Weber State basketball: Women rout Portland State in 3rd quarter for home win
Smith, Emma-Nnopu control the interior for WSU
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- Weber State forward Antoniette Emma-Nnopu (7) rises to shoot against Portland State on Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025, at the Dee Events Center in Ogden.
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- Weber State guard Kendra Parra (3) sets up the offense against Portland State on Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025, at the Dee Events Center in Ogden.
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- Weber State’s Rose Bubakar (24) and Portland State’s Laynee Torres-Kahapea (11) tangle in the paint on Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025, at the Dee Events Center in Ogden.
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- Weber State guard Kennedy Eskelson attempts a shot against Portland State on Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025, at the Dee Events Center in Ogden.
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- Weber State forward Mata Peaua (44) rises to shoot while Portland State’s Laynee Torres-Kahapea (11) trails the play Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025, at the Dee Events Center in Ogden.
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- Weber State’s Dakota Nap (5) surveys the floor as Portland State’s Kyleigh Brown (12) defends on Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025, at the Dee Events Center in Ogden.
OGDEN — Weber State women’s basketball emerged from the break a different team than the one that had scraped a 24-23 halftime lead over Portland State.
The Wildcats beat the Vikings in every facet of the third quarter and closed out a 62-48 victory Thursday night at the Dee Events Center, improving to 3-3 in Big Sky play.
Sophomore forward Taylor Smith (20 points, eight rebounds, two blocks) and junior forward Antoniette Emma-Nnopu (16 points, 15 rebounds) picked the Vikings apart for a 10-minute stretch Weber State won 26-12. That gave WSU a 50-35 lead heading to the fourth quarter and the Wildcats didn’t let up.
“I think we knew we were capable of a bit more than we showed in the first half,” WSU head coach Jenteal Jackson said. “Just making the choice is what we talked about, getting it done on both sides of the ball, really cranking up our urgency and effort.”
While Weber State (6-10, 3-3 Big Sky) hassled Portland State (4-11, 1-5) into low-quality attempts, turnovers and shot-clock violations, Smith scored 10 points in the third quarter and keyed an 11-0 run to start the frame.
Smith scored in transition on a dish from Kendra Parra, then in the post on an interior pass from Antoniette Emma-Nnopu, and got another fastbreak pass from Kennedy Eskelson to get WSU up 35-23.
Eskelson made one of her team’s three 3-point makes (that 3-of-18 mark was the only real blemish for WSU; Parra made the other two in the first half) and Emma-Nnopu knocked down a free-throw line jumper to beat the quarter buzzer for the 15-point lead.
Foul trouble was the only thing that slowed Smith. But, in about 7 minutes going from the third to the fourth quarter, WSU won that stretch 15-10.
“As this group has gotten more and more time together, they’ve just evolved and got better,” Jackson said. “Each kid’s got better … just our flow on offense, getting in the right spots defensively. There’s been a ton of progress since we stepped on the court Day 1 together.
“We’re a bit of a wild card in the Big Sky and people are starting to notice that, and that it’s a little scary to play us.”
The Wildcats got to the line (going 13 of 15 as a team) to hold off a mild PSU push and Smith scored in transition from from Parra to put the game away 60-43 with 2:55 left.
Portland State played a 3-2 zone that Weber solved with authority in the third period. Parra finished with eight assists and three steals to go with eight points. Eskelson scored nine points.
Smith and Emma-Nnopu each had three assists, while Emma-Nnopu grabbed seven offensive rebounds. WSU outrebounded PSU 17-7 on the offensive glass, leading to an 18-5 advantage on second-chance points.
“(Smith) did a really good job not only getting touches in those gaps, being aggressive, finding each other but also second half, we were really successful crashing the glass on our misses,” Jackson said.
WSU next hosts Sacramento State (10-9, 3-3) at 2 p.m. Saturday. The Hornets owned the fourth quarter Thursday in Pocatello to beat Idaho State 72-63.
