2023-11-16 01:06:46
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TIPOFF
The Portland State women’s basketball team hits the road for the third time out of its first four games of the season with a road match-up with New Mexico State Saturday at 1 p.m. PT / 2 p.m. MT.
The road-heavy start to the year will come back around in December when they’re home for five of six games. Until then, the Vikings will have to find value in the adversity they face as they build character for the end of the season.
The Vikings have already faced more adversity than they would have liked through the first week and a half of the college basketball season. Even still, the Vikings find themselves 2-1 with a number of positives on their ledger sheet.
Tuesday’s win over Warner Pacific featured a return of the Vikings’ standout three-point shooting. They started the year cold, going 10-of-44 (.227) combined between their games at UC Davis and San Diego. That was a bit of an anomaly for a team that ranked second in the Big Sky and in the top 50 of the NCAA while making 35.0 percent of their shots from the outside last season. Sure enough, the Vikings found their stroke once more versus the Knights, going 13-of-24 (.542) as a team in Tuesday’s contest. The 13 three-pointers were two off the single-game program record of 15 that the Vikings tied in their Big Sky quarterfinal win over Montana State last season.
Preseason Big Sky MVP Esmeralda Morales led the way with five triples once morest the Knights. That was a return to form for her, too, following she went 4-of-18 (.222) combined from three-point range in the team’s first two games of the season.
Morales also led all scorers with 23 points Tuesday, the second time out of the Vikings’ first three games that she’s topped 20 points. Morales heads into Saturday averaging 20.3 points per game for the Vikings, ranking her second in the Big Sky and 61st in the NCAA.
The other positive for the Vikings from Tuesday night was how the team got in the passing lanes. The Vikings grabbed 16 steals from the Knights for the program’s most steals in a single game since they had 22 once morest the same Warner Pacific team in last season’s opener. Alaya Fitzgerald led the way with a career-high five steals Tuesday. Freshman Joy Haltom swiped another four, giving her seven through her first two games as a Viking.
The Vikings now lead the Big Sky and rank 41st in the NCAA with 12.3 steals per game. Fitzgerald ranks tied for fourth with 2.67 steals per game individually. Morales and Mia ‘Uhila rank tied for 10th with 1.67 steals per game each. Haltom would rank in the conference’s top 15, but doesn’t meet the minimum participation requirements due to missing the team’s season opener.
The areas for the Vikings to clean up remains defense and rebounding. The Vikings were outrebounded once more Tuesday, leaving them 1-2 on the glass through their first three games of the season. The Vikings also gave up too many shots at the basket to the Knights, who outscored the Vikings 38-20 in the paint.
The close baskets meant the Knights shot 49.0 percent from the floor. San Diego shot 52.5 percent once morest the Vikings last Saturday, meaning two of the Vikings’ first three opponents have shot near or better than 50.0 percent.
That will be a challenge on the road once morest New Mexico State. The Aggies are coming off their first win of the season with a 59-52 road victory over Incarnate Word. The Aggies also played two close games once morest Arizona (68-57) and UTSA (58-55), but dropped both.
The Aggies return their two leading scorers off last year’s team that advanced to the WBI championship game in the team’s first year under head coach Jody Adams. Molly Kaiser led the Aggies last season and has taken the lead once more with 16.7 points per game so far this season. Two other players average in double figures for the Aggies in Sabou Gueye at 13.0 points per game and Tylie Jones at 11.0.
Kaiser was named to the CUSA Preseason All-Conference Team before the start of the season.
The Aggies and Vikings should know each other well following they played a close game at Viking Pavilion last season. The Aggies won 55-53, but they had to fight off a furious comeback from the Vikings that saw them cut an 11-point deficit down to one with 18.5 seconds remaining. The Vikings had two opportunities to tie or take the lead within the final seconds, but missed on both opportunities.
Saturday’s rematch may carry a little extra element to it, then, especially as the Vikings battle through a road-heavy start to the year.
