Viks wrestle bears, get scratched by Bobcats

The Portland State women’s basketball team never saw this split coming. After beating out second-ranked Montana in Missoula for the first time in 11 years, the Vikings followed victory with a loss to Montana State in a back-and-forth game to end the road trip.

Friday night’s was a huge game for the Vikings (13–11, 7–4 Big Sky). They took out Montana (13–11, 8–4 Big Sky) to hand the Lady Griz their first conference loss at home since 2006.

In a game where the Lady Griz took an early 7–0 lead, Portland State played with enough confidence to bring themselves back to win, 72–60. It was sophomore guard Eryn Jones coming off the bench that made the difference for the Viks.

As soon as she entered the game, Jones took control early on. She tallied 19 points, went eight of 15 from the floor and grabbed six rebounds. After Montana pulled ahead 28–21 in the first half, Jones scored five of the seven points to tie the game.

“She’s been a catalyst for our offense and defense,” head coach Sherri Murrell said. “She’s playing with a lot of confidence. I mean, you can’t leave her open or she’ll hit a three. She’s just been more aggressive at attacking the basket.”

With 2:41 left in the first half, Jones stole the ball and sank a jumper to give the Vikings the lead, and they went into halftime on top, 39–37.

Montana again took control in the first 10 minutes of the second half, and again it was Jones leading the turnaround. She threw up a three-pointer with 9:49 left to put Portland State up 53–51, and from there it was the Vikings squad who controlled through the end.

Along with Jones, the Vikings had two other strong players in terms of points and rebounds. Again playing as a starter, senior forward Erin Yankus had eight points, but more impressively, she pulled down 11 rebounds.

Junior guard Kelly Marchant put up 18 points and went four for seven in three-pointers. Junior forward Kelli Valentine also put up double digits, chipping in 12 points with seven rebounds, and four assists.

“This was a big game,” Murrell said. “I felt like we were aggressive the entire game and I felt like we kept our composure.”

After the big win, the Vikings hit the road again to take on Montana State (31–12, 6–6 Big Sky). The win in Missoula, however, did not transfer to Bozeman, where the Vikings lost to the Bobcats, 73–63. The loss took away PSU’s chance to move up in the standings and tie Eastern Washington for first place.

Control of the game went back and forth in the first half. Senior guard Claire Faucher sank a three at 13:46 in to put the Vikings ahead 16–11. After her shot, Faucher fed the rock to junior forward Kate DePaepe, who hit a basket to increase the lead to five, but the Bobcats responded with a five-point run to tie the score, 18–all.

DePaepe nailed a three to put the Viks on top, but Montana State rallied back with seven unanswered points to take the lead, 25–21. Both teams continued vying for control, and the teams tied the score three more times before DePaepe and Jones hit threes before the halftime buzzer to put Portland State up, 42–40.

Vikings remained in contention for a win until midway through the second half. At that point, DePaepe made a shot from above the arc to tie the score, 56–all, but after that, Montana State took control.

Murrell said Saturday’s loss was an arduous one for the team.

“This road trip is by far the hardest road trip—both those teams are pretty tough,” she said. “I think we were mentally fatigued.”

Due to the conference’s new scheduling format, Portland State was playing back-to-back games while Montana State ended up having an extra day of rest, but Murrell did not allow that to be an excuse.

“We need to learn how to put those two wins together. In the conference tournament, we have to win back-to-back games.”

The game saw high scoring on both sides. MSU boasted six players in double digits, and PSU had three. Jones again led for the Vikings with 16 points, and behind her DePaepe put up 13 to go with her career best three of four above the arc.

After the weekend, the Vikings keep their third-place slot, and are at home next weekend as they take on Northern Arizona and Northern Colorado. The Vikings are eager to face two teams they took unfortunate losses to on the road earlier in the season.

The Vikings host Northern Arizona on Friday and Northern Colorado on Saturday. Both games are set to begin at 7 p.m. at the Stott center.

Scores by period
                           1st     2nd     Final
Portland State    39      33       72
Montana             37      23       60

Portland State     42      31      73
Montana State     40     43      83