting. The Vikings are 6-2 when their opponent shoots below 40 percent versus 0-15 when their opponent shoots over 40 percent.
The Vikings are 5-6 at home this season versus 1-11 on the road. Both of the Vikings' Big Sky victories have also come at Viking Pavilion.

Players
#12 Kyleigh Brown

Sophomore guard Kyleigh Brown has scored in double figures in 29 straight games, the longest such streak by any player over the last 20 seasons at Portland State. She has nine 20-point games this season, four of which have come in Big Sky play.
Brown leads the Vikings with 17.9 points per game, ranking her third in the Big Sky and 57th nationally.
Brown has shot 50 percent or better from the field in four of the last nine games. She ranks fourth in the Big Sky with a .435 field goal percentage this season.
Brown has been especially effective in the second half of games recently. Since Jan. 10 against Sacramento State, Brown is averaging 11.7 points per game on 53.7 percent shooting in the second half alone.
Brown is 4-for-27 (.148) from three-point range over the Vikings' last nine games. She had been 22-for-50 (.440) from three-point range through the Vikings' first 14 games of the season.
Brown had a streak of 19 straight free throws snapped at Idaho State on Feb. 2. She 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 18th nationally with an .893 free throw percentage. That would rank tied for sixth on the single-season list at Portland State if the season ended today.
Brown is averaging a career-best 3.7 rebounds per game, 0.3 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 recorded the first 20-point game of her career last Saturday, scoring a career-high 22 points on 8-for-11 shooting while adding seven rebounds, four assists and two blocks against Sacramento State.
Chicken's 8-for-11 shooting from the field last Saturday snapped a cold spell for her, as she had been 7-for-27 (.259) combined over the last three games. Chicken leads the Vikings with a .495 field goal percentage over all games this season.
Chicken went 2-for-2 from three-point range last Saturday. In her last four games at Viking Pavilion, Chicken is 9-for-10 (.900) from three-point range. She's 15-for-32 (.469) from beyond the arc over the whole season.
Chicken ranks second on the team with 11.2 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 third on the team in free throw percentage while shooting 78.7 percent (48-for-61) from the line.
Chicken ranks 13th in the Big Sky with 6.00 rebounds per game. She's tied for 12th in the conference with 1.96 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.
Chicken has recorded four or more assists in three of the last five games. She ranks third on the team with 1.70 assists per game.
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

Ellington scored a conference season-high 17 points on 6-for-8 shooting while playing an overall season-high 32 minutes in last Saturday's win over Sacramento State.
Ellington has scored in double figures in six of the Vikings' last 10 games, as well as four of the last six.
Ellington's average of 9.1 points per game this season is her best since her true sophomore season at Loyola Marymount when she averaged 9.3 points per game.
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 against Montana on Jan. 29.
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. She had 10+ rebounds in three of four games between Dec. 17 to Jan. 3, but hasn't topped seven rebounds since then.
Ellington ranks eighth in the Big Sky with 0.95 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 tied her season high with three steals against Sacramento State last Saturday while adding six points and eight rebounds.
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 12th in the Big Sky Conference with 6.48 rebounds per game. She also ranks eighth with 2.71 offensive rebounds per game.
Yoakum ranks tied for second on the team with 1.67 assists per game. That's a career-best average for Yoakum. She's led or tied for the team lead in assists in six games this season.
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 attempted only one shot last Saturday against Sacramento State. She was held scoreless as a result, snapping a strong offensive stretch that had seen her score 10+ points in three of the last four games.
Despite the lack of scoring, Torres-Kahapea still contributed with a career-high-tying seven assists to go with six rebounds against the Hornets.
Torres-Kahapea led the Vikings with 14 points against Idaho State on Feb. 2. That was her most points since scoring a career-high 22 in the Vikings' season opener at Hawai'i.
Torres-Kahapea went 6-for-6 from the line at Idaho State. She's 18-for-20 (.900) from the line over the Vikings' last five games. For the season, she's shooting 80.6 percent (54-for-67) from the free throw line.
Torres-Kahapea 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 tied for second on the team with 16 made three-pointers this season while shooting 16-for-64 (.250) from beyond the arc.
Torres-Kahapea leads the Vikings with 2.48 assists per game. She originally set her career high with seven assists against San Jose State on Nov. 28, then tied that this past Saturday against Sacramento State. Both were in PSU wins.

#23 Taylor Moffat

Taylor Moffat tied her PSU career high with 12 points at Idaho State on Feb. 2, eight of which came in the opening quarter. Moffat also tied her season high with three three-pointers in the game.
Moffat originally set her PSU career high with 12 points against Northern Arizona on Jan. 17. She also set season highs for field goals (4), rebounds (4, tied), steals (3) and minutes (33) against Northern Arizona.
Moffat ranks tied for second on the team with 16 three-pointers this season while she's shooting 28.6 percent (16-for-56) from beyond the arc.
Moffat ranks second on the team with 1.76 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's scoreless over the Vikings' last three games, however.
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 has been held scoreless in the past four games. She had been averaging 6.75 points 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 2.6 points and 11.3 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 1.9 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 1.2 points per game this season.
Alani Encinas started the first two games of the season. She's averaging 0.5 points and 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.