In the history books

Despite allowing an overmatched Eastern Washington (4-23, 1-13 BSC) squad to stay in the game well into the second half, the Vikings (20-7, 10-4 BSC) pulled away from the Eagles in the final moments, earning a 75-71 victory Saturday night.

The Vikings have struggled with inconsistency away from the Stott Center this season, and Saturday’s game continued the trend. After Portland State had claimed a 12-point lead midway through the second half, the Eagles’ mounted a comeback attempt that would cut the Viking lead to just two.

“We were never able to fully sustain the intensity that we wanted to play with,” said head coach Sherri Murrell. “We would go on a scoring run, and then allow them to come back into the game.”

Portland State evened their road record to 7-7 on the season, while earning its 20th victory of the season. This marks the Vikings’ first 20-win season since moving up to the Division I level in 1996.

“We knew going into the game that regardless of (Eastern Washington’s) record they were going to come after us. I was proud of the way that our players fought and found a way to win,” Murrell said.

Freshman center Kelli Valentine continued her terrific play of late, scoring 16 points while the steady hand of sophomore point guard Claire Faucher provided 16 points and dished out seven assists.

Faucher is just 14 assists shy of tying the all-time Big Sky record held by Montana’s Brooklyn Lorenzen during the 2003-04 season.

Still leading the nation in assists, Faucher’s play helped the Vikings overcome a mediocre team shooting performance by winning the turnover battle. Portland State scored 23 points on 14 Eastern Washington turnovers. On the other hand, the Vikings limited their own turnovers to just 10.

The victory gives Portland State continued momentum heading into their final week of the regular season, as the Vikings tallied their second consecutive game and fifth of their last six. After being picked to finish sixth by Big Sky coaches prior to the season, the Vikings seem destined to finish among the conference’s elite.

Two victories this week over visiting Montana and Montana State, and the Vikings will likely earn a top-two finish in the Big Sky. If Eastern Washington can manage a colossal upset over Montana Thursday, Portland State and Montana will square off on Saturday with the Big Sky regular-season title at stake.

Vikings vs. Eagles

FG percentage: Portland State 46.8% Eastern Wash. 46.2%

Rebounds:Portland State 37Eastern Wash. 38

Second-chance points: Portland State 5Eastern Wash. 12

Points of turnovers:Portland State 23Eastern Wash. 9

Turnovers: Portland State 10Eastern Wash. 14