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CHENEY, Wash. – Portland State made a comeback attempt down the stretch but was eventually done in by poor shooting and the Vikings lost their Big Sky Conference opener 70-62 at Eastern Washington on Saturday afternoon.

Kelly Marchant scored 17 points and knocked down four 3-pointers for the Vikings, but Portland State shot just 28.8 percent and didn't make a field goal over the final 5:35 of the game.

The two teams went into halftime knotted up at 28-28, before the Eagles took control. Holding a 36-34 lead, Eastern Washington went on a 17-6 run and went up 53-40 after Brianne Ryan made a layup and converted the free throw after getting fouled on the shot.

Portland State (7-7) wasn't done, though. Marchant kick-started the Vikings rally with a three-pointer and when Allie Brock made 1 of 2 at the free-throw line, PSU was within one, 57-56, with 3:51 to go. But Eastern Washington answered with five straight points, including back-to-back layups by Julie Piper, and Portland State never was able to recover.

Ryan paced the Eagles (5-8) with 20 points and 10 rebounds, while Tatjana Sparavalo also had a double-double with 15 points and 11 boards.

For the Vikings, Marchant's 17 points led the way. Eryn Jones added 16, Courtney VanBrocklin tallied 10 and Allie Brock pulled down a career-high 10 rebounds for Portland State, which lost its first conference opener in four seasons under Sherri Murrell.

NOTES: PSU did shoot well at the line (80.8%) and from behind the arc (41.2%) ... Marchant has scored 39 points the past two games, one more than she had in the first 12 games combined ... PSU also dealt with foul trouble as three players fouled out ... the Vikings are back in action on Jan. 13, at Northern Colorado, Tip-off is set for 6:05 p.m. PT.