SEATTLE – For 20 minutes, Portland State gave the ninth-ranked team in the nation all it could handle. But in the end, the Vikings just couldn't match up with size and speed of Texas A&M and fell 84-53 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
In what was a historical season, the Vikings left everything on the floor in their final game. They gave their fans and many in attendance at Bank of America Arena quite the show in the first half, all the while keeping pace with a bigger and faster Texas A&M squad.
Despite getting outrebounded 24-14 and giving up 26 points in the paint, the Vikings held the lead right before halftime and trailed by just eight as the teams went into the locker rooms.
"Obviously you want to come away with a win. I think we had a chance to do something really special and for the first half we really did. I think we played our hearts out," said senior point guard Claire Faucher. "Texas A&M is just a great ball club. There is no doubt why they are in the top ten in the country."
The 15th-seeded Vikings quickly found themselves down 8-0 three minutes into the game. Back-to-back three-pointers by Lexi Bishop and Claire Faucher exactly one minute apart pulled PSU to within a basket, 8-6.
From that point, second-seeded Texas A&M began to use its size and control the paint, grabbing offensive rebounds for putbacks. Two easy inside buckets put the Aggies back in front 12-6.
The Vikings answered back with a 8-2 run and tied the game up at 14-14 on a layup by Kelli Valentine at the 11:44 mark. Again A&M exerted its muscle and led 22-16 after Adaora Elonu was fouled on a layup attempt and subsequently made two free throws.
Bishop responded with a three from the left wing, and after A&M's Danielle Adams made one of two at the line, Kelly Marchant drained a fastbreak three-pointer to pull PSU within 23-22.
With 4:46 left until the break, Faucher drove down the left side of the lane and threw up a wild shot that banked in to again get the Vikings within a point, 27-26. Sixteen seconds later, Eryn Jones pulled up on a fastbreak and hit a 10-foot jumper from the left side of the key to give the Vikings their only lead of the game, 28-27.
After Faucher found Jones in the left corner for a three-ball that tied it up at 31-31, the Aggies closed by scoring the final eight points and led 39-31 at intermission.
Right off the bat in the second half the Vikings looked like they would get back into it when Jones hit a three-pointer just nine seconds in. At the 19:00 mark, Jones sank another one from behind the arc and PSU trailed 44-37.
But from there, the Aggies owned the contest. A 13-0 run gave them a 20-point lead, 57-37, and despite a brief run by the Vikings that put the score at 59-46, Portland State never really threatened again.
Vikings Head Coach Sherri Murrell said that her players had trouble adapting to the halftime adjustments made by Texas A&M Head Coach Gary Blair.
"They ran a lot of sets out of their zones. They tried to get Adams down in the low block. They flashed (Tanisha) Smith a lot to the high post and wanted to go from a high-low dump. We got really pinned in by that," said Murrell.
"We had a lot of turnovers that we forced in the first half, but just couldn't do that (in the second half). When he (Blair) started running a lot of sets in that zone, our kids had a hard time making adjustments. He had a lot in his hat in the second half."
Adams and Smith led the Aggies, both offensively and on the glass. The 6-foot-1 Adams came off the bench and had a game-high 23 points and added six boards. The 6-foot Smith fell just shy of a triple-double, racking up 17 points and a game-leading 10 rebounds and nine assists. The duo combined to go 14 of 26 from the floor.
"It's not easy to get around her (Adams) to try and do anything," said Murrell. "We just got pinned and we got stuck. She is a phenomenal player down there and she uses her size well (in the post)."
Faucher closed out her career with 15 points, three rebounds and four steals. And she displayed some of the flashy passing that she is known for, dishing out a team-high seven assists. She leaves PSU with 829 in her career, which is a school and Big Sky Conference record.
When asked about Faucher following the game, Murrell quickly said "To me, she put a stamp on Portland State."
Jones added 15 more points, going 3 of 4 from three-point range. Bishop chipped in eight points, all of which came in the first half.
Texas A&M (26-7) advances to play the winner of the Gonzaga-North Carolina game in the second round on Monday.
GAME NOTES: Portland State finished the season with a 18-15 record and played in its first NCAA Division I Tournament ... PSU's other senior, Erin Yankus, led the team with five rebounds and also had one blocked shot ... Katy Wade had two blocks to push her PSU single-season record to 68 ... A&M went 19 of 32 at the free throw line, while PSU was just 2 of 4 ... The Aggies outscored PSU, 52-16, in the paint and also had 31 points off turnovers ... This was the Vikings first game against a ranked opponent since suffering a 97-65 loss to No. 22 Vanderbilt on Dec. 23, 2000 ... The Vikings are 63-34 in three seasons under Murrell and have made the postseason two straight years ... Faucher jumped up to No. 2 all-time at PSU in three-pointers made with 185. She also leaves in the top ten in scoring (6th), games played (4th), game started (3rd), rebounds (8th), steals (2nd), field goal attempts (4th), field goals made (7th), free throw attempts (3rd), free throws made (7th), 3-point field goal attempts (2nd), 10-point games (4th) and 20-point games (9th).