Women’s basketball started their season with a bang, as the Portland State Vikings (2-0) won games against the UC Irvine Anteaters (1-2) and the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos (0-2) at the Stott Center.
It was also a big weekend for last season’s Big Sky MVP, senior guard Eryn Jones, who scored her 1,000th point against UC Santa Barbara on Sunday afternoon. Jones is only the 15th player in Portland State women’s basketball history to accomplish this feat.
“It was really humbling,” Jones said. “I didn’t even know I was that close. It’s a great honor and a nice accomplishment.”
Jones finished the game with 15 points, including 3-7 shooting from beyond the arc. She entered the game only needing 11 points to reach the 1,000 mark, and got there on a three-pointer in the second half.
“She’s just phenomenal,” Vikings head coach Sherri Murrell said. “She gave us three-pointers when we needed it. She’s just a heady, smart person and she helped us win this game hands down.”
The Vikings led the Gauchos throughout the game, and survived every run that UC Santa Barbara threw at them. The Gauchos closed the gap to six with 6:12 remaining, however, they would never get any closer than that. The Vikings played their best basketball to end the game, including big three-pointers from Jones and junior guard Courtney VanBrocklin.
Van Brocklin had 10 points in the game on 4-7 shooting. Junior guard Karley Lampan had a strong all-around performance with 12 points, five rebounds, five assists and two steals.
“They are a really tough team,” Jones said. “It was a good win for us and it was fun to go out there and play hard.”
The weekend started with the season opener against UC Irvine on Friday night at home. The Vikings came away with an 80-76 victory over the Anteaters, although it didn’t come easy. UC Irvine held a 13-point advantage at one point, but with career highs from VanBrocklin, Jones and Karly Lampman, the reigning Big Sky regular season champions were able to pull through.
VanBrocklin and Jones combined for 50 points. VanBrocklin led all scorers with 26 points and also lead the team with four assists. Jones scored 24 points and three assists, but also had seven turnovers. Lampman added 15 points and five rebounds.
“We lost to them last year,” Lampman said. “It was good to get out and get them back. I am very proud of how we played.”
Portland State shot well from the perimeter in both games, going a combined 15-32 from beyond the arc. VanBrocklin was a perfect 2-2 on three-pointers and 8-8 from the free-throw line over the weekend.
The Vikings will be back in action on Sunday, Nov. 20 when they take on Oregon on the road. The game is set to tip off at 7 p.m. at Matthew Knight Arena.