The Portland State women’s basketball team hopes to end a two-game losing streak as they go back on the road to take on California State University, Sacramento on Thursday and Northern Arizona University on Saturday. The Vikings are in the midst of reworking their strategy to account for an injury to Kate Lanz two weeks ago, and should face a tough test against their Big Sky rivals.
The team will rely on senior guards Courtney VanBrocklin and Karley Lampman to help make up for the absence on the offensive end. On defense, the Vikings turn to junior forward Angela Misa, who leads the team in rebounding by a wide margin this season, including a near record-breaking 21 rebounds in the preseason matchup against Butler University.
The Sacramento State Hornets sit at 6-6 overall and 1-2 in conference play, and are coming off a loss to the Southern Utah University Thunderbirds on Saturday. Like Portland State, the Hornets have had rebounding troubles of their own—Southern Utah was able to get 19 second-chance points from their 22 rebounds against Sacramento State.
With a 2-10 record overall and 1-2 in the Big Sky, Northern Arizona occupies the spot directly below Sacramento State in the conference standings. Unlike the Hornets, though, their last game (also a matchup with Southern Utah) resulted in a 71-61 victory.
Senior guard Amy Patton has been a force for the Lumberjacks on the offensive end of the floor as well as on the glass. In the second half of their game against Southern Utah, Patton made school history when she sank a shot that broke the Northern Arizona all-time scoring record. Patton is joined in the leadership role by junior guard Amanda Frost, who scored a career-high 27 points against the Thunderbirds in her first appearance of the season and was named Big Sky Player of the Week for the effort.
Tipoff for the game against Sacramento State is scheduled for 7 p.m. tonight. The Northern Arizona matchup will begin at 5:35 p.m. on Saturday. Live stats are available on goviks.com.