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For those fans acquainted with the feature attraction at the Stott Center on Thursday night, it was a familiar routine. After the singing of the national anthem and the announcement of the starting line-ups, the Kahle and Faucher Show took the stage.

The senior forward and junior guard combined for 48 points, making up for the Vikings’ inconsistent defensive effort and drowning Idaho State 71-61. The win was Portland State’s sixth in seven games, and extends their home record to 10-2 on the season.

All-time Portland State leading scorer Kelsey Kahle took hold of the game early, scoring the Vikings’ first 10 points while establishing a lead that the home team would never relinquish.

Kahle’s aim was dead-on in the first half, hitting nine of 11 from the field and scoring 18 points in the period. Most of her assists were supplied by Faucher, who exhibited why she is among the conference leaders in assists per game.

“Claire had great vision tonight and Kelsey had great movement,” said head coach Sherri Murrell. “It was one of those nights when they were able to put it together.”

Despite what the final score may suggest, the Vikings did not dominate the game in the manner in which their head coach would have liked. After building a 10-point lead early in the first half, the Vikings’ defense slackened and the Bengals took advantage.

“There was no real sense of urgency for us in the first part of the game,” Faucher said. “We came out thinking we were going to roll over them, and that’s not the way it worked out.”

In the locker room, Murrell did all she could to give her team the wake-up call they needed.

“Certain players, like Kahle, Faucher, [Kelly] Marchant, and [Lexi] Bishop made the decision that their team was not going to lose the game,” Murrell said. “They said ‘This is ridiculous,’ and the team finally pulled together.”

In the final 10 minutes of the game, Faucher and Kahle put on a clinic on both ends for the court, with the senior forward ending the night with 28 points, eight rebounds, and four steals, and the junior guard finishing with 20 points, six rebounds, and 10 assists.

Sophomore forward Kelli Valentine also had another solid game, grabbing seven rebounds and scoring 10 points for her 11th double digit scoring performance in a row.

After earning their 10th win and best conference start in school history, the Vikings’ are playing with confidence but not complacency.

“We are keeping that underdog mentality,” said Faucher. “We still don’t have the respect we want. We know we won’t get it until we win the conference title.”