Big Sky tournament: Weber State women bury Portland State in first round
WBB final: Weber State 76, Portland State 53
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- Weber State guard Hannah Robbins (8) lets a 3-pointer go over Portland State’s Cici Ellington in the first round of the Big Sky tournament Saturday, March 7, 2026, at Idaho Central Arena in Boise.
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- Weber State forward Antoniette Emma-Nnopu (7) drives past Portland State’s Cici Ellington (8) in the first round of the Big Sky tournament Saturday, March 7, 2026, at Idaho Central Arena in Boise.
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- Weber State guard Sydney White (22) extends to shoot a runner over Portland State defenders in the first round of the Big Sky tournament Saturday, March 7, 2026, at Idaho Central Arena in Boise.
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- Weber State forward Makenna Shaffer-Lauer (13) drives past Portland State’s Cici Ellington (8) in the first round of the Big Sky tournament Saturday, March 7, 2026, at Idaho Central Arena in Boise.
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- Weber State guard Hannah Robbins (8) scoops a shot past Portland State’s Ajae Yoakum (5) in the first round of the Big Sky tournament Saturday, March 7, 2026, at Idaho Central Arena in Boise.
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- Weber State forward Paris Lauro (10) drives against Portland State’s Cici Ellington (8) in the first round of the Big Sky tournament Saturday, March 7, 2026, at Idaho Central Arena in Boise.
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- Weber State guard Sydney White (22) rises to shoot against Portland State’s Laynee Torres-Kahapea (11) in the first round of the Big Sky tournament Saturday, March 7, 2026, at Idaho Central Arena in Boise.
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- Weber State women’s basketball players huddle during a first-round game in the Big Sky tournament Saturday, March 7, 2026, at Idaho Central Arena in Boise.
Off the tip, junior guard Hannah Robbins took a drive left to right across the paint and banked in a short jumper.
Weber State nearly caused two turnovers on a full-court press before Nicole Willardson boarded a Portland State miss, Sydney White passed ahead to a breaking Robbins, and Robbins reversed left to right under the hoop for a layup.
In less than one minute, the No. 9 Wildcats had taken control and never looked back, defeating the No. 10 Vikings wire to wire for a 76-53 decision in the first round of the Big Sky Conference women’s basketball tournament Saturday afternoon at Idaho Central Arena in Boise.
“I felt like from the tip, we were really ready to go, really locked into the game plan and we executed extremely well on both sides of the ball,” WSU head coach Jenteal Jackson said. “Proud of the first quarter, really putting our foot down.”
It marked consecutive wins over PSU (6-25) for Weber State (11-21) after the Wildcats beat the Vikings 81-52 to close the regular season Monday.
With the win, WSU advanced to face No. 1 Idaho (26-5) at noon Sunday.
Weber State did it as much defensively as it did offensively, holding PSU to one field goal in the first quarter for a 19-5 lead after the frame. Weber also held PSU leading scorer Kyleigh Brown to four points on 2-of-14 shooting for the contest.
“That helped a lot because our emphasis was defense,” senior forward Antoniette Emma-Nnopu said. “On Monday, we were kind of going tit for tat in the first half so we really made a big emphasis on whoever is guarding (Brown), she can’t score. Just make somebody else do something and be aggressive.”
Emma-Nnopu was too much for PSU to handle; she scored eight of her game-high 23 points in the first quarter, going 2 of 2 from the field and 4 of 5 at the foul line. She added eight rebounds and five steals for the Wildcats.
Robbins wrapped the game with 20 points and nine rebounds. In her third collegiate season, her 20 points are a career-high against Division I opponents. Robbins and Emma-Nnopu combined to shoot 17 of 26 (65.4%) in the game and WSU outscored PSU 42-22 on points in the paint.
White totaled 12 points and six assists. Fui Niumeitolu added eight points off the bench, shooting 2 of 3 from distance.
Hannah Chicken led Portland State with 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting; all other Vikings combined to shoot 13 of 48 (27.1%).