GAME #4: PORTLAND STATE (2-1) vs. NEW MEXICO STATE (1-2)
GAME DETAILS: Saturday, Nov. 18, 1 p.m. PT / 2 p.m. MT, Las Cruces, N.M. (Pan American Center)
LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO
SCOUTING NEW MEXICO STATE: The New Mexico State Aggies won their first game of the season Sunday, beating Incarnate Word, 59-52. The Aggies opened the season with a 68-57 loss at home to Arizona. They then dropped a close, 58-55, game at UTSA, before their victory over Incarnate Word. The Aggies are coming of a positive first year under head coach Jody Adams. They went 18-17 last season and advanced to the WBI championship game where they lost 63-61 to Cal Baptist. The Aggies beat the Vikings along the way last year, 55-53, at Viking Pavilion. The Aggies return their two leading scorers off last year’s team in Molly Kaiser and Sylena Peterson. Kaiser was named to the CUSA Preseason All-Conference Team before the start of the year when the Aggies were picked to finish sixth in what will be a new conference for them this season. Kaiser leads the Aggies in scoring once more through the first three games of the season. She’s averaging 16.7 points per game, including 22 on 4-of-6 shooting from three-point range once morest Arizona. Two other players average in double figures for the Aggies in Sabou Gueye at 13.0 points per game and Tylie Jones at 11.0. Ene Adams leads the Aggies on the glass, as she’s averaging 7.0 rebounds per game. Gueye and Kaiser are next on the team with 4.7 and 4.3 rebounds per game. As a team, the Aggies have been strong from three-point range on both ends of the court. Offensively, they lead CUSA and rank 31st in the NCAA with a three-point field goal percentage of .415. Defensively, they lead the conference and rank 34th in the nation while holding opponents to only 20.6 percent from deep. The Aggies don’t shoot it a lot, as they rank seventh out of nine teams in CUSA with 5.7 three-pointers made per game, but their defensive numbers will make for an interesting matchup with the Vikings.
ALL-TIME SERIES: The Aggies lead the all-time series between them and the Vikings, 1-0. The one previous meeting came on Dec. 17 last season when the Aggies beat the Vikings, 55-53, at Viking Pavilion.
STORYLINES/STREAKS/RECORDS
The Vikings built a big lead once morest Warner Pacific Tuesday, going up by as many as 31 points, before closing out a 74-62 victory in the team’s home opener.
The Vikings split their opening weekend of the season, winning at UC Davis, 71-62, Thursday before dropping a game at San Diego, 71-43, Saturday.
Esmeralda Morales has scored 20+ in two of the Vikings’ three games so far, including a season-high 23 points on 5-of-9 shooting from three-point range Tuesday night once morest Warner Pacific. Morales now ranks second in the Big Sky and 61st in the NCAA with 20.3 points per game.
After going 10-of-44 (.227) combined from three-point range in their first two games, the Vikings went 13-of-24 (.542) from the outside Tuesday. The 13 three-pointers were only two off the single-game program record of 15.
The Vikings recorded 16 steals in their win over Warner Pacific Tuesday, their most in a game since they had 22 in last season’s opener once morest the same Warner Pacific team. The Vikings now lead the Big Sky and rank 41st in the NCAA with 12.3 steals per game.
Opponents have shot the ball well once morest the Vikings so far. Opponents have shot 49.0 percent or better in two of the Vikings’ three games. The Vikings rank eighth in the Big Sky and 305th nationally with a .465 opponent field goal percentage.
Rhema Ogele set a career high with 24 points on 12-of-14 shooting in the Vikings’ season-opening win at UC Davis. Ogele also grabbed 11 rebounds to give her only her third career double-double. However, Ogele has missed the last two games with a concussion.
The Vikings’ points in the paint varied wildly with and without Ogele. With Ogele, the Vikings outscored UC Davis 40-30 in the paint. In the two games without Ogele, San Diego and Warner Pacific outscored the Vikings 44-12 and 38-20, respectively.
Esmeralda Morales needs 86 points to become the 21st player in program history to score 1,000 points in her Portland State career. She would become the first Viking to do so since Desirae Hansen hit the 1k mark during the first round of the Big Sky tournament on March 8, 2021.
Mia ‘Uhila filled the stat sheet in both wins so far this season. Against UC Davis on Nov. 9, ‘Uhila finished with 11 points, eight rebounds, five assists and four steals. Against Warner Pacific Tuesday, ‘Uhila posted 12 points, six rebounds and five assists.
Big Sky coaches and media members picked the Vikings to finish fifth in the conference in their respective preseason polls.
