For the second year in a row, the Big Sky Conference women’s basketball tournament is headed to Missoula, Mont. The Montana Lady Griz clinched the division with a win last Thursday night, giving them the rights to host the tournament. Whether Portland State will make the trip to Montana still hangs in the balance.
The Vikings, who currently hold the sixth spot in the conference standings, can clinch a tournament berth with either a win against Northern Arizona on Thursday or a win against Northern Colorado on Saturday. Both games will be held at the Stott Center, which bodes well for Portland State as they have played well at home this season.
“Let’s nail it down and we’re in,” Portland State head coach Charity Elliott said. “Had we won Saturday, we’re in. Right now there’s still an outside chance, if we lose two and Eastern [Washington] wins two, we’re not in. We’ve got to take care of business.”
Should they fail to grab a victory on the short homestand, another scenario would still allow for the Vikings to make the tournament. If Eastern Washington, currently trailing Portland State by two games, loses one of their last two games they will be eliminated regardless of what the Vikings do. Eastern Washington faces Northern Colorado and Northern Arizona in their final two games, both held in Cheney, Wash.
Last season the Vikings were unable to finish off the season strong and only made the tournament after other teams lost.
Portland State nearly clinched a playoff spot on Saturday, but fell just short in a thrilling game at Idaho State. Leading by 2 points with 1.5 seconds left in the game, following a bucket by freshman guard Claire Faucher, the Vikings watched the unthinkable happen. Idaho State threw a full-court inbound pass to sophomore Michelle Gross, who then found junior guard Andrea Lightfoot open beyond the three-point arc. Lightfoot drained the game winner in a play reminiscent of Christian Laettner’s famous buzzer-beater in the 1992 East Regional Final between Duke and Kentucky.
“It was a very emotional, draining game for sure on Saturday. But I’m very pleased we went on the road and we played hard both games,” Elliott said. “Now we’ve just got to take care of business. Hopefully it will fuel us a little bit to have a little extra motivation going into this weekend.”
Now the Vikings must rebound from last week’s tough loss in order to keep their Big Sky tournament dreams alive. Portland State controls their destiny and has the advantage of an 8-4 record at the Stott Center this season.
The Vikings will try to solidify a playoff spot on Thursday against Northern Arizona. The Lumberjacks currently sit in third place in the Big Sky standings with a 10-4 conference record. In their first matchup with the Vikings this season, in Flagstaff on Jan. 20, they edged Portland State in a 72-71 overtime thriller. Tip-off time for Thursday’s game is set for 7 p.m. at the Stott Center.
“They’re very talented, they’re very good, they’re very athletic,” said Elliott of Northern Arizona. “We’re certainly going to have to be playing at our best because they’re tough. I hope that it’s a really good game. I hope we come out as focused as I think we will.”
If Northern Arizona sweeps the season series, dealing the Vikings another loss, combined with an Eastern Washington victory over Northern Colorado the same night, it may come down to Portland State’s final game against Northern Colorado to wrap up a tournament berth.
Should the Vikings still not be assured of a trip to Montana by Saturday, there is no reason to press the panic button. Northern Colorado is not the best candidate to play the role of the spoiler. The Bears have had a dismal season, posting a 2-12 record in the Big Sky and a 5-22 record overall. In their previous matchup this season, back in early January, the Vikings blew them out by a score of 81-63 as the visitors. Now, facing them at home, Portland State should be very confident. Saturday’s matinee is scheduled for a 2 p.m. tip-off.