The Portland State women’s basketball team continued down a bumpy road in search of its first conference victory this season. The Viks had a rough week at home playing twice, and losing…twice.
Portland State hoped to be the underdog that would come through against the undefeated Montana Grizzlies. However, things didn’t turn out quite the way they had hoped.
Montana had five players in double digits. Senior forward, Julie Deming had a game high 25 points and led the team to a victory (90-62) against the Viks.
Senior guard Brooklyn Lorenzen also played a strong game with a game high of 15 assists, as well as adding 11 points. Lorenzen was just three away from the Big Sky single game record for assists.
The Lady Griz shot 55.6 percent from the field, 58.3 percent from the three-point range and 65.0 percent from the foul line, holding Portland State to 43.1 percent from the field and 50.0 percent from the three-point range. The Vikings gave the ball up an embarrassing 23 times, making it that much easier for the Griz.
Portland State had four players in double digits, with Sarah Hedgepeth holding the team high 18 points on 6-off-10 shooting. Hedgepeth became only the 11th women’s basketball player in PSU history to score 1,100 career points and now trails former players, Sheri Stemple (1991-93) and Karen Johnson (1980-84) by 27 points for the ninth place on the all-time list.
The outcome was sealed by the time Montana opened the second half with a 21-point lead, 42-21. Portland State never came closer than 19 points, but trailed by as many as 29.
Saturday night the Vikings, holding a record of 3-18 in regular season games and 0-7 in the Big Sky, played the Montana State Bobcats, who were 10-10 on the season and 2-5 in conference play. The game resulted in yet another home court loss.
However, the game was not a complete wash. At one point, the Vikings appeared to be a decent contender for Montana. Portland State led by as many as 12 points in the first half and went into the break with a two-point lead.
Portland State had four players in double digits, opposed to the Bobcats only having two. Freshman guard, Heather Arns scored a career-high 23 points and hit 5-of-6 three-pointers, but was no match for the Bobcat’s strong freshman forward, Katie Burrows who had a double-double with 35 points and 10 rebounds.
Jana Smith also had a big night with 22 points and a perfect 4-of-4 from the three-point range.
Portland State saw their losing streak hit 10 when Burrows scored 21 of her 35 points and Smith scored 17 of her 22 in the second half. The Viks never caught up, losing 81-75. The Bobcats shot 56.3 percent from the field and held the Viks to only 37.0 percent.
In the losing effort, Tiffany Ward posted a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Sarah Hedgepeth added 19 and Heidi Stuart contributed 13. Hedgepeth picked up career rebound number 800, becoming only the third player in PSU history to achieve that feat. Hedgepeth is 14 away from Kristi Smith’s PSU record of 814.
This week the Vikings jump into the second half of the Big Sky season with a pair of road games, starting off with Northern Arizona this Thursday night. Good Luck, ladies!