Learning curve

Minutes after she had broken the school’s all-time career scoring record, Kelsey Kahle was presented with the game ball in a small ceremony at center court.

Minutes after she had broken the school’s all-time career scoring record, Kelsey Kahle was presented with the game ball in a small ceremony at center court.

Her parents and her coaches were at her side, and Laurie Northrup, the PSU great whose 17-year-old record Kahle had just broken, congratulated the senior forward with a hug. On the sidelines, in a row, Kahle’s current teammates watched proudly and applauded their veteran leader’s achievement.

Amid the fanfare, a younger player might have found herself wrapped up in the moment, suddenly struck with the determination to break a record of her own someday.

But freshman guard Eryn Jones, who joined Portland State this year after a stellar career at Meadowdale High School in Lynwood, Wash., had simpler things on her mind.

“It’s nice to set goals, but I don’t really think about breaking records or anything like that,” Jones said. “I just try to get better every time I play.”

Records may not be the first thing on Jones’s mind when she plays basketball, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t have experience in breaking them.

When she walked off the court for the last time at Meadowdale High School, she took with her the all-time school records for points in a season (637), points in a career (1,541), career free throws made and career steals.

It was exactly that sort of dominance that attracted Vikings’ head coach Sherri Murrell to Jones in the first place.

“She was obviously a great scorer in high school, and could shoot the three,” Murrell said. “But I also liked her demeanor. She just doesn’t get carried away. That’s why we call her ‘Calm and Steady.'”

As with all high school athletes making the transition to the college level, Jones was greeted with a higher, more intense level of competition than she had previously seen.

In the opening stages of the season she was brought off the bench and would average 20-25 minutes a game in a backup role.

In some of the earlier games, it looked as if the freshman was still trying to adjust to the tougher style of play.

“The biggest difference was the physicality,” Jones said. “Everyone in college is stronger and quicker, so you have to get used to it.”

But on Dec. 16, Murrell decided to experiment with her lineup and inserted Jones in the starting backcourt alongside junior guard and veteran Claire Faucher.

From that moment on, Jones has not only averaged among the highest minutes on the team but has become one of the main cogs of the Viking’s machine.

“She already is one of our best half-court passers,” Murrell said. “And playing with someone like Claire, she can only get better.”

Jones’ breakout game in a Portland State uniform came against Utah Valley on Dec. 29.

Though the Vikings lost in overtime, she played a team-high 41 minutes and scored a personal-best 19 points, dishing out 4 assists on the side.

The performance was indicative of the sort of player that Murrell expects Jones to become as her career progresses at PSU.

“I’ve been getting more comfortable with the team, and I’m starting to know my role within it,” Jones said.

Meanwhile, by living up to her simple but challenging goal, Jones seems to become a better player every time she takes the court for the Vikings.

And with three and half seasons still ahead of her, there’s no place to go but up.