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PORTLAND, Ore. – Sloppy ball-handling cost Portland State a chance to move up in the Big Sky Conference standings as the Vikings lost a late lead and fell to visiting Eastern Washington, 75-67, on Saturday afternoon at the Stott Center.

PSU committed 21 turnovers, including several key errors down the stretch, as the Eagles rallied for the win. The Vikings dropped to 11-7, 3-3 Big Sky, while Eastern Washington improved to 11-9, 5-2 Big Sky.

Both teams struggled throughout the opening half. Each squad shot under 34 percent and committed a combined 17 turnovers. Portland State turned the ball over 11 times alone, but got lucky as the Eagles weren't able to capitalize on many of those opportunities.

Eastern Washington started hot, converting four of their first six shots for an 8-2 lead, but the Eagles went just 8 of 32 the rest of the way, which allowed the Vikings to come back.

PSU scored nine of the next 11 points and took its first lead of the game when Shauneice Samms drove down the right side of the lane and laid the ball in, making it 11-10 at the 13:18 mark of the first half. The Vikings extended their lead to 19-12 after Eryn Jones and Kate Lanz hit back-to-back 3s, and Karley Lampman hit a long-range jumper just inside the arc.

The Eagles slowly chipped away at Portland State's advantage and after consecutive fastbreak layins from Breauna Russell, they were down just 22-21 with five minutes left in the period. Eastern Washington momentarily took the lead, 25-24, on a Chene Cooper jumper at the the 2:26 mark, but Lanz powered through two defenders for a jumper in the paint before draining a 3-pointer to put the Vikings back in front.

Portland State went into the locker room with a 28-27 lead.

Eastern Washington scored the first basket of the second half and led for almost four minutes until a 3-pointer by Jones put the Vikings back on top, 36-35. The teams traded baskets before Lanz hit another three-pointer, making it 41-39 in favor of PSU with 14:16 remaining.

There were five ties over the next several minutes, but the Vikings took a five-point advantage, 56-51, after Stephanie Egwuatu scored, was fouled and hit the free throw. PSU continued to lead until the 3:23 mark, when Brianne Ryan sank a 3-pointer from the left wing, putting the Eagles up 65-63.

After the Vikings tied it up on a bucket by Jones, the Eagles scored six unanswered points and held on from there for the victory.

Ryan, the Big Sky's leading scorer at 18.7 ppg, tallied 15 points and six steals, while Carrie Ojeda had 18 points and 10 rebounds. Cooper chipped in 15, six assists and three steals.

For the Vikings, Lanz led the way with 18 points and eight rebounds. Samms and VanBrocklin each scored 13, and Keaton McFadden pulled down nine boards.

NOTES: Jones took over the tenth spot in the PSU record book for points. She has 1,206 career points. She also moved up to sixth all-time in assists with 352 ... Jones scored eight points and dished out seven assists ... Stephanie Egwuatu saw her first extended action in several weeks and responded with seven points, three rebounds and a blocked shot in 13 minutes for PSU ... VanBrocklin, who ranks third nationally in free throw percentage, went 8 of 8 at the line. She is shooting 92.4% on the year ... the Eagles shot 58.1 percent in the second half ... PSU in back in action on Thursday, taking on Montana State in Bozeman. Tip-off is set for 6:05 p.m.