Still in the running

With only three games left in the regular season, the Portland State women’s basketball team is still in contention for the Big Sky Conference Championship.

After another unexpected split last weekend, PSU is tied for second place in the conference and needs to win their last three games and have top-ranked Eastern Washington lose one to bring home a title. The Vikings begin their race for the finish line on Friday at Idaho State and then play again on Saturday at Weber State.

Head coach Sherri Murrell is confident that her Vikings (14–12, 8–5 Big Sky) can win this weekend, but with the tough doubleheader format, she feels her players might be more than just physically fatigued in the second game.

“We have to play big mentally to win that second night,” she said.

Last weekend, the Vikings took on Northern Arizona and Northern Colorado for the final home games of the season. Friday night ended in Portland State’s favor with an impressive 74–56 score and featured three PSU players scoring double digits.

Saturday was a less-than-perfect game though, as the Vikings fell to Northern Colorado, 54–52, by a last-second buzzer beater.

Senior guard Claire Faucher recorded five steals last weekend, which places her on the books for another school record. Her 257 career steals surpasses former teammate Kelsey Kahle to secure the second spot in Portland State’s all-time steals record.

The Bengals (12–14, 7–6 Big Sky) are currently tied with Montana State for fourth place in the Big Sky and are is coming off of a three-game winning streak at home. The most recent—against Weber State—was won, 79–74, in overtime.

Hoping to get a shot at postseason action, the Bengals need a win or a Northern Colorado loss to get them there. To defeat the Vikings, they will need to bring the energy brought against Weber State.

After climbing from a 15-point deficit to tie the game, junior Chelsea Pickering shot 4 of 4 in overtime to secure a Bengals victory. Senior Andrea Videbeck also came out strong and scored a career-high 20 points.

Positioned dead last in conference standings, Weber State (9–17, 3–10 Big Sky) enters this weekend on a two-game losing streak, and are surely looking to spoil the postseason hopes of other teams.

Against the Bengals, Weber State’s junior forward Caitlin Anderson posted a double-double with a career high 27 points and 10 rebounds. Senior guard Sarah Conner also played well with 15 points, and guard Tonya Schnibbe racked up a double-double with 12 points and 12 boards.

The Wildcats are nearly out of the run for a postseason appearance. To make the playoffs they need to win their remaining games and have Sacramento State lose the rest of their games. On top of that, Northern Arizona and Northern Colorado would have to post losses to give Weber the fourth-place spot.

PSU has taken the last five games against Idaho State, and has won seven of the past nine games. Four of those five wins featured double-digit margins of victory, and a 20-point victory in the 2007–08 season is the largest in Big Sky Conference action.

The Viks have won the last three games against Weber State and four of the past five. The two teams each hold two of the best point guards in the Big Sky: Weber State’s Schnibbe, and Portland State’s Faucher. In this week’s Big Sky leader charts, Schnibbe’s average of 6.8 assists per game overtook Faucher’s 6.7 average.

Tip-offs are scheduled for 6 p.m. local time, and both games can be followed via Live Stats at www.goviks.com

6 p.m., Fri
Portland State
(14–12, 8–5 Big Sky)
at
Idaho State
(12–14, 7–6 Big Sky)

6 p.m., Sat
Portland State
(14–12, 8–5 Big Sky)
at
Weber State
(9–17, 3–10 Big Sky)