Conway torches Bears for 31 points

Rallying behind senior forward Delaney Conway’s career-high 31 points, the Vikings (19-7, 9-4 BSC) blew out visiting Northern Colorado (11-13, 5-6 BSC) Thursday evening at the Stott Center 82-60.

After suffering an embarrassing 61-56 loss earlier this season to the Bears, the Vikings seemed eager to even the series against a team they could meet in the Big Sky Conference Tournament in a couple of weeks.

The sparsely attended victory-413 fans were in attendance-keeps the Vikings in the conference championship picture, sitting just two losses behind Montana and dropping Northern Colorado into a sixth-place tie with Weber State.

While Conway’s 31 points set the pace for the game, sophomore point guard Claire Faucher continued her stellar play as the Vikings’ floor leader with 11 assists. Freshmen Kelli Valentine and Kelly Marchant chipped in 14 and 12 points, respectively.

“I was able to get some open looks tonight,” said Conway. “Claire always does such a good job of distributing the ball.”

Conway’s sharp-shooting night personified her team’s efficient night on the offensive end. Shooting an impressive 56 percent from the field and nearly 50 percent from the three-point line, the Vikings took an early 20-5 lead after just five minutes. And Portland State never looked back.

In the second half, Portland State was able to keep the Bears at a distance with their best free-throw outing of the season, connecting on 19 of 22 attempts.

“We did a much better job of spacing tonight, and that always gives us more open looks,” said head coach Sherri Murrell.

Portland State will now enjoy a nine-day layoff before traveling to take on Eastern Washington next Saturday.

With only three games left in the regular season, Murrell’s players seem to understand the importance of each contest. Three victories in their remaining games could give the Vikings a shot at hosting the Big Sky Tournament in the Stott Center, where they have won 15 straight games, and 32 of their last 33 games.

“When we can play 40 solid minutes of intense basketball, we can be tough to beat, and I think we did that tonight,” Murrell said.