PSU women head into their second conference game with big hopes in the Big Sky

The Portland State women’s basketball team is back in the Stott Center this week, and planning on taking down the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks on Saturday, January 17. The game will be the second Big Sky Conference competition for both teams.

The Lumberjacks final pre-conference record was an even 6-6. The team played a bit better at home (3-2) than it did on the road (2-4).

Northern Arizona’s improvement is rumored to coincide with the fact that NAU is at the highest altitude of all the colleges in the United States, giving it a strong physical advantage against other teams.

“We lost in their home court, but beat them here last year,” commented head coach, George Wolfe. “We want to get them here and see what they are like at sea level.”

The Lumberjacks are one of the three Big Sky teams averaging less than 60 points per game (59.4), but they’re also holding opponents to just 61.0 points and 38.5 percent shooting.

NAU has a good defense, something Portland State has been struggling with all year. NAU has three players who average double figures. Freshman forward, Alyssa Wahl leads the team with 13.5 points and 7.2 rebounds per game, carrying a total of 86 rebounds and 162 points.

Senior guard, Lacey Tolbert averages 10.5 points and ranks third in the conference, while senior forward, Alexis Rhodes adds 10.1 points for her team and shoots 45.7 percent from the field.

Tip off for the women’s team is at 7 p.m., Saturday, in the Stott Center. Additionally, the men’s team is also playing against NAU on Saturday in Flagstaff. Portland State is hoping to send both Arizona teams home crying.