Portland State women’s basketball guard Eryn Jones added to her legacy last season when she was named the Big Sky Most Valuable Player of the year. Now in her senior season, Jones is ready for a big finish.
The Vikings are looking to redeem their devastating four-point loss last season, which earned Montana the conference’s NCAA bid. This season, Jones wants to lead her team not only to a Big Sky tournament title but also possibly to an exciting run in the NCAA tournament in March.
“My goal, personally, is just setting the tone for the year. The last two years we’ve won our conference and the year before last we also won the [conference] tournament,” Jones said, “But I want to win both in one year and also go out on a good note in the NCAA [tournament].”
Head coach Sherri Murrell has goals of her own for Jones and her Viking team.
“We have been [to the NCAA tournament], so we always want to go back.” Murrell said. “It’s not a hope, it’s real for us.”
Murrell has hopes for Jones as well, saying her goal for Jones is to “go out bigger that she ever thought she was capable of going, both personally and team-wise.”
Basketball has always been a big part Jones’ life, and she recalls falling in love with the sport at an early age. Jones said that there was just something about playing basketball that pulled her in, and she hasn’t been able to stop playing since.
“I started playing basketball on a team in first grade. No one in my family played so I don’t know really how I got so into it.” Jones said. “I played all the sports as a kid and I just loved basketball. I had so much fun that I would rather miss all my other sports practices to just play basketball.”
Now all grown-up, the 5-foot-8 shooting guard plays a big game on the court. Jones ended her junior season as the key Viking shooting threat, leading the team in points per game, field goal percentage and three-point percentage. Jones also led the Big Sky in three-point shots, ranking ninth overall in the nation.
However, it may be Jones’ ability as a leader that is most important to the Vikings, and she said that it’s discipline and determination that have made her successful.
“Leadership is not only leading by telling everybody what to do. You don’t have to be the bossiest or the loudest, but you need to be a good example,” Jones said. “That’s what I like to live by. I want to be the one people want to work hard for, so if I’m working hard they want to too. I want to get people to want to play and want to get better every day.”
Jones also emphasized the importance of having good relationships with her teammates, on and off the court.
“We are such a close team,” Jones said. “I am so lucky to have a team like this, that is all friends—that’s what makes basketball so fun. We want to go to practice to see each other and on road trips we’re always hanging out and spending time with each other.”
With her focus mostly on the court, Jones revels in the chance to be an everyday student off the court.
“I really love when I have downtime to spend it with my friends and not think about basketball,” Jones said. “I like to have a normal college life, do fun things that other people who aren’t playing sports get to do, like just plainly hang out.”
Jones hails from Lynwood, Wash., about a 30-minute drive from Seattle, but now loves to take advantage of living right in the heart of downtown Portland.
“I think (the best part of) living downtown is there’s tons of shopping, tons of cool restaurants and there is always something to do living in a city,” Jones said. “We visit a lot of schools like Northern Colorado in the middle of nowhere, and I’m grateful to live someone where there’s always real life going on.”
Jones knows how to relax and enjoy herself, but is serious when it comes to the hardwood. She’s looking forward to finishing her senior year strong, but her biggest desire is for the team to accomplish their goals and reach unprecedented levels of success.
“We definitely want to win all of our games at home and we want to obviously do well in [non-conference games] and win as many of those as possible,” Jones said. “In the end, we want to make it past the first round of the NCAA. We’ve been to the first round before, so now it’s time to get further.”