Box Score

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EUGENE, Ore. – Portland State gave Pac-12 foe Oregon all it could handle for 40 minutes and trailed by just one with under 10 seconds left, but the Vikings had no answer for Ducks forward Amanda Johnson and fell 75-71 at Matthew Knight Arena.

Johnson, a 6-foot-2 senior, poured in 30 points, many of them on putbacks and easy layins, and pulled down a career-high 19 boards.

"I came into tonight knowing there was one player we just wouldn't match up well with and it showed," PSU Head Coach Sherri Murrell said of Johnson.

The Vikings trailed by nine at the half and by 14 early in the second period, before battling back to make a game of it.

After finding themselves down 44-30 with 16:36 left in the game, Portland State mounted a rally. After two free throws by Karley Lampman, the Vikings hit three consecutive three-pointers by Kate Lanz, Lampman and Eryn Jones to cut the lead to 44-41.

With 1:47 to go, Lanz hit a turnaround 10-footer in the lane to pull PSU to within 70-67, then Lampman made a putback to make it a one-point game. Johnson made two free throws for the Ducks, pushing the lead back to three, before Lanz hit another turnaround 10-foot jumper.

The Ducks led 72-71 with 35 seconds remaining after Lanz' bucket. Oregon worked the clock down until Jordan Loera nailed a three from the right corner with five seconds left for the final margin.

"I thought the opportunity was there (for the win), I honestly did," said Murrell. "To come down to a one possession game and to hang with a Pac-12 team on their home floor is pretty respectable."

The Vikings struggled from the field in the opening half and missed their first seven shots. A pair of Courtney VanBrocklin free throws over three minutes into the game finally got Portland State on the scoreboard and pulled the Vikings to within 5-2. A layup by Shauneice Samms at the 16:35 mark was PSU's first field goal and they trailed 7-4.

Back-to-back 3-pointers by Jones from the left wing put the Vikings in front 10-9. Moments later, VanBrocklin made two more at the charity stripe and then hit her own three ball from the left wing, pushing the Vikings' lead to 17-14.

Oregon responded with eight straight points, getting six from speedy point guard Nia Jackson. From there, Johnson scored Oregon's next eight points, all on layins, and the Ducks held a 30-24 advantage with 4:28 until the half.

The Ducks' Jasmin Holiday made three straight buckets to make it 36-26, before Lampman hit a three-pointer to cut the deficit to seven. Oregon eventually led, 38-29, at the break.

Portland State (2-1) had four players in double-figures, led by Jones with 20 and Lampman with 18. VanBrocklin added 16, including nine at the free-throw line, and Lanz scored 11 in her first game in a Viking uniform.

The Ducks (3-0) entered the night averaging a Pac-12 best 85.9 points, but Portland State kept Oregon from its normal up-tempo running game for much of the contest.

PSU returns to action on Friday, playing at cross-town rival Portland at 2 p.m.

NOTES: Oregon has won 10-straight in the series ... Lampman's 18 poins were a career-high. She also added a team-high seven rebounds ... Jones made five of the Vikings' nine 3-pointers ... the Ducks outrebounded PSU, 55-39, and scored 42 points in the paint.