PORTLAND, Ore. – All it took was one minute, forty-four seconds for Eryn Jones to serve notice to Idaho State that it was her night.
On a evening where three Portland State players scored over 20 points, it was the shooting of Jones that shined the brightest. The junior point guard tied a 22-year old Viking record by going 6 of 6 from three-point range in leading PSU to a 89-79 victory over the visiting Bengals on Monday night.
It was a much needed victory for the Vikings, who got a monkey off their back by winning their first Big Sky game of the season and are now 8-8 overall, 1-2 in conference.
"I was just wanting to get a win for our team. We needed to get a win in conference," said Jones.
Jones buried a pair of treys over the first 1:44 of the game and made all four her her 3-pointers in the first half. She finished the night matching Michele Hughes' record of six 3s without a miss set way back on Nov. 25, 1989.
"It always feels good to make those first few shots," said Jones, who wasn't even born yet when Hughes went 6 of 6 against Southern Utah, "and then it gets it going for the rest of the night."
The Vikings scored the first five points of the game and just under three minutes in they were up 13-3 after Jones hit back-to-back 3s and Courtney VanBrocklin scored on a fastbreak.
Idaho State decided to take the Vikings cue and got hot from behind the arc as well. The Bengals answered with a 13-3 run of their own, getting a pair of 3-pointers during the spurt, to knot the game up at 16-16. Idaho State eventually took a five-point lead, 27-22, before PSU regained the momentum.
Courtney Cremer had two straight buckets and converted a free throw after being fouled on the second one, VanBrocklin had another fastbreak basket and then Stephanie Egwuatu hit a pair of free throws to close a 9-0 Portland State run, making it 31-27.
With 3:09 until halftime, VanBrocklin broke a 38-38 tie with a jumper and then Jones and Cremer followed with three-pointers and PSU eventually went into the break with a 46-41 advantage.
After the teams combined for 15 three-pointers in the opening period, they made just three the rest of the way.
Vikings' freshman foward Allie Brock scored 11 of her 22 points and grabbed five of her six rebounds over the final 20 minutes, while VanBrocklin had 12 of her 20 points in the second period as Portland State fended off every comeback attempt the Bengals made.
Brock put the Vikings up 48-43 minutes after halftime with a jumper in the paint, before Idaho State took control and led 58-52 on a Kayla Oakes 3-pointer at the 14:15 mark. PSU put together a rally of its own, with Jones hitting 1 of 2 at the free-throw line and Brock knocking down two-straight buckets from close range to tie it up. After VanBrocklin hit two at the charity stripe, the Vikings led 60-58 with 11:35 to go and they never trailed again.
Idaho State was able to get within two on several occasions in the closing minutes, but the Vikings always had an answer. VanBrocklin helped PSU fend off the Bengals by scoring eight points over the final 56 seconds, including converting all six of her free throw attempts.
"It was a great win, especially with how we did it," said Vikings Head Coach Sherri Murrell. "We really were not happy with our performances on the road in our first two conference games. It was a well-played game by both teams, but we got the win and we needed it.
"Eryn executed really well. If someone went under a ball screen she just stepped back and popped it. And Allie is really stepping up with the injury to Necie (Shauneice Samms). She got good position on each one of her shots and Idaho State didn't really have an answer for her physical play."
Jones finished one off her career-high with 21 points, Brock scored the most points of her short PSU career, and VanBrocklin matched her career-best.
VanBrocklin added eight rebounds to lead all players and Jones had six of her own to match her career-high.
Oakes paced Idaho State with 28 points, hitting 5 of her 7 three-point attempts. Chelsea Pickering added 18 points and five steals for the Bengals, who fell to 11-5, 2-1 Big Sky.
NOTES: PSU's 46 first half points were their most this season and their highest total since scoring 54 in the opening period against Utah Valley on Dec. 18, 2009 ... VanBrocklin had four steals, while Bishop and Jones each had three ... Courtney Cremer had eight points in just 12 minutes for PSU ... Brock shot 9 of 12 from the floor and Jones was 7 of 11 ... the Vikings shot 50.9 percent in the game, just the second time this season they've topped the 50 percent mark ... VanBrocklin was 8 of 9 at the charity stripe and PSU went 22 of 27 (81.5%) ... Idaho State was 8 of 15 from 3-point range in the first half, while PSU was 7 of 13. The Bengals were just 1 of 7 in the second period ... Lindsey Reed scored 13 first-half points and hit three treys for ISU, but the Viks held her scoreless in the second half ... PSU now hits the road for two conference games. Their road trip starts at Weber State on Thursday. Tip-off is set for 6:00 p.m. PT.
