Last weekend the Portland State women's basketball team salvaged what could have been a disappointing season by winning the Big Sky Tournament.
This weekend the team is hoping it can keep playing in that renewed loose, fun style and build off the momentum to become the first No. 15 seed to ever win a game in the NCAA Women's Tournament.
Tonight they will get their chance when they make their NCAA Tournament debut against No. 2 seed Texas A&M, the Big XII Champions and the ninth-ranked team in the country.
"We're really approaching the game as we did the (Big Sky) tournament," Vikings coach Sherri Murrell said. "The only difference is that this is a way different team than any of the teams that we faced."
"I told the kids it's not about the size of the dog, it's about the bite in the dog," she said. "We're going to give our best and bite hard."
Texas A&M coach Gary Blair was on hand in 1998 when No. 16 seed Harvard upset an overconfident No. 1 seed Stanford on its home court and said his team won't make the same mistakes.
"I don't think Stanford sensed the sense of urgency until it was too late," he said. "Don't worry, we will build up Portland State to be a Big XII opponent. They will become the 13th member of the Big XII."
Blair's A&M team comes into the game on the heels of a six-game winning streak that includes wins over perennial power Oklahoma and previously unbeaten Nebraska.
Murrell was impressed with what she saw on video.
"They are what I thought they were," she said. "They're athletic and they press a lot. They have some weapons, not only just big weapons, but they have weapons in the sense of the three ball and they have good mid-range. They can score from anywhere on the court."
Blair called his team "the best offensive team" he had coached but said the real priority was on defense.
"We want to score off what we like to call "Make them miss" (MTM) defense and then get out into transition and look for the defense," he said.
The Aggies (25-7) are no strangers to being No. 2 seeds. Last year as a No. 2 seed they blitzed No. 15 Evansville 80-45, forcing 30 turnovers.
Murrell knows remaining poised under the spotlights will be critical for the Vikings (18-14) in their first NCAA Tournament appearance.
"I think the first five minutes of the game you don't want that to get out of control," she said. "You really want to relieve the pressure and make sure the kids have confidence they can do it."
Blair said the Vikings did have one advantage.
"They're on house money," he said. "The pressure is on us to hold seed."
- Ian Ruder, Special to The Oregonian
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