The road was more than unkind to the Portland State women’s basketball team, as the Vikings suffered losses to Eastern Washington University and the University of North Dakota by more than 20 points each. The weekend’s results dropped the Vikings to 11-15 overall and 5-12 in Big Sky play, putting them in second-to-last place in the conference standings. Four Big Sky teams have already clinched trips to the postseason, and with only three games left in the season, the Vikings would need to win all their remaining games and get a little help with losses from the two teams who sit between them and the seventh and final playoff spot.
Women’s basketball struggles on the road
The road was more than unkind to the Portland State women’s basketball team, as the Vikings suffered losses to Eastern Washington University and the University of North Dakota by more than 20 points each.
The weekend’s results dropped the Vikings to 11-15 overall and 5-12 in Big Sky play, putting them in second-to-last place in the conference standings. Four Big Sky teams have already clinched trips to the postseason, and with only three games left in the season, the Vikings would need to win all their remaining games and get a little help with losses from the two teams who sit between them and the seventh and final playoff spot.
Thursday’s loss to the Eagles gave Dam Cup bragging rights to Eastern Washington. The Eagles’ 83-51 win puts the team in third place in the standings at 15-10 overall and 11-5 in conference.
PSU shot just 21.2 percent in the first half, compared to the Eagles’ 60 percent, giving the home team a 46-21 lead at the half. The Vikings improved in the second, outshooting Eastern Washington, but their efforts were too little, too late. Eastern Washington continued to build on their lead in the second, going ahead by as many as 41. The Vikings started hitting shots late in the game but were unable to make much of an impact. Junior forward Allie Brock’s first career double-double was the contest’s only bright spot, with Brock logging 13 points and 13 rebounds, both career highs.
She and her Viking teammates headed to Grand Forks on Saturday and, unfortunately, suffered a similar fate, with the University of North Dakota rolling to a 71-50 victory. The Vikings briefly held the lead in the opening minutes of the game, but North Dakota went on a nine-point run and never looked back. North Dakota, who sits just above PSU in the standings at 11-16 overall and 6-12 in conference, dominated on both ends of the floor. The Vikings lost their fourth game in a row, the last three coming by more than 20 points.
PSU will have a shot at redemption against the University of Northern Colorado Bears in their only game of the week on Saturday. Northern Colorado is currently ranked second in the Big Sky standings with a 13-4 conference record. The game is slated for 1 p.m. Live stats can be found at goviks.com.
