Box Score (PDF)  |  Box Score (HTML)

BOZEMAN, Mont. – Lexi Bishop turned in another record night and five Portland State players scored in double-figures as the Vikings took down first-place Montana State, 81-77, on Saturday night at Worthington Arena.

The Vikings entered this week needing two wins on the road at Montana and Montana State to stay in contention for their first Big Sky Conference regular season title. They did just that, sweeping the two schools on the road for the first time in school history.

"It's a very, very good feeling," said Bishop, who made a career-high five 3-pointers and led the Vikings with 17 points. "This is something that I was hoping to experience before I left and now I have."

PSU's victory moves them into a tie for second place in the Big Sky with Montana State at 10-4. Northern Colorado won at Northern Arizona tonight, leaving the Bears alone in first at 11-3.

Early in Saturday's game it didn't look like Bishop or the Vikings would get the sweep they needed. Portland State (17-10) trailed 46-36 at the break as the Bobcats' Sarah Balian went off for 19 points in the period.

It was a completely different story over the final 20 minutes, though. The Vikings held Montana State without a field goal over the first 9:04 of the second half and when Courtney VanBrocklin scored at the 12:18 mark, Portland State held a 51-50 advantage.

After MSU regained the lead, Karley Lampman put the Vikings back in front, 55-54, with two free throws with 9:40 remaining. Portland State never trailed again, but the Bobcats did manage to tie it up, 64-64, on a Katie Bussey three-pointer with 4:43 left.

Bishop answered with her fifth 3-pointer of the night 13 seconds later and the Vikings held off several Montana State rallies over the closing minutes. Portland State helped its cause by making 12 of 14 at the free-throw line over the final 1:49.

Portland State Head Coach Sherri Murrell joked on her postgame show that her team should always give the Bobcats an early lead because somehow the Vikings manage to come back for victories. Last year, PSU rallied from a 20-point first half deficit to defeat Montana State in Portland.

"We should always spot them ten points right out of the gate and then we'll come back from there," said Murrell. "For some reason we always like to spot them points.

"The girls stepped up when it mattered most and I couldn't be prouder of the way we played defense over the second half. Montana State is a very good team and they are hard to scout. They can attack you from inside or out. It took us awhile to figure out how to play defense against them, but once we did it helped us come back."

The Bobcats shot 60 percent in the first half, but just 28.1 percent the rest of the way, a testament to Portland State's defense in the second period.

On a night where the usual stars reached double-figures in scoring, Murrell was quick to point out the play of several reserves, and Bishop, who is the Vikings' best defensive player.

"Stephanie (Egwuatu) played outstanding, even though she didn't score, and Allie (Brock) hit some big shots for us. Lexi is our defensive stopper, but tonight she became our offensive star. Karley Lampman, too, she played big minutes for us when Lexi was hurting. Our supporting cast was huge."

Two nights earlier at Montana, Bishop hit what was then a career-high four 3-pointers in the Vikings' 70-65 victory. On Saturday, she didn't even bother taking a shot inside the 3-point line, going 5 of 9 from long distance.

VanBrocklin scored 16 points, Kelli Valentine had 15 points and 10 rebounds, and Eryn Jones also scored 15 for the Vikings. Brock came off the bench to chip in 10 points and six rebounds.

Balian finished with 24 points for Montana State. But after her first half outburst, she had just five in the second period, including a 3-pointer with 14 seconds left.

Katie Bussy and Rachel Semansky both had double-doubles for the Bobcats, who fell to 16-12. Bussey tallied 17 points and 10 boards, while Semansky registered 15 points and 10 rebounds.

Portland State returns home to close out the regular season, hosting Montana on Thursday at 7 p.m., and Montana State on Saturday at 2 p.m.

"It gives us a lot of confidence winning these two games on the road," said Bishop. "But we can't get over confident. Montana and Montana State are dangerous teams."

NOTES: PSU has won four in a row and 10 of its last 12 ... the Vikings reached 10 wins in Big Sky play for the third time in four seasons under Murrell ... after losing their first three conference road games, PSU won four of its last five ... Montana State entered the night tied with Northern Colorado for first place ... Valentine recorded her team-leading fourth double-double. She also moved up to eighth all-time in the Vikings' record book in points with 1,244 ... Bishop moved up to eighth all-time at PSU in three-pointers made (121) ... Bishop and Valentine moved into a tie with Kelsey Kahle (2005-09) for the most games played in PSU history at 122 ... Jones led PSU with six assists and three steals ... Egwuatu pulled down seven boards, one off her career-high ... PSU needs one more win to equal last year's total of 18 ... Saturday's game against Montana State will be the final home contest for four PSU seniors: Bishop, Valentine, Courtney Cremer and Kelly Marchant. The four will be honored before tip off.