TIPOFF
Turns out, the Portland State women's basketball team's game against Long Beach State was just a trip to the beach. The Vikings flew to Long Beach Thursday, only to find out their game against a quality Long Beach State team had been canceled due to COVID-19 protocols within the Long Beach State program.So, the Vikings returned home Friday night, and will now close out their non-conference schedule Sunday at 12 p.m., with a game against Simpson University out of the NAIA.
Sunday's game will be the Vikings' first against a lower-division school since their season opener against Warner Pacific, another NAIA school. The Vikings won that game, 87-64, on Nov. 9, with freshman point guard Esmeralda Morales setting multiple records while scoring 32 points on 8-of-11 shooting from three-point range.
The Vikings followed that up with an 80-52 win over Dixie State three days later. Simpson faced off against Dixie State last Saturday, and the Red Hawks lost 101-61 to Dixie State on the road.
Still, the Vikings' focus Sunday will be on themselves. The Vikings proved something about themselves last weekend, as grit defined both of their games against Pepperdine last Friday and cross-town rival University of Portland last Sunday.
The Vikings were forced to show it early in Friday's game against Pepperdine. A 12-0 run for Pepperdine gave the Waves an early 16-6 lead, but the Vikings immediately responded with a strong stretch that saw them out-score the Waves 35-15 over the next 14 minutes of game time. The Vikings swelled their lead to as many as 12 points, before Pepperdine started to come back at the end of the third quarter.
The Waves eventually re-took the lead at 63-62 with just over four minutes remaining, but the Vikings answered the late-game pressure with a 7-0 run to go back up 69-63 with less than two minutes left. Jada Lewis capped the run with her fifth three-pointer of the game, while she also fed Mia 'Uhila on a backdoor layup earlier in the run.
Overall, the grit led the Vikings to a 75-71 win over the Waves, as the Vikings snapped out of an offensive slump that had plagued them over their three previous games. The Vikings shot over 50 percent from the field for the first time since their season opener against Warner Pacific, while Lewis and Morales led the Vikings to a seasonal-best 63.2 percent (12-of-19) shooting from three-point range.
Sunday's game went against the Vikings, as the cross-town Pilots beat the Vikings 71-54, but the Vikings still showed a fair amount of fight despite the loss. Faced with their first double-digit deficit of the game, the Vikings immediately responded with a 6-0 run to get back within four. Additionally, after falling behind by as many as 25 points in the third quarter, the Vikings answered with a 22-point fourth quarter to make the Pilots sweat a little.
Simpson has had to show its own grit, as the Red Hawks have battled through a tough start to their season. The Red Hawks opened their season with an 87-24 win over Northwest Indian College, but have dropped 10 of their 11 games since then. The Red Hawks' lone win in the series came over Pacific Union, which the Vikings beat 83-47 on Dec. 5.
Statistically, the Red Hawks have been stronger on defense than they have been on offense this season. The Red Hawks have given up only 64.8 points per game to opponents, but they've scored only 55.8 points per game themselves. Additionally, the Red Hawks have given up only 4.5 three-pointers made per game, but opposing offenses are still out-shooting the Red Hawks .414-to-.373 overall and .320-to-.303 from three-point range.
But again, the Vikings' focus will be on themselves Sunday, as they look to finish non-conference play with some momentum before taking the next week off for the holidays. The rest of the Big Sky schedule comes after the break, and the Vikings know that will be no trip to the beach. Unlike their trip to Long Beach earlier this week.
GAME NOTES: PORTLAND STATE (4-5) vs. SIMPSON UNIVERSITY (2-10)
LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEOGAME DETAILS: Friday, Dec. 19, 12 p.m. PT, Portland, Ore. (Viking Pavilion)
SCOUTING SIMPSON UNIVERSITY: The Simpson University Red Hawks out of the NAIA has had a tough start to their first season under new head coach Edgar Mendez. The Red Hawks opened their season with an 87-24 win over Northwest Indian College, but have dropped 10 of their 11 games since then. The Red Hawks' lone win in the series came over Pacific Union, which the Vikings beat 83-47 on Dec. 5. The Red Hawks share a common opponent with the Vikings in Dixie State. The Vikings beat Dixie State 80-52 on Nov. 12, while the Red Hawks lost to Dixie State, 101-61 on Dec. 11. Statistically, the Red Hawks have been stronger on defense than they have been on offense this season. The Red Hawks have given up only 64.8 points per game to opponents, but they've scored only 55.8 points per game themselves. Additionally, the Red Hawks have given up only 4.5 three-pointers made per game, but opposing offenses are still out-shooting the Red Hawks .414-to-.373 overall and .320-to-.303 from three-point range. Rebounding has also been a struggle for the Red Hawks as they've been out-rebounded by 9.9 rebounds per game this season. The Red Hawks have forced 15.5 turnovers per game, but they've also given up 17.6 turnovers per game themselves. Individually, Breesia Northern and Sandra Berrocal lead the Red Hawks with 10.9 and 10.8 points per game, respectively. Northern has done a good job of getting to the line for the Red Hawks, as she averages just under 3.0 made free throws per game while shooting 84.2 percent from the line. Tymiko Patterson ranks third on the team with 6.7 points per game, while she leads the team with 4.3 rebounds per game.
