GAME NO. 12
Portland State (5-6) vs. Lewis & Clark (6-2)
Monday, Dec. 21  •  7 p.m.
Portland, OR  •  Peter W. Stott Center

COVERAGE
Live audio/video: Big Sky TV
Play-by-play: Teri Mariani
Live stats: GoViks.com

SERIES NOTES
Overall: PSU leads 1-0
At PSU: PSU leads 1-0
Last meeting: PSU 95, LC 40; 1987-88 @ PSU

PSU vs. LEWIS & CLARK STORYLINES:
• This is just the second ever meeting between the two schools despite their close proximity to one another (6 miles).
• Monday's game will be the first time that the Vikings have hosted an NCAA Division III school during the regular season. The last time these two hooked up, Lewis & Clark was a member of the NAIA.
• Lewis & Clark assistant coach Tim Whitesel serves as an adjunct professor at Portland State in the Department of Organismal Biology. He works as a fisheries scientist for the United State Fish and Wildlife Service.

WHAT'S AHEAD: After hosting Division III Lewis & Clark on Monday, the Vikings have seven days off before welcoming in Oregon State. The Vikings and Beavers meet up at the Stott Center on Tuesday, Dec. 29, at 7 p.m.

A BIG WIN ON THE ROAD: Friday afternoon's 85-58 win at Utah Valley was not only Portland State's first road win of the season, it was also the program's largest margin of victory away from the Stott Center since a 81-51 victory at Idaho on Dec. 6, 2007. It is also just the fourth road win by 20 or more points since the Vikings jumped up to DI play in 1996-97. They won by 22 (67-45) at Sacramento State during the 2001-02 season, and then defeated the Hornets in Sacramento by 26 (77-51) the next year.

WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME THAT HAPPENED?: In their 85-58 win at Utah Valley on Friday, the Vikings had six players score in double figures. It is not known when the last time that happened, but it hasn't happened for sure in the three seasons prior to this year.

WIN NO. 50 FOR MURRELL: Friday's victory at Utah Valley gave third-year Head Coach Sherri Murrell her 50th career "W" at Portland State. Heading into this season, Murrell already had the second-most wins in PSU women's basketball history with 45, while her 70.3 winning percentage ranked No. 1. Her percentage has dropped down to 66.7 (50-25 overall) and she currently is second, trailing Greg Bruce's 69.1 mark (199-89).

FINDING THEIR SHOOTING TOUCH: The Vikings shot a season-best 57.6 percent (34 of 59) from the field on Friday at Utah Valley, including shooting 68.8 percent in the first half. PSU also went 6 of 11 on three-pointers in the opening 20 minutes and finished the game matching their season-best of 40.0 percent (8 of 20). Over the past four games, the Vikings have started to regain their shooting touch, going 107 or 237 for a 45.1 percentage. That is a vast improvement over their 37.9 percentage (185 of 488) over their first seven games.

DISHING 'EM OUT: Portland State dished out a season-high 25 assists at Utah Valley on Friday. As usual, Claire Faucher led the team with six and has now paced the Vikings in nine of the 10 games she has appeared in. She is currently averaging 7.4 apg, and her 7.6 apg prior to the UVU contest ranked her fifth in the nation. Since the start of her sophomore season, there have been only five games in which Faucher has not led the team in assists. That pencils out to 69 of 74 games over the past two-plus seasons.

A LOT OF POINTS IN 20 MINUTES: Just one more note on Friday's game ... the Vikings 54 points in the first half is the second-most in one period under Sherri Murrell. The record is 55 at Idaho State on Feb. 14, 2008. It was the seventh time in the past two-plus seasons that the team has scored 50 or more points in a half (3 in 2007-08; 3 in 2008-09).

HOISTING UP THE TREYS: One year after setting a new school record with 603 three-point field goal attempts, the Vikings are on pace to break the mark again. Through 10 games last year Portland State was 65 of 201 from beyond the arc. Through 11 games this season they are 71 of 235. The Vikings set season-highs with 11 three-pointers and 32 three-point attempts against Gonzaga on Dec. 13.

SPREADING THE SCORING AROUND: Over the past four seasons Portland State got the bulk of its points from the now-graduated Kelsey Kahle. The three-time first team All-Big Sky forward led the team in scoring all four of her years and is the school's all-time leading scorer. Last season the Viks got 55.9 percent of their points from a trio of players: Kahle, Claire Faucher and Kelli Valentine. They had three players average over 7.0 ppg and six average over 4.0 ppg. That has changed this season, as six players are averaging at least 6.9 ppg and eight are averaging 4.2 ppg or better.  PSU is getting 58 percent of its scoring from four players: Faucher, Valentine, Kelly Marchant and Eryn Jones.

THEY LIKE TO STEAL, IN A GOOD WAY: The Vikings have been one of the top teams in the Big Sky in steals per game the past four seasons and led the conference three consecutive years (2005-08) before ranking second last season. From 2005-06 to 2008-09, PSU averaged exactly 10.0 spg, accumulating 1,223 swipes over 122 games. Through 11 games this year the Viks are averaging 9.5 swipes per contest and have tallied double-digits five times. Senior Claire Faucher has led the way, averaging 3.0 spg. She has recorded three or more steals six times, including tallying six against UCSB on Dec. 3.

SOON TO BE NO. 1: Eleven games into the season, Claire Faucher needs nine more assists to become the Vikings all-time leader, and 12 more to take over the top spot in the Big Sky record books. At her pace of 7.7 assists per game over the past two years, Faucher could break those marks against Lewis & Clark or Oregon State on Dec. 29.

NOT IN HER PAINT: Towards the end of last season, 6-foot-2 forward Katy Wade became a defensive force for the Vikings in the paint, averaging 6.3 rpg and 1.5 bpg over the final four games. This year, Wade has carried that over and is second in the Big Sky in blocks per game at 2.0. Wade has blocked at least two shots in seven contests, and over the past seven games she is averaging 2.6 bpg and 7.7 rpg. Twice over that span she has set a new career-high with four blocks, doing so against Wisconsin and Pacific.