Viks fall to ‘Cats, beat Jacks

 It started out as a tough weekend on the road for Portland State women’s basketball. The team suffered a tight three-point loss to Weber State on Thursday night. This sent the Viks to face Northern Arizona with just one conference win and three losses, but the Vikings turned their game around against the Lumberjacks. The visiting team took NAU by eight, 56-48.

The split weekend put the Viks (9-9, 2-3 Big Sky) in sixth place in the conference standings with their record. They are now ahead of both NAU (7-12, 2-4 Big Sky) and Weber State (5-12, 1-4 Big Sky). Weber State’s sole win so far was the Thursday night game.

Head coach Sherri Murrell said last weekend that it was rebounding that needed the most improvement. After Thursday, it looked like the Viks still needed improvement in that area. Weber State held PSU to just 31 boards to their 49, with two of the ‘Cats in double digits.

The need for these boards was clear in the final minute of the Weber State game. The Viks were up by one with 1:30 left. Unfortunately, the last four Viking baskets did not sink, and the Wildcats grabbed three crucial rebounds.  Their boards, combined with two pairs of free throws, sealed the home team’s win, 65-62.

On Saturday night, crashing the boards was no longer a problem for PSU. The Vikings out-rebounded their opponent 52-46. It was not just rebounds that changed from Thursday night. The team came out determined to end its nine-game road losing streak—and it did.

After missing those final four baskets on Thursday, the Viks opened Saturday night’s game going on a 17-2 run. The run began with a layup by freshman guard Allie Brock, ended with a jumper by sophomore guard Karley Lampan, and in the middle had three straight points from above the arc by senior guard Lexi Bishop, senior center Courtney Cremer and junior guard Eryn Jones.

This run was just the start of what would be a Viking victory. NAU came close to the lead late in the second half, but was never able to secure it. A jump shot by NAU sophomore guard Amy Patton sent the Lumberjacks down by just three with under five minutes remaining in the game.

Seeing a glimpse of Thursday night, the Vikings fought to stay in the game. PSU had three defensive rebounds off Lumberjack players’ missed shots, ensuring there were no second-chance points. The Viks were nearly perfect from the charity stripe, making all but one of the four pairs of free throws in the last 10 seconds of the game.

Bishop said that the team took Thursday’s mistakes to heart and was able to correct them for Saturday.

“I think after Thursday night’s performance, we came together and we tried to figure out what our issues were. Rebounding was of the biggest issues, and on Saturday we got together and had a lot of energy and passion on the court and I think that is one of the things that made us rebound better,” she said.

Bishop combined for 11 points over the weekend, including a pair of treys on Saturday night. She also had seven rebounds and a combined five assists.

She said that it was her defensive performance that gave her the most success. On Saturday night, all four of Bishop’s rebounds were defensive, and the senior noted that the zone defense allowed her to make key stops throughout the night.

Similar to the Idaho State game, the weekend point leaders for the Viks included Jones and sophomore guard Courtney VanBrocklin. Jones was the key leader Thursday night as she led both teams with 17 points. Jones combined for 37 points, including three from above the arc both nights. She also combined for five assists over the weekend.

 VanBrocklin pulled down 36 over the weekend, with four assists on Friday night. Senior forward Kelli Valentine also pitched in on Thursday night with 10 points and grabbed two steals.

Bishop said that the team has the talent covered, but it is the effort that Thursday’s game lacked, and that helped Saturday’s game succeed.

“It is not necessarily the talent on the court we need to worry about; it is the effort, and we came together before Saturday night’s game as a team and came out that night to play basketball,” Bishop said.

The team came out of the weekend with bittersweet memories. They were unable to stop Weber State, but came back to show the Big Sky their talent on Saturday night against the Lumberjacks.

The team returns to the comfort of the Stott Center Thursday against Eastern Washington. The two Dam Cup rivals are scheduled for tipoff at 7 p.m. at the Stott Center. ?