Portland State Takes Down Top Seed Idaho to Advance to #BigSkyWBB Championship Game
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BOISE, Idaho (March 13, 2019) – Behind a stifling defensive performance, fourth-seeded Portland State took down top seed Idaho 75-59 to advance to the Big Sky Championship game for the first time since 2011.
Portland State (24-7) contained the nation’s top three-point shooting team as the Vandals went 6-for-29 from behind the arc for 21 percent after coming into the contest averaging 11.6 three-pointers per game.
Mikayla Ferenz (13 points) and Taylor Pierce (2 points) were limited to 6-of-29 from the floor and 3-of-21 from long range after averaging more than 40 points for the Vandals this season.
“We had to go up against two of the best shooters in conference history,” said Portland State head coach Lynn Kennedy. “We had to play the perfect game and I thought our team did a phenomenal job in guarding those two players the way we did.”
Sophomore guard Kyle Jimenez paced the Portland State offense with 22 points while dishing out nine assists to lead all players.
Holding a 32-28 halftime advantage, the Vikings opened the third quarter on an 11-5 run to grab a 10-point lead at 43-33 six minutes into the period.
Idaho (20-11) pulled within eight on several occasions but a 2:28 scoring drought down the stretch propelled Portland State to a comfortable lead with Jimenez giving the Vikings their largest advantage at 16 in the final minute on a pair of free throws.
“We were quicker on our rotations tonight, our angles were great and had better closeouts on them,” Kennedy said. “They’re (Idaho) such good players that if you take the three away they’re going to start driving, and I thought Courtney (West) did a great job of being a presence down low.”
The Vikings shot 45 percent for the contest while holding Idaho under 40 percent for just the seventh time this season with a 36 percent shooting clip.
Lizzy Klinker led the Vandals with 21 points and nine boards.
Portland State will look to earn an NCAA Tournament bid for just the second time in program history (2010) Friday as the Vikings face the winner between No. 2 Northern Colorado and No. 6 Eastern Washington at 1 p.m. The game will air on Eleven Sports, Pluto TV and WatchBigSky.com with Jenny Cavnar and Krista Redpath on the call.