The Portland State women’s basketball team came out of their non-conference weekend with a loss to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and a win over Butler University. The team is now 4-1 this season and is embracing its new identity as a strong defensive team.
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Big sky: The Vikings are at the top of the standings in the early session
“This year’s team has really bought into the idea of playing tough defense,” head coach Sherri Murrell said. “We’ve really forced teams to not run their offense and created some turnovers, and that turned into points.”
In the opening game of the weekend against Chattanooga, the Vikings suffered their first loss of the season, 68-59. Junior guard Kate Lanz, junior forward Angela Misa and sophomore guard Allison Greene all scored in double figures, while Misa also pulled down 14 rebounds. Despite a solid offensive effort by the team—the Vikings outshot Chattanooga 42 percent to 34.9 percent—and an early lead, the Lady Mocs went ahead by 13 in the second half and Portland State was unable to close the gap.
The next game, against Butler, was a completely different story. Misa had a career-high 21 rebounds against the Bulldogs, nearly beating the school record of 23 rebounds set by Linda McLellan in 1980. The Oregon State University transfer has been a big part of the Vikings’ success this season.
“[Misa] is a great player,” Murrell said. “Each game, she embraces her role, and the more comfortable she gets, the better she gets.”
Butler’s lead was as high as 11 in the first half, but with Misa dominating on the defensive end, the Vikings were able to make up the deficit early in the second, ultimately pulling ahead and winning the game 71-58.
“We came in as a team and we told each other we needed to play together, play smart and get back on defense,” Misa said.
Saturday’s game featured strong performances by Greene and Allie Brock, but the reserves came up big for the Vikings as well, as Lanz and sophomore forward Mikaela Rivard came off the bench with double-digit scoring efforts.
“We’re deep—that really helped us in our win against Butler,” Murrell said.
With the Vikings off to a great start in their 2012 campaign, they’ll be back at home on Sunday for a matchup with the University of Portland at 2 p.m. in the Stott Center.