Women to take on Lumberjacks

Portland State women’s basketball tips off a Stott Center double-header tomorrow, as the women host Northern Arizona just hours before the men host non-conference opponent Loyola Marymount as part of ESPN’s BracketBuster week.

The women open the home-venue excitement with the annual ‘Pink Zone’ game, held in conjunction with the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association breast cancer awareness campaign. In addition to spurring discussion and awareness, donations at the game will be given to the Kay Yow Cancer Fund.

The Vikings (13-10, 6-4 Big Sky) look to improve from their current tie with Idaho State for fourth place in the Big Sky Conference standings when they host seventh-place Northern Arizona (9-15, 4-7 Big Sky). Portland State dropped from third place after a loss to Idaho State last Saturday.

PSU hosted Weber State on Thursday; however, the results were not available as of press time. The Viks are battling with Idaho State, third-ranked Montana, second-ranked Northern Colorado and first-placed Montana State for the coveted top two slots in the standings.

At the conclusion of the regular season, the top two teams automatically advance into the semifinals of six-team Big Sky Tournament, which means that they do not have to play in the opening quarterfinal round.

On Saturday, the Viks take on the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks, who are making a comeback in conference play. The Lumberjacks are coming off two home wins and hosted Eastern Washington on Thursday, but the results of that game were also not available as of press time.

It was a duo of sophomores that led the ‘Jacks to their second consecutive win last Saturday against Idaho State. Sophomore guard Amy Patton led the team with 14 points and eight rebounds, and sophomore guard Tyler Stephen-Jenkins dominated in the last minutes of the game.

The ‘Jacks came back from a 10-point deficit in the second half to tie the game at 49-all with five minutes left in the game.

Stephens-Jenkins went on to score the next eight of NAU’s 10 points, to give the home team a win of 59-55.

The last time the Lumberjacks and the Viks faced off earlier in the season, it was the Vikings who came through with the 56-48 win. Junior guard Eryn Jones led all players with 17 points and Patton, NAU’s high-scorer last week, pitched in 14 points.

Senior guard Lexi Bishop said that beating NAU on its home court should have a positive effect on this weekend’s game.

“Beating them at their place gives us hope and confidence, especially now that we will be on our court,” Bishop said.

Both teams know the importance of winning the rest of their games, and Bishop said that these final weeks are crucial.

“We only have three weeks left, and every game counts,” Bishop said. “Everything we’ve worked for all year comes down to these games, so we need to remember to go out and play with no regrets.”

PSU hopes to get back on its feet tomorrow after suffering a loss last Saturday in the back-and-forth game to the ISU Bengals. But as Bishop

and fellow senior teammate Kelli Valentine both said, being at home is a huge performance booster for the Viks, and they hope they can use the confidence they hold at home to excel in the remaining weeks to come.

As PSU works towards regaining its competitive position in Big Sky play, the Lumberjacks work to hold on to their recent winning streak. The two teams tip off at 1 p.m. at the Stott Center. ?