In case you have yet to notice, the women’s basketball program is developing a knack for recruiting the right type of players. After Vikings Kelsey Kahle (2006) and Claire Faucher (2007) gathered the Big Sky Conference’s Outstanding Freshman award the last two seasons, they may have to split this year’s award into several pieces to accommodate the outstanding play of four freshmen wearing Viking green this season.
This season has seemingly been a match made in hoop heaven for Portland State: four freshmen players fitting perfectly into a new coaching style, harmonizing their game with the needs of their basketball team and breathing new life into a team in desperate need of a winning season.
As Kelly Marchant, Courtney Cremer, Lexi Bishop and Kelli Valentine joined the rest of their teammates early last fall for the beginning of basketball practice, they were unsure of what to expect.
“We really didn’t have any expectations as to how good or how bad we would be,” said guard Lexi Bishop.
The lack of expectations may have aided this relaxed group, as they have defied the odds and sit atop the Big Sky Conference at 14-3 overall and 4-0 against conference foes.
Enormous contributions from the young players has been crucial, and despite the fact that their early development may have shocked some, first-year head coach Sherri Murrell has never been surprised.
“I knew from the first day that these were special players, and that this was going to be a special team,” Murrell said. “They each contribute different things, but we have depended on each of them, and they have all performed.”
In addition to experiencing a coaching change when former head coach Charity Elliott resigned last July, the Vikings roster also had some key losses this past off-season. Players lost due to graduation or transfer accounted for 65 percent of the team’s scoring production last season.
And while it is clear that much of the praise for Portland State’s improvement falls on returners Faucher, Kahle and lone senior wing Delaney Conway, the team appeared to be in shambles and was in need of a special glue to mend it together. That glue came-not in an Elmer’s bottle or a sticky glue stick-but in the form of four fabulous freshmen.
This season the fabulous freshmen are accounting for over a third of the Vikings’ total points. Valentine, a 5-foot-11 forward, has recently stepped into a starting role and has stepped up, averaging just less than 10 points per game and shooting 43 percent from the field.
“Kelli is a threat to score every time she has the ball, and because she is such a good shooter, it really spreads the defense out,” Murrell said.
Marchant, a 5-foot-10 guard who attended Oregon City High School, chose to attend Portland State to stay close to home. Recently, in a game at Northern Arizona, Marchant exploded for a season high 23 points and had three steals to lead the Vikings to an emotional win.
“That game was the highlight of the year for me,” Bishop said. “It was amazing because that was the first time Delaney [Conway] had beaten [Northern Arizona] in their gym in her five years.”
While solid perimeter play has been a constant positive for the Vikings nearly every game this year, post defense and rebounding has been a constant struggle for the team.
Cremer has given the team a boost off the bench with her interior presence at both ends of the court. Cremer, a 6-foot-3 center from Stayton, Ore., leads the team in blocked shots and has provided flashes of brilliance on the offensive end of the court, as she has grown accustomed to the college game.
“The speed of the game is so fast, the players are so big, and everyone is more intense,” Cremer said. “It has taken a little while to get used to.”
Despite the fact that Murrell had not arrived at the South Park Blocks in time to recruit any of these newcomers, each has blossomed under her tutelage, and none of the players seem more aware of that than Bishop.
“Everyday I am so excited to be here, and being coached by her reminds me of how lucky I am,” Bishop said.
Nicknamed “Little Bulldog” by her coaches, Bishop has provided solid perimeter defense and steady shooting, starting nearly every game this season. She is currently 11th in the conference in 3-point shooting at 37.8 percent.
These four freshmen all committed to Portland State after the program experienced two mediocre seasons, and despite all the changes and success, they seem focused on one central idea that prevails around this Viking team: Chemistry and fun breed success.
“It is so fun here,” Valentine said. “We are such a close team and I couldn’t be happier.”