ALL-TIME SERIES: The Vikings and Red Hawks haven't played a counting game, but they did play an exhibition against each other on Oct. 26, 2018, which the Vikings won 90-52. The teams were also scheduled to play each other a couple of different times last season, but both games were canceled for various reasons.
STORYLINES/STREAKS/RECORDS
- It was mixed results for the Vikings offensively last weekend. The Vikings broke out of a shooting slump while shooting .509 overall (29-of-57) and a seasonal-best .632 (12-of-19) from three-point range in a 75-71 win over Pepperdine Friday. Sunday brought the Vikings back down to earth, though, as they shot 20-of-65 (.308) in a 71-54 loss to Portland.
- Esmeralda Morales and Jada Lewis both broke out of individual shooting slumps in the Vikings' game against Pepperdine last Friday. Both players scored 21 points while hitting five shots each from three-point range. Morales went 7-of-11 overall and 5-of-6 from three-point range Friday, while Lewis shot 8-of-14 overall and 5-of-7 from deep. They also shot relatively well against a tough Portland defense Sunday. Morales went 2-of-5 from three-point range while Lewis went 3-of-8.
- Jada Lewis ranks second in the Big Sky and 58th in the nation with 2.56 three-pointers made per game. She also ranks fourth in the conference and 86th in the nation in terms of percentage at .404. Morales ranks tied for fifth in the Big Sky with 2.22 makes per game, while she ranks seventh in terms of percentage (.345).
- The Vikings held Portland to 0-of-17 shooting from three-point range last Sunday, and now lead the Big Sky and rank 19th in the nation while holding opponents to only 23.6 percent shooting from three-point range.
- The Vikings lead the Big Sky with 9.67 steals per game. They've finished with at least 10 steals in six of their nine games this season.
- Three different Vikings rank in the top five of the Big Sky for steals per game. Mia 'Uhila, Esmeralda Morales and Jada Lewis rank third, fourth and tied for fifth in the Big Sky, respectively, with 2.33, 2.11 and 1.78 steals per game.
- Esmeralda Morales ranks fifth in the Big Sky with 14.8 points per game. She's finished in single digits in three of the past four games, though she has four games with at least 19 points, including 21 against Pepperdine last Friday.
- Savannah Dhaliwal has scored in double figures in all but one game this season, and scored nine points in that one other game. Dhaliwal averages 11.3 points, 6.4 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.1 steals per game while shooting .476 (40-of-84) overall and .444 (8-of-18) from three-point range. Dhaliwal's production has provided a feel-good storyline for the Vikings this season, after she missed the last two seasons due to back-to-back ACL tears. Dhaliwal played in her first counting game in 985 days when she started the team's season opener against Warner Pacific on Nov. 9.
- The Vikings have started three freshmen in Esmeralda Morales, Alaya Fitzgerald and Rhema Ogele in every game this season. Additionally, Mia 'Uhila averages 23.1 minutes per game off the bench, ranking her fifth on the team in minutes.
- Head coach Chelsey Gregg is in her first year at the helm of the Vikings after spending the previous six seasons as first an assistant then an associate head coach for the Vikings. The players dumped ice water over Gregg's head following the team's first win of the season on Nov. 9. A photo of the moment was shared by the @NCAAWBB accounts as their photo of the week that week.
- The Vikings have nine underclassmen out of the 14 players on their roster this season, while Savannah Dhaliwal represents the team's lone senior.
