Portland State and Eastern Washington will Represent the Big Sky this Postseason
PDF of the Release
Up Next: Portland State University will play Texas A&M of the Big XII Conference in the first round of the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship. The Vikings became the first no. 5 seed to win the Big Sky Women’s Basketball Tournament on March 13th, by beating no. 6 seed Montana State 62-58. The Eastern Washington women’s basketball team drew Oregon in the first round of the WNIT. The Eagles will meet the Ducks in Eugene, Ore. on March 18th.
Championship Game Recap: The Portland State Vikings punched their first ever ticket to the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament with a 62-58 win over Montana State in the Big Sky Championship on Saturday. Portland State (18-14) became the first No. 5 seed to win the tournament. The Vikings were the preseason favorite by the coaches and media, but entered the tournament needing three victories. Portland State beat Idaho State, No.2 seed Montana and No. 6 seed Montana State en route to their first ever Big Sky postseason title. Senior point guard Claire Faucher made tournament history, knocking down a single-game tournament record eight 3-pointers. She also attempted a single-game record 16 3-point attempts. The three-time All-Conference player finished with a game-high 26 points with six assists and five steals en route to earning Tournament MVP honors. The Bobcats we led by junior Sarah Strand with 19 points and senior Erica Perry with 18 points. Sophomores Janette Jackson and Katie Bussey each had 10 rebounds. Strand and Perry were named to the All-Tournament Team.
Faucher Extends Her Lead: Portland State’s Claire Faucher became the Big Sky’s all-time career assist leader earlier this season and with each game improves on her mark. This weekend she posted 20 assists, pushing her total to 822.
Single Season Records: Sacramento State’s Charday Hunt has made 177 free-throws this season. Her single season total is 7th best in conference history, while her 224 attempts are also ranked 5th. Weber State point guard Tonya Schnibbe has tallied 191 assists this season, it is 8th best single season total in Big Sky history.
Chasing All-Time Records: Weber State’s Tonya Schnibbe moves to 6th place on Big Sky all-time assist list with 574 for her career. Montana State’s Erica Perry is currently ranked 2nd on the conference’s all-time steals list with 286. She has improved from 11th place at the beginning of the season. Former Bobcat Liz Holz holds the current record with 340. Portland State’s Faucher is on Perry’s heels as she is tied for 3rd in the category with 278.
NCAA Tournament
No. 15 Portland State vs. No. 2 Texas A&M
Bank of America Arena, Seattle, Wash.
Saturday, March 20, 5:05 p.m. Pacific Time, ESPN2
Records: Portland State is making its first-ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament after posting an 18-14 overall record this season and 9-7 in Big Sky play. The Vikings entered the conference tournament as the no. 5 seed and won the tournament last week to earn the Big Sky’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Portland State is currently riding a 3-game winning streak .. Texas A&M is 25-7 on the season and finished third in the Big 12 at 10-6. The Aggies are making their seventh all-time NCAA Tournament appearance and were one of 31 automatic qualifiers. Texas A&M defeated No. 3 and undefeated Nebraska in the semifinals and No. 12 Oklahoma in the finals of the Big 12 Women’s Basketball Championship.
Series History: Portland State won the only matchup of the two programs back in 2001. They met at the Waikiki Classic where the Vikings prevailed 80-78.
NCAA Tournament History: This is Portland State’s first trip to the tourney at the DI level. They earned the Big Sky Conference’s automatic bid after winning the conference tournament on Saturday with a 62-58 victory over Montana State. Under the direction of third-year Head Coach Sherri Murrell (63-33 at PSU), the Vikings have now reached the postseason two straight years after advancing to the second round of the WNIT last season.
Up Next: The winner will move on to meet either seventh-seeded Gonzaga (27-4) or 10th-seeded North Carolina (19-11).
WNIT
Eastern Washington vs. Oregon
McArthur Court - Eugene, Ore.
Thursday, March 18, 7:00 p.m. Pacific Time
Records: Eastern Washington will take a 19-11 record into the matchup against the 16-15 Ducks of the Pac-10 Conference. Eastern earned an automatic berth into the WNIT by virtue of its first-ever Big Sky Conference regular season title. The Ducks ended their regular season with an 80-76 loss to USC last Friday in the Pac-10 Tournament quarterfinals, but were one of 33 teams that received an at-large berth into the 64-team WNIT field.
Series History: The Ducks opened their 2009-10 season with an 86-48 victory over the Eagles on Nov. 16 in Eugene. Eastern Washington has never beaten Oregon in a total of six previous meetings.
WNIT Tournament History: The Eagles will be making their first postseason appearance since 1987. This also marks the first-ever appearance in the WNIT Oregon has not appeared in the postseason since 2007, when the Ducks advanced to the third round of the WNIT before falling to Wyoming, 64-62, in Laramie. The Ducks also appeared in the WNIT in 2002, defeating Houston, 54-52, at Mac Court to seal the program’s only WNIT championship.
Up Next: The winner will advance to play either New Mexico or SMU in the second round of the WNIT.