Vikings hit the road to take on Montanas

Coming off last weekend’s unexpected loss at home, the Portland State women’s basketball team  is ready to get back on track. The Vikings hit the highway today to take on Montana  in Missoula, and from there they head to Bozeman on Saturday to take on Montana State.

A look at the Vikings
Ranked third in Big Sky standings behind Montana, PSU knows this weekend features must-needed wins.

The Vikings (12–10, 6–3 Big Sky) began the season dominating at home, winning three of the four games played at the Stott Center.

The hot streak included a major win over top-ranked Eastern Washington that handed the Eagles their first conference loss. Starting out with an early Eagles lead, the game turned to favor the Viks after an impressive performance from the bench. Junior guard-forward Kate DePaepe helped turn the game around to lead Portland State to victory.

Against Sacramento State, it was PSU’s senior leadership that brought the game to a nail-biting finish, and eventual win. Senior center Erin Yankus posted 20 points with 10 rebounds, and senior guard Claire Faucher reached another career milestone with her 500th rebound. She is now one of only nine Vikings to join the 1,000-point, 500-rebound club.

A look at the Lady Griz
Second place in conference standings, Montana (12–10, 7–3 Big Sky) is ready to take on Portland State for the second time. They opened their second round of conference play with split games between Idaho State and Weber State. Montana lost their first game to Weber State, and then went on to beat Idaho State the following night.

It was the second half of the Idaho State game when the Lady Griz turned on the heat. They shot .609 in the half to turn a one-point difference at half to a 67–53 win. Last weekend was a stellar one for senior Lauren Beck, who averaged 17.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and was perfect from behind the arc, where she went seven for seven.

Montana is an impressive defensive team. They currently lead Big Sky in both field goal defense and scoring defense, and have held their last nine opponents to 38 percent shooting.

A look at the Bobcats
Montana State comes off a three-game winning streak. First they took out Northern Colorado at home, and went on to sweep Weber State and Idaho State on the road. They are currently ranked fifth in conference standings behind Portland State then Sacramento State.

Against Idaho State, the Bobcats moved up from a three-point deficit at the half to their 83–72 victory. It was senior Erica Perry that dominated for the Bobcats, chalking 25 points, six rebounds and four assists. Behind her, two other Bobcats shot in double digits. Katie Bussey had 18 and Janette Jackson had 12.

Earlier in the season, Perry became the 15th player in school history to hit the 1,000-point mark with the Bobcats. She currently posts 1,098 points, putting her 12th overall in Montana State’s history.

Past matchups
The Vikings swept both Montana and Montana State in their meetings earlier this season at the Stott Center, but PSU has lost the last 12 games in Dahlberg Arena. The Vikings have not won there since the 1998–99 season.

PSU overcame a 20-point deficit in this season’s home game against Montana State to win, 69–62. Last year, the Vikings cruised to a 75–61 win in Bozeman behind Faucher’s third career triple-double. She had 20 points, 10 rebounds and 10 steals, and she was just two assists short of a quadruple-double. Portland State has a 2–2 record over their last four games in Bozeman.

How to tune in
The game will be covered live on BigSky TV and can be followed at www.goviks.com.