The Portland State women’s basketball team ended its regular season with an 81-52 loss to Weber State at Dee Events Center in Ogden, Utah, on Monday. The defeat marked the Vikings’ third game in five days and set the stage for a rematch between the two teams in the opening round of the Big Sky tournament.
Portland State (6-24, 2-16) managed to cut Weber State’s lead to eight late in the third quarter after consecutive three-point plays from Kyleigh Brown and Taylor Moffat. However, Weber State (10-21, 4-14) responded with a decisive 26-4 run that put the game out of reach.
Monday’s contest was unusual as both teams were already set to face each other again Saturday in Boise at Idaho Central Arena for their first-round tournament matchup. This upcoming rematch may have influenced how both sides approached Monday’s game.
“It’s always tough to play three games in five days. I thought we were rested, but unfortunately the game didn’t look like that. We looked tired. We looked sluggish. We were getting beat in transition. So, it was tough to watch,” said Portland State head coach Karlie Burris after the game.
“We were trying to mix up the defenses a bit. Try something different. But we couldn’t even get to some of those things because the effort and execution weren’t there.”
The Vikings started strong by making five of their first six shots and taking an early lead but struggled offensively for much of the remainder of the game, finishing with their lowest shooting percentage (29.2 percent) in any Big Sky contest this season.
Brown led Portland State with 22 points on 9-for-18 shooting and made three three-pointers, matching her best performance from beyond the arc during conference play this year. No other Viking reached double figures; recent games had seen more balanced scoring from Portland State.
“The offense did seem a little hard today, but it starts on the defensive end with stops and we didn’t get very many of those and then it felt a little lackluster on the offensive end,” Burris said.
“They were getting into their press and we had a little bit of trouble with that and our offensive just didn’t seem all that free-flowing. Again, I would like to blame it on schematics, but the energy and effort just wasn’t what we needed it to be tonight.”
Weber State shot nearly 45 percent from the field overall and hit six straight three-pointers during a dominant fourth quarter where they scored at will against Portland State’s defense. Lanae Billy led four Wildcats players who finished in double figures.
Despite Monday’s outcome, Burris expressed hope for improvement when her team faces Weber State again: “We’ll look at both games [against Weber State]. We’ll have a game plan. But again, if we play with energy and effort from the start, then I think it’s a different outcome.”
With this loss, Portland State fell to 32-37 all-time against Weber State. Brown notched her tenth 20-point performance this season while Cici Ellington—who had been averaging over 17 points per game recently—was held scoreless.
