The Weber State University women’s basketball team extended their winning streak to four games by beating the Portland State University Vikings on Feb. 11.
The game began with back-to-back Wildcat 3-pointers by senior Deeshyra Thomas and junior Kailie Quinn. Three-pointers made up 18 of the first 20 points scored by the Wildcats, all in the first five minutes of the game.
By the end of the first half, Weber State made 10 total 2-pointers, compared to only two from the Vikings.
Sophomore Yarden Danan drilled four 3-pointers in the first half before getting injured in a transition play with two minutes left in the second period. She left the game with a sprained ankle.
Danan insisted on coming back in the game, and after being cleared by the training staff, she reentered the game in the fourth quarter, where she finished with 16 points.
In the first half, a technical foul on Portland State head coach Lynn Kennedy led to two of the four Wildcat points made from the free-throw line during the first two periods. The Wildcats ended the night with a total of 12 points from the free throw line, while the Vikings posted 15 points from the line.
Portland State edged the ’Cats in first half shooting percentages, shooting 50 percent from the field compared to WSU’s 45.9 percent.
The Wildcats led by as many as 17 in the first half, but the Vikings trimmed that deficit to 10 points by halftime with a score of 48–38.
The Vikings shaved the Wildcat lead to eight early in the third period, but they never could catch the Wildcats, who held the lead for the entire game.
The Wildcats fought off another Vikings comeback late in the game and won 85–75.
Points off of turnovers were another difference maker in this game, according to WSU head coach Bethann Ord. Weber State converted 28 points from turnovers, a third of their total score, compared to the Vikings’ 2 points from turnover conversions.
The Wildcats ended the game with 15 3-pointers, just one away from their record of 16. That record was previously set against Portland State.
Leading scorers for the Wildcats were Danan and Thomas, both scoring 16 points for the Wildcats. Thomas made a pair of 3-pointers and shot for seven of 14 from the field.
Thomas spoke about their game plan against a team with a considerable size advantage over the Wildcats.
“We tried to just stay physical with them and push the ball,” Thomas said. “The game plan was to share the ball and shoot the open shots, and when they were in the zone, the 3-point shot was there all the time.”
Share the ball and shoot seemed to be the motto for the Wildcats in this game as five different athletes made at least two 3-pointers.
“The girls knew they had the green light to shoot tonight, and they knocked down shots,” Ord said.
The Weber State women’s basketball team will be back at home Feb. 23.