UP-AND-DOWN OFFENSIVE WEEKEND
Last Friday's 75-71 win over Pepperdine marked the first time the Vikings had scored over 60 points since their game at Hawai'i on Nov. 21. The Vikings also shot over 50 percent for only the second time this season, going 29-of-57 (.509), which included a seasonal-best performance from three-point range as the Vikings went 12-of-19 (.632) from deep. But the Vikings followed with 54 points on 20-of-65 (.308) shooting last Sunday against the Pilots. The up-and-down weekend matches how the season has gone for the Vikings, who have as many games scoring 75 points or more (four) as games in which they've failed to score more than 60 points. Such is life with a young team, however. When the Vikings are hitting from three-point range, they're tough to beat. The Vikings are 4-0 when they hit at least nine three-pointers in a game, but they average only 4.6 makes per game in their five other games. Despite the up-and-down nature of the season, the Vikings rank third in the Big Sky and 44th in the nation while shooting 35.7 percent from three-point range. The Vikings also rank fifth in the Big Sky and 75th in the nation with 7.33 three-pointers made per game. Jada Lewis and Esmeralda Morales lead the Vikings' effort from deep. They both broke out of individual slumps against Pepperdine, as they each scored 21 points while hitting five three-pointers against the Waves. Lewis went 5-of-7 from three-point range against the Waves, while Morales went 5-of-6. Lewis now ranks second in the Big Sky and 58th in the nation with 2.56 three-pointers made per game this season, and also stands fourth in the conference and 86th in the nation in terms of percentage at .404. Morales also ranks tied for fifth in the Big Sky with 2.22 makes per game, while she ranks seventh in terms of percentage at .345.BALL CONTROL
The Vikings dropped from first in the Big Sky in assist-to-turnover ratio to eighth after their game against cross-town rival University of Portland last Sunday, but the Vikings still rank well in many of the ball control categories. The Vikings rank fourth in the Big Sky in terms of turnover margin (+0.67), for instance, while they lead the conference and rank 88th in the nation with 9.67 steals per game. The Vikings have recorded at least 10 steals in six of their nine games this season. Three different Vikings rank in the top five of the Big Sky for steals per game, led by Mia 'Uhila who ranks third in the conference and 90th in the nation with 2.33 steals per game. Esmeralda Morales and Jada Lewis also rank fourth and tied for fifth, respectively, with 2.11 and 1.78 steals per game. Additionally, Morales tied her career high with nine assists last Friday against Pepperdine, and now ranks fifth in the Big Sky with 4.22 assists per game. Morales also stands ninth in the conference with a 1.36 assist-to-turnover ratio.MORE OF MORALES, PLEASE
Esmeralda Morales took a step forward last Friday, breaking out of a shooting slump with 21 points on 7-of-11 shooting overall and 5-of-6 from three-point range while tying a career high with nine assists in the team's win over Pepperdine. Morales has had to adjust to being one of the primary targets of opposing teams' defensive plans, which she's been the subject of ever since her record-breaking debut against Warner Pacific on Nov. 9. Morales tied a single-game record that has stood since 1991 with eight made three-pointers in her debut against Warner Pacific. She also set five other freshman records in the game between the records for points (32), points in a debut (32), field goals made (11), three-point field goals made (8) and three-point field goal percentage (.727). Morales also made the Bank of Hawai'i Classic All-Tournament Team after averaging 19.5 points, 4.5 assists, 2.5 steals and 2.0 three-pointers per game against Prairie View A&M on Nov. 20, and Hawai'i on Nov. 21. Now back in form, Morales ranks fifth in the Big Sky with 14.8 points per game and also ranks among the leaders in a number of other categories as well. Morales ranks second in the Big Sky and ninth in the nation while shooting 93.1 percent from the free-throw line. Additionally, Morales ranks fourth in the conference in steals per game (2.11), fifth in assists per game (4.22), tied for fifth in three-pointers made per game (2.22) and seventh in three-point field goal percentage (.345).JADA CAN KNOCK DOWN THE J's, DUH
Jada Lewis' 5-of-7 performance from three-point range in last Friday's win over Pepperdine wasn't an outlier. Rather, it was a return to the norm for the Vikings' junior guard. Lewis has three games this season in which she's hit at least five three-pointers, and has shot at least 58.3 percent from deep in all three of those games. Besides her 21-point performance against Pepperdine last Friday, Lewis also lit it up in back-to-back games against Dixie State and Prairie View A&M on Nov. 12 and 20, respectively. Lewis set a new career high for points in both games, while going a combined 13-of-21 (.619) from beyond the arc in both contests. Lewis started with 22 points on 6-of-9 shooting from deep against Dixie State, then topped that with 23 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the outside against Prairie View A&M. For the season, Lewis ranks second in the Big Sky and 58th in the nation with 2.56 three-pointers made per game, while she also stands fourth in the conference and 86th in the nation while hitting 40.4 percent of her shots from the outside.THE LONG-AWAITED RETURN OF SAVANNAH DHALIWAL
