RENO — Portland State ruined North Dakota’s championship aspirations twice in less than a week.
The UND women’s basketball team needed a win in its season finale in Portland to secure the outright regular-season Big Sky Conference championship. Instead, the Vikings won going away, 81-67 to deny North Dakota the No. 1 seed in this week’s Big Sky Tournament here.
In the first game of the second session of Wednesday’s quarterfinals, the seventh-seeded Vikings did it again. Portland State’s length and athleticism caused problems for the co-Big Sky champions on both ends, helping the Vikings secure the first upset of the women’s tournament with a 65-62 victory to oust the second seed and move into the semifinals.
PSU guard Ashley Bolston (0)
“We know they are a great team and you know what to expect when you play them so we knew we had to come out and play the toughest that we’ve played,” PSU sophomore Ashley Bolston said after leading her team with 20 points and four assists.
After a 74-71 overtime loss to Montana State in Grand Forks on January 12 — a loss that ultimately gave MSU it’s second straight Big Sky title and the top seed — UND ripped off 11 wins in 12 games before Friday’s game in Portland. UND won 20 games for the second time in Travis Brewster’s fourth season and Brewster earned Big Sky Coach of the Year for the second time earlier this week.
But UND could not rally all the way back as Portland State beat the Fighting Hawks for the second time in five days.
“This feels good,” Portland State head coach Lynn Kennedy said. “I’m just so proud of our players, how hard they played. We were prepared for this game, confident coming in. We know North Dakota is the best team in our conference. They played it throughout the season. We were fortunate to get one at home and knock them down to the two seed. We match up pretty well with them as far as our length and athleticism.”
North Dakota fought to the end as sophomore Lexi Klabo converted three shots in the lane in the game’s final minute to keep the Vikings within reach. Klabo’s final bucket with 17 seconds left cut the deficit to 63-59 before Bolston missed the second of two free throws.
UND guard Makailah Dyer (10)
Senior Makailah Dyer swished a 25-foot 3-pointer to cut the lead to 64-62 with 9.2 seconds left. PSU point guard Kian McNair hit 1-of-2 free throws to set up one last possession for the Fighting Hawks.
Brewster called a timeout to advance the ball, then drew up a play for Dyer, his unanimous first-team All-Big Sky point guard. Her look from the corner right in front of the North Dakota bench hit the front of the rim and landed in Cici West’s hands for the PSU forward’s ninth rebound of the game.
“When you look at the shot Makailah had at the end, I thought it was a good look,” Brewster said. “We tried to get that same look three possessions before that. We had another chance to get it right. I can’t say it was a bad season at all. Obviously, it doesn’t end the way we wanted it to.”
North Dakota used a 10-3 run to end the third quarter with a 42-40 advantage. But Bolston and the Vikings answered right back. Bolston, a rare talent for the Big Sky as a smooth 6-foot-2 guard, scored five points and dished an assist that led to one of two straight Ashley Torres 3-pointers during a 10-0 run helped PSU turn a four-point deficit into a 50-44 lead with 6:36 left.
Klabo, a second-team all-league selection who finished with 15 of her 22 points and six of her 12 rebounds after halftime, converted a 3-point play to halt the run. But Bolston continued to change the game with her athleticism.
UND guard Makailah Dyer (10) ties up PSU guard Sidney Rielly (2)
The Washington State transfer and newly anointed Big Sky Newcomer of the Year used a slick cross-over into a stutter-step followed by a right-handed finish. The sophomore then snuck behind UND junior Leah Szabla and stripped her for Bolston’s her tournament-record eighth steal as PSU forced 18 UND turnovers. Portland State held UND to 37.9 percent shooting.
“We had to protect the rim,” Kennedy said. “We knew especially after our game on Friday they were really going to attack it in the middle and try to get into their posts. It’s tough when you have 6-3, 6-4. It’s a luxury as a coach to have that in the middle.”
Bolston found Torres, who was fouled and converted to push the lead to 54-47. Dyer, who finished with 13 points, answered with one of her three 3-pointers before three Portland State free throws pushed the advantage to 59-51, the biggest of the night.
“She’s a 6-2 guard and our guards aren’t that tall so it’s a tough matchup,” Klabo said. “We needed to adjust to that and do a better job.”
The spread hovered between four and six points from there as Dyer and Klabo scored UND’s last 11 points. But it wasn’t enough as PSU won its second tournament game in a single season for the first time since 2010, also the last time the Vikings advanced to the NCAA Tournament.
UND guard Leah Szabla (1)
Portland State will play the winner of No. 3 Northern Colorado against No. 6 Idaho State on Friday with a spot in the championship game on the line.
“With our team, we went to the Las Vegas tournament this year,” Kennedy said. “We played Oregon on Saturday, then had a Monday-Tuesday-Wednesday stretch. I feel like we are ready. That’s why we played that tournament: to get ready for the post season with a young team. You want to experience that early so it’s not a shock when you get here.”
Photos by Brooks Nuanez. All Rights Reserved.
