Viks advance, Claire Faucher strikes again

After a 14-year drought between Portland State women’s players recording a triple-double, sophomore point guard Claire Faucher registered her second such performance in less than a week. Behind Faucher’s stellar play, the Vikings overpowered Northern Colorado 82-69 in the Big Sky Tournament quarterfinals.

With the win, the Vikings (22-8, 11-5 BSC) advance to the semifinals of the conference tournament for just the second time in school history. Portland State will match up with No. 1 seed and tournament host Montana tomorrow at 6:35 p.m., with the winner advancing to the championship game.

Faucher’s outstanding play was nearly overshadowed by freshman forward Kelli Valentine, senior forward Delaney Conway and junior guard Katia Hadj-Hamou’s superb shooting performances. Valentine demonstrated why she was named the Big Sky Most Outstanding Freshman earlier this week, scoring 16 points and hitting seven of eight attempts from the field.

When the Vikings lost starting guard Lexi Bishop to a knee injury midway through the first half, Hadj-Hamou came off the bench and had the best game of her Viking career with 17 points on 5 of 6 shooting on three-pointers.

Head coach Sherri Murrell had concerns about containing Northern Colorado (14-16, 8-8 BSC) senior center Danielle Hagen, an all-conference performer. Those concerns certainly came to fruition Thursday, as Hagen scored a career-high 37 points. Hagan’s interior play also landed all of the Viking post players in foul trouble, keeping the Bears in the game with 9 of 11 shooting from the free-throw line.

Regardless of Hagen’s play, the Vikings definitive shooting advantage made the difference in the game. The Vikings shot 57.7 percent from the field and hit 9 of 14 three-point attempts. Many of the triples came as Faucher found her teammates in stride for open looks. Conway, the Vikings’ lone senior, seemed especially eager to help the team advance in the Big Sky Tournament, pouring in 19 points and grabbing four rebounds.

After jumping out to a 12-point lead in the first half, the Vikings wore down a depleted Bears rotation that featured only six players throughout the game. In spite of committing 19 turnovers, Portland State would pull away from Northern Colorado midway through the second half, behind two consecutive three-pointers from Hadj-Hamou and another via Conway’s hands.

While Hadj-Hamou’s play helped the Vikings earn their 22nd victory of the season, her play continued Portland State’s trend of receiving primetime performances from unlikely candidates during big games this season.

Earlier this season freshman Kelly Marchant led the team in scoring as the Vikings earned a crucial road victory at Northern Arizona, and more recently it was Valentine who stepped into a starring role, providing an offensive spark.

After Thursday’s game you can add Hadj-Hamou’s performance to that list, as the Vikings moved one step closer to equaling the success of the Portland State men’s team: going dancing in March.