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PORTLAND – Senior Guard Kate Lanz posted a game-high 21 points but the Portland State women's basketball team dropped its season opener 72-54 to Saint Mary's Sunday afternoon at the Peter W. Stott Center. Lanz went 6-for-17 from the floor including a trio of three-pointers.

Lanz added eight rebounds for a near double-double. Senior Allie Brock posted 14 points for the Vikings going 5-for-11 from the floor and a perfect 4-for-4 from the free-throw line.

Portland State (0-1 overall) fell behind by 20 points at the half before cutting the lead to just three points after an 11-0 run midway through the second half. Unfortunately, the Vikings could not come all the way back as the Gaels (2-0) took the game 72-54.

"I knew Saint Mary's was going to be a good team," seventh-year Head Coach Sherri Murrell said following the game. "We made that huge run in the second half by attacking the basket and being aggressive. We did a good job in the second half while taking better care of the ball."

Saint Mary's got out to a quick lead with a pair of buckets in the first 30 seconds of the game. Brock hit a jumper for the Vikings first bucket but the Gaels extended their lead to six at 8-2. SMC's Lauren Nicholson extended the lead to nine points at 18-9.

Portland State cut the lead to four points at 22-18 with back-to-back baskets from Delanie Parry and Brock. That would be as close as the Vikings would get through the rest of the first half as the Gaels built up a 20-point lead, 41-21, at the half.

Saint Mary's out-scored Portland State 26-to-6 in the paint in the first period and 34-to-12 for the game. Brock led the Vikings with eight points in the first half going 3-for-6 from the floor.

Emily Easom cut the Gael's lead to 13 points with a three-pointer capping an 11-4 run by the Vikings over the first four minutes of the second half. After a SMC free-throw, Brock hit a jumper from the baseline to cut the lead to 12 at 46-34.

Lanz went on a 6-0 run of her own knocking down a pair of three-pointers to cut the lead to eight points with 13:07 left in the second. After Keaton McFadden had a put-back layup to cut the lead to six, Lanz put up another three-pointer but was fouled on the play. She hit all-three free-throws to cut the lead to three at 48-45. The free-throws extended the Vikings run to 11-0 over a span of 4:21.

The Gaels finally made a basket after going scoreless for nearly five minutes during the Vikings' run. The basket started a 14-2 run for Saint Mary's to build its lead back up to 15 at 62-47. During the SMC run, PSU went 1-10 from the floor.

Freshman Yaremi Mejia hit a pair of free throws in the last minute, but the Gaels took the game by a final score of 72-to-54.

Jackie Nared led the Gaels with 18 points on 7-for-13 shooting. She added a game-high six assists. Danielle Mauldin and Carli Rosenthal each had 10 points for Saint Mary's.

The Vikings next take on the Seattle Redhawks Friday, Nov. 22 at the Peter W. Stott Center. It will be the second of five straight home games to start the season for PSU. Tipoff is slated for 8 p.m. as it will be the final game of a PSU basketball tripleheader. The men's team is hosting a tournament that weekend.

NOTES: PSU is now 5-2 in season openers under Head Coach Sherri Murrell and 19-18 all-time going back to the 1977-78 season … Newcomers Ani Avanessian, Lauren Holt, Delanie Parry, and Yaremi Mejia all made their first career appearances for Portland State …  Kate Lanz posted her sixth career 20-point game.