Box Score (PDF)
RENO, Nev. (March 6, 2017) – Sherwin-Williams has nothing on the Portland State Vikings.
The Vikings owned the paint in their 88-76 win over Northern Arizona in the opening round of the Big Sky Conference women’s basketball tournament Monday at the Reno Events Center. Portland State (15-16) will face North Dakota in the quarterfinals Wednesday at 5:35 p.m. PST. The Lumberjacks saw their season end at 9-21.
Portland State used a 36-14 advantage in points in the paint to finally pull away from the Jacks. By controlling the inside, the Vikings shot 58.2 percent for the game to offset 11 3-pointers from NAU.
Six Vikings reached double digits in scoring, led by sophomore guard Sidney Rielly’s 24 points. Courtney West, a 6-foot-4 sophomore, added 14 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and three blocked shots. Guard Corey James, another sophomore for the young Vikings, chipped in 12 points.
Northern Arizona attempted to stay with the Vikings with the longball against Portland State’s 2-3 zone. Senior guard Rene Coggins had four of her team’s 11 treys for all 12 of her points. Raina Perez, a freshman guard, led the Jacks with 21 points, draining three treys.
Northern Arizona led 34-32 late in the first half before James hit back-to-back treys to give the Vikings a 38-34 lead at the break.
Portland State used an 11-2 run to close the third quarter and open its first double-digit lead, 63-52, heading into the final 10 minutes. West had five of those points and James added four in the burst.
The Jacks started firing from beyond the arc in the fourth quarter in an effort to cut the gap. NAU converted five treys in the quarter, but couldn’t stop the Vikings at the other end. After back-to-back threes cut Portland State’s lead to 72-64, West scored inside and the Vikings converted an NAU turnover into a Rielly layup to restore a 76-64 lead. The Jacks never got closer than nine the rest of the way.