Murrell, PSU at GU

It should be an interesting break from finals at McCarthey Athletic Center.

Gonzaga faces unknown but highly regarded South Dakota State on Friday night and Portland State Sunday afternoon.

The second game is particularly interesting for a number of reasons.

It’s another return for former Washington State coach Sherri Murrell, in her second year with the Vikings, who surprised a lot of folks last year with a 22-9 record. Key players for PSU are sophomores, post Kelli Valentine (Mead) and backup guard Lexi Bishop (Shadle Park).

The most recent game for both teams was disappointing, to say the least.

Gonzaga (8-2) fell 59-47 at Santa Barbara (3-3). The Zags trailed 23-16 at the half and Bulldogs coach Kelly Graves only started one starter to open the second half. It did mark the limited return of standout guard Courtney Vandersloot from a sprained ankle, although she struggled.

Meanwhile, Portland State (5-3) was setting a dubious record in a 58-24 loss at Oregon State (5-1).

“We’ve got to put that one behind us,” Murrell said after the lowest output in school history. “It was our fourth game in eight days and they’re just a very good team. That’s the best Oregon State team I’ve seen in a long time. We held them under 60 – they average 80 – but for some reason we couldn’t find our touch around the basket.”

In addition to shooting just 14 percent in the first half (six points) and 22 percent for the game, PSU had 35 turnovers. Beavers freshman Brittany Kennedy (Lewis and Clark) had eight points and was one of four players with three steals.

Kennedy is the first player off the bench, averaging more than 21 minutes for the Beavers, 5.8 points and 2.7 rebounds with 11 assists, 11 turnovers and nine steals.

“Oregon State did a good job against us,” Murrell said. “It was one of those nights.”

Valentine is averaging 10 points and a team-best 6.8 rebounds.

“Kelly is having a great year, picking up where she left off and then some,” Murrell said of her league freshman of the year. “She’s an incredible passer and really attacking the basket.

“Lexi is coming along. She had that ACL injury. She’s getting more and more comfortable defensively. Offensively, she has to get in the flow more. I don’t expect it will be long until she comes out with a bang.”

Tip-ins

Oregon State wasn’t the only Pac-10 team to clamp down on defense. Arizona State (6-2) held UC Irvine to a Pac-10-record 23 points last weekend, breaking the mark of 24 set almost exactly 19 years earlier when OSU throttled the Anteaters. … Earlier in the week, ASU senior Briann January (LC) scored a career-high 25 points while tying the school record with seven 3-pointers and dishing off a game-high five assists, in a 73-59 win at UC Davis. January leads the Sun Devils in scoring (14.1), assists (42), steals (27) and only has 19 turnovers. She is also shooting 51 percent from 3-point range. … Long-time former Gonzaga assistant Jennifer Mountain has one win in nine games at Santa Clara. The Broncos have a game at Utah this week, their seventh straight road game. Home games are exactly a month apart.

On tap

Gonzaga plays five of six games at home after playing six straight on the road. Though only D-I for five years, South Dakota State (8-1) is on the verge of breaking into the Top 25. The Jackrabbits have knocked off Missouri, Wisconsin, Utah, Oregon, Illinois and Montana. Their loss was a 12-point decision to Maryland.

Eastern Washington (3-5), which played six games in 12 days, returns to action Saturday with a visit from Pacific (3-3). Portland (3-5) is at Reese Court on Monday. Junior Jessica Huntington has moved into the top 10 in career assists with 238 for the Eagles, who average 15.25 offensive rebounds a game.

Pacific is at Idaho (2-5) on Thursday and Washington State (5-2) visits the Vandals on Sunday. UI sophomore Yinka Olorunnife had 20 points and 16 rebounds in a 55-54 loss to Long Beach.

One of the good games this week is North Idaho College (7-1) and Community Colleges of Spokane (5-2) facing off at McCarthey Athletic Center at 6 p.m. Thursday.