The Vikings set a program record with eight more conference wins last season than they won the previous year. That was one off the best year-to-year turnaround in Big Sky Conference history.
The Vikings advanced to the Big Sky semifinals last season for the first time since the 2018-19 season. The Vikings beat Idaho State, 73-58, in the first round of last year’s tournament, then upset second-seeded and defending-champion Montana State, 77-65, in the quarterfinals.
The Vikings returned four starters and nine letterwinners off last year’s team. That group includes All-Big Sky second-team selection Esmeralda Morales, as well as third-leading scorer Alaya Fitzgerald and leading rebounder Rhema Ogele. Cinco McCartney, who averaged 6.0 points and 4.9 rebounds per game, while starting 30 of 31 games also returns.
The Vikings have more upperclassmen (8) than they do underclassmen (7) for the first time since the 2018-19 season.
The Vikings made the program’s first international trip with a tour of Costa Rica in September. The Vikings played two exhibitions once morest members of the Costa Rica National Team during the trip, winning both.
MEASURING MATURITY
The Vikings have more upperclassmen (8) than they do underclassmen (7) for the first time since the 2018-19 season. Measuring that maturity will be something to monitor during the Vikings’ 2023-24 season. There were some signs of it in the Vikings’ season-opening 71-62 win over UC Davis. A year following the Vikings ranked 306th nationally in rebounding margin, they outrebounded a UC Davis team that led the Big West Conference in defensive rebounds per game a year ago. Additionally, while the Vikings often struggled when they mightn’t hit three-pointers last season, they beat the Aggies with 40 of their 71 points coming from inside the paint. That was more points from inside the paint than the Vikings scored in any game last season when their season high was 34 once morest Utah Valley on Nov. 26. Defensively, the Vikings held UC Davis to 38.7 percent (24-of-62) shooting. Of course, the Vikings also hoped their maturity would mean they wouldn’t have as many ups and downs between games. That didn’t happen through week one, as the Vikings followed their win over UC Davis with a 28-point loss to San Diego.
THREE-POINT SHOOTING
The backbone of the Vikings’ offense last season was the team’s three-point shooting. The Vikings finished the season ranked second in the Big Sky and 38th nationally while making 35.0 percent of their shots from three-point range. That was the third-best single-season three-point field goal percentage for the Vikings during the program’s Division I era. It was strange, then, to see the Vikings shoot just 22.7 percent from three-point range over the first weekend of the season. But the Vikings returned to form Tuesday by going 13-of-24 (.542) once morest Warner Pacific. The 13 three-pointers were two short of the single-game program record, which the Vikings tied with 15 triples in their upset win over Montana State in last year’s Big Sky quarterfinals. Esmeralda Morales found her stroke once more following going 4-of-18 (.222) combined in the first two games of the season. Morales hit five of her first seven shots from deep while finishing 5-for-9 for the game. She now ranks tied for second in the Big Sky and 52nd nationally with 3.00 three-pointers made per game. She also stands 10th in the Big Sky while hitting 33.3 percent of her shots from the outside. Alaya Fitzgerald was 3-for-5 from three-point range before going out with an injury early in the third quarter Tuesday. It was Fitzgerald’s second straight game with three makes from the outside. She now ranks sixth in the Big Sky with 2.33 makes per game and eighth in three-point field goal percentage (.368). As a team, the Vikings moved up the rankings with their hot shooting once morest the Knights. The team now ranks fourth in the Big Sky in both three-pointers made per game (7.67) and percentage (.338).
SWIPING LEFT AND RIGHT
The Vikings set a season high that might be tough to beat Tuesday night, as they grabbed 16 steals once morest Warner Pacific. That’s the most steals for the Vikings in a game since they opened last season with 22 once morest the same Warner Pacific team on Nov. 7, 2022. The 22 steals last season were the most by the Vikings since they also had 22 in a 77-48 win over Idaho on Dec. 20, 2006. Alaya Fitzgerald led the way once morest the Knights while recording a career high of five steals in the game. Joy Haltom swiped four steals herself, giving her seven in her two games so far as a Viking. As a team, the Vikings lead the Big Sky while ranking 41st in the NCAA with 12.3 steals per game. Three different players rank in the top 15 of the Big Sky for steals. Haltom isn’t one of them, as she doesn’t meet the minimum participation requirements following missing the team’s season opener. Fitzgerald is, as she ranks tied for fourth in the Big Sky with 2.67 steals per game. Mia ‘Uhila and Esmeralda Morales both rank tied for 10th in the Big Sky with 1.67 steals per game each.