On a evening where three Portland State players scored over 20 points, it was the shooting of Jones that shined the brightest. The junior point guard tied a 22-year old Viking record by going 6 of 6 from three-point range in leading PSU to a 89-79 victory over the visiting Bengals on Monday night.
It was a much needed victory for the Vikings, who got a monkey off their back by winning their first Big Sky game of the season and are now 8-8 overall, 1-2 in conference.
"I was just wanting to get a win for our team. We needed to get a win in conference," said Jones.
Jones buried a pair of treys over the first 1:44 of the game and made all four her her 3-pointers in the first half. She finished the night matching Michele Hughes' record of six 3s without a miss set way back on Nov. 25, 1989.
"It always feels good to make those first few shots," said Jones, who wasn't even born yet when Hughes went 6 of 6 against Southern Utah, "and then it gets it going for the rest of the night."
The Vikings scored the first five points of the game and just under three minutes in they were up 13-3 after Jones hit back-to-back 3s and Courtney VanBrocklin scored on a fastbreak.
Idaho State decided to take the Vikings cue and got hot from behind the arc as well. The Bengals answered with a 13-3 run of their own, getting a pair of 3-pointers during the spurt, to knot the game up at 16-16. Idaho State eventually took a five-point lead, 27-22, before PSU regained the momentum.
Courtney Cremer had two straight buckets and converted a free throw after being fouled on the second one, VanBrocklin had another fastbreak basket and then Stephanie Egwuatu hit a pair of free throws to close a 9-0 Portland State run, making it 31-27.
With 3:09 until halftime, VanBrocklin broke a 38-38 tie with a jumper and then Jones and Cremer followed with three-pointers and PSU eventually went into the break with a 46-41 advantage.
After the teams combined for 15 three-pointers in the opening period, they made just three the rest of the way.
Vikings' freshman foward Allie Brock scored 11 of her 22 points and grabbed five of her six rebounds over the final 20 minutes, while VanBrocklin had 12 of her 20 points in the second period as Portland State fended off every comeback attempt the Bengals made.
Brock put the Vikings up 48-43 minutes after halftime with a jumper in the paint, before Idaho State took control and led 58-52 on a Kayla Oakes 3-pointer at the 14:15 mark. PSU put together a rally of its own, with Jones hitting 1 of 2 at the free-throw line and Brock knocking down two-straight buckets from close range to tie it up. After VanBrocklin hit two at the charity stripe, the Vikings led 60-58 with 11:35 to go and they never trailed again.
Idaho State was able to get within two on several occasions in the closing minutes, but the Vikings always had an answer. VanBrocklin helped PSU fend off the Bengals by scoring eight points over the final 56 seconds, including converting all six of her free throw attempts.
"It was a great win, especially with how we did it," said Vikings Head Coach Sherri Murrell. "We really were not happy with our performances on the road in our first two conference games. It was a well-played game by both teams, but we got the win and we needed it.
"Eryn executed really well. If someone went under a ball screen she just stepped back and popped it. And Allie is really stepping up with the injury to Necie (Shauneice Samms). She got good position on each one of her shots and Idaho State didn't really have an answer for her physical play."
Jones finished one off her career-high with 21 points, Brock scored the most points of her short PSU career, and VanBrocklin matched her career-best.
VanBrocklin added eight rebounds to lead all players and Jones had six of her own to match her career-high.
Oakes paced Idaho State with 28 points, hitting 5 of her 7 three-point attempts. Chelsea Pickering added 18 points and five steals for the Bengals, who fell to 11-5, 2-1 Big Sky.
NOTES: PSU's 46 first half points were their most this season and their highest total since scoring 54 in the opening period against Utah Valley on Dec. 18, 2009 ... VanBrocklin had four steals, while Bishop and Jones each had three ... Courtney Cremer had eight points in just 12 minutes for PSU ... Brock shot 9 of 12 from the floor and Jones was 7 of 11 ... the Vikings shot 50.9 percent in the game, just the second time this season they've topped the 50 percent mark ... VanBrocklin was 8 of 9 at the charity stripe and PSU went 22 of 27 (81.5%) ... Idaho State was 8 of 15 from 3-point range in the first half, while PSU was 7 of 13. The Bengals were just 1 of 7 in the second period ... Lindsey Reed scored 13 first-half points and hit three treys for ISU, but the Viks held her scoreless in the second half ... PSU now hits the road for two conference games. Their road trip starts at Weber State on Thursday. Tip-off is set for 6:00 p.m. PT.