For someone who went 985 days between counting games, Savannah Dhaliwal has been remarkably consistent for the Vikings since making her return from back-to-back ACL tears. Dhaliwal has scored in double figures in all but one game so far this season, and scored nine points in that other game. Dhaliwal hasn't just been a scorer, though, as she's done a little bit of everything for the Vikings. Through nine games this season, she's averaged 11.3 points, 6.4 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.1 steals per game while shooting .476 from the field and .444 (8-of-18) from three-point range. Dhaliwal ranks 13th in the Big Sky with her 6.4 rebounds per game while she also ranks tied for fifth in the conference with 2.78 offensive rebounds per game. So, it's been a dream return to play for Dhaliwal, who first tore the ACL in her right knee in the Vikings' home game against Idaho on Feb. 28, 2019. That kept her out of the entire 2019-20 season, and she re-tore her ACL in the fall of 2020, which forced her out of the entire 2020-21 season as well.OOOOOOOOOO-HEE-LUH
Pixar took the little green aliens saying 'oooooooooo' in Toy Story from watching freshman guard Mia 'Uhila. At least that's the story we're telling ourselves. 'Uhila has the game to make it believable, especially in terms of her perimeter defense. With three steals last Friday against Pepperdine, 'Uhila has now grabbed at least three steals in four of the team's nine games this season. That's put 'Uhila third in the Big Sky and 90th in the nation with 2.33 steals per game this season. 'Uhila has also led the Vikings into the Big Sky lead with 9.67 steals per game as a team, an average that also ranks them 88th in the nation.YOUTHFUL ROSTER
Nine of the Vikings' 14 players this season will be freshmen or sophomores, and neither class has had a normal basketball season due to the pandemic since they were either sophomore or juniors in high school. That should make for a youthful roster at times for the Vikings this season, especially considering the Vikings' only have one senior – Savannah Dhaliwal – to counterbalance that youth. Even the Vikings' juniors had their freshmen years in 2019-20 cut short in March due to the pandemic, and then weren't able to work on their games nearly as much as they would have liked as sophomores during the 2020-21 season.PRESEASON PREDICTIONS
Big Sky coaches and media members picked the Vikings to finish ninth and eighth in their respective preseason polls. The top three in both polls were identical, with Idaho State the clear favorite in both. The Bengals return several key players from last year's team that ran away with the Big Sky regular-season and tournament titles. Because of that, the Bengals earned all but their own first-place vote in the coaches poll, and picked up 17 of the 22 first-place votes in the media poll. Montana State followed the Bengals at second in both polls, narrowly edging Idaho in third.SEASON HIGHLIGHTS
Dec. 10, 2021, Portland State 75, Pepperdine 71: The Vikings erased a 16-6 deficit early in the game while returning to form from the outside. The Vikings went 12-of-19 (.632) from three-point range after going just 9-of-48 (.188) combined over their previous three games. Jada Lewis and Esmeralda Morales both broke out of individual shooting slumps, as they tied for the game high with 21 points while going 5-of-7 and 5-of-6 from deep, respectively.Nov. 20, 2021, Portland State 75, Prairie View A&M 61: Savannah Dhaliwal recorded the first double-double of her career with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Jada Lewis set career highs for points (23) and three-pointers (7) to lead the Vikings offensively.
Nov. 12, 2021, Portland State 80, Dixie State 52: The Vikings held a Dixie State team that had just set a new school record with 22 made three-pointers in its season opener to 5-of-34 (.147) shooting from deep. Jada Lewis set a career high with 22 points on 6-of-9 shooting from beyond the arc.
Nov. 9, 2021, Portland State 87, Warner Pacific 64: Esmeralda Morales tied a single-game record that's stood since 1991 with eight three-pointers against the Knights, while setting five new freshman records in the game. Morales broke the freshman records for points (32), points in a debut (32), field goals made (11), three-point field goals made (8) and three-point field goal percentage (.727). Savannah Dhaliwal also made her return after missing the last two seasons due to back-to-back ACL tears. Dhaliwal had 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting while setting new career highs for assists (6) and steals (2) in her first counting game in 985 days.
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