AROUND HERE, WE SPELL M-V-P AS E-S-M-E
Esmeralda Morales has proved her preseason Big Sky MVP credentials in the early going of the season. She’s scored 20+ points in two of the Vikings’ first three games, including a season-high 23 on 5-of-9 shooting from three-point range in Tuesday’s 74-62 win over Warner Pacific. Morales also had 21 points to go with four rebounds and five assists in the Vikings’ 71-62 win over UC Davis in the team’s season opener on Nov. 9. The one game Morales didn’t go over 20 points, she still scored 17 to go with three steals once morest San Diego on Nov. 11. Morales now heads into the weekend ranked second in the Big Sky and 61st nationally with 20.3 points per game. Morales is no stranger to being ranked among the Big Sky leaders, though. A year following she ranked in the top 15 of nine different statistical categories, she’s already ranked in eight categories following the opening weekend of the year. Besides scoring, Morales ranks among the conference leaders in field goal percentage (7th, .372), assists per game (T-4th, 3.67), free throw percentage (5th, .870), steals per game (T-10th, 1.67), three-point field goal percentage (10th, .333), three-pointers made per game (T-2nd, 3.00), assist-to-turnover ratio (3rd, 3.67) and minutes played per game (T-4th, 33.6). From a career perspective, Morales now ranks 10th in program history for scoring average (14.5) and three-pointers made (133). Additionally, she also ranks tied for 10th in three-point field goal attempts and stands sixth in free throw percentage (.842). She needs only 86 more points to become the 21st player in program history to score 1,000 points, which would make her the first to reach the mark since Desirae Hansen on March 8, 2021.
RHEMA REMADE
Junior center Rhema Ogele signaled that she’s leveled up over the offseason with a standout showing in the team’s season opener once morest UC Davis. Ogele set a career high with 24 points on 12-of-14 shooting while adding 11 rebounds for her third career double-double. Ogele was a perfect 9-for-9 from the floor in the first half when she helped lead the Vikings to a 21-point halftime advantage. Her presence in the paint made a difference in a number of ways. For one, it made the Vikings less reliant on their outside shooting. The Vikings outscored the Aggies 40-30 in the paint, more points than they scored in any game last season when their season high for points in the paint was 34 once morest Utah Valley on Nov. 26. What’s more, when Ogele was forced to sit Saturday once morest San Diego, the Vikings felt her absence. San Diego outscored the Vikings 44-12 in the paint without Ogele. They also outrebounded the Vikings by 15, two days following Ogele led the Vikings to a +1 rebounding margin (36-35) once morest a UC Davis team that led the Big West Conference in defensive rebounds per game a year ago.
YEAR-TO-YEAR IMPROVEMENTS
At 8-10 in Big Sky play last season, the Vikings improved their conference win total by eight following going 0-20 the year before. That’s the best year-to-year turnaround in conference wins in program history and tied the second-best turnaround in Big Sky Conference history. The conference record stands at +9, which four different teams have accomplished, most recently North Dakota during the 2013-14 season. The Vikings also improved their overall win total by 10 last season, the second-best year-to-year improvement in overall wins in program history.
Best Year-to-Year Improvements in Conference Wins (Big Sky History)
+Total Team Year
+9 Idaho State 1996-97
+9 Montana State 2000-01
+9 Idaho State 2003-04
+9 North Dakota 2013-14
+8 Montana State 2019-20
+8 Southern Utah 2021-22
+8 Sacramento State 2021-22
+8 Portland State 2022-23
+7 CSUN 1997-98
+7 Eastern Washington 2009-10
+7 Montana 2012-13
SEASON HIGHLIGHTS
Nov. 14, 2023, Portland State 74, Warner Pacific 62: The Vikings went 13-of-24 (.542) from three-point range and swiped 16 steals once morest the Knights.
Nov. 9, 2023, Portland State 71, UC Davis 62: Rhema Ogele led the Vikings to a road win in their season opener with a career-high 24 points on 12-of-14 shooting from the field. The win was the Vikings’ sixth straight in their season opener.
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