Box Score
RENO, Nev. (March 8, 2017) – Co-champion North Dakota became the latest upset victim at the Big Sky Conference basketball tournament Wednesday night at the Reno Events Center.
One night after Southern Utah shocked Montana State in triple overtime in the men’s tournament, seventh-seeded Portland State ousted the No. 2 seed Fighting Hawks with a 65-62 victory in the women’s quarterfinals.
The Vikings (16-16) will face the winner of the Northern Colorado-Idaho State quarterfinal in Friday’s semifinals at 2:35 p.m. PST. North Dakota exited the tournament with a record of 20-10.
It was the second time in less than a week PSU defeated UND, as the Vikings won 81-67 in Portland on March 3rd to prevent UND from clinching the regular season title outright.
Portland State’s zone defense repeatedly frustrated the Fighting Hawks, who shot 38 percent from the field and turned the ball over 18 times.
The Vikings shot 40 percent from the field, but converted 20 of 25 free throws to secure the win.
Sophomore guard Ashley Bolston, a transfer from Washington State, led the Vikings with 20 points and tied the tournament single-game record with eight steals. Ashley Torres added 14 points and Kian McNair had 10, including a free throw with 9.1 seconds to play that gave the Vikings a three-point lead.
Forward Lexi Klabo led North Dakota with 22 points and 12 rebounds, senior guard Leah Szabla came off the bench to add 14, and Makailah Dyer chipped in 13, but missed a shot in the final seconds that could have sent the game to overtime.
The lead see-sawed throughout the first three quarters until Bolston scored from close range with 7:55 to play to give the Vikings the lead for good at 45-44. Torres followed with a 3-pointer to contribute to a 10-0 run that made it 50-44.
McNair gave Portland State its largest of eight, 59-51, with a pair of free throws with 2:48 to play. Two free throws by Dyer and a short jumper off the glass by Klabo brought the Fighting Hawks within 59-55 with 43 seconds remaining.
A long trey by Dyer cut the gap to 64-62 with 9.6 seconds remaining. McNair made 1 of 2 free throws, then the Vikings withstood a good look at a corner trey by Dyer that hit back iron and bounced out.