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CEDAR CITY, Utah - The Vikings pulled to within four with 38 seconds left but could not finish the road comeback and fell to the Thunderbirds, 69-60, Thursday night in Cedar City, Utah. 

Junior forward Mikaela Rivard posted a career-high 16 points to lead the Vikings. Rivard posted a career high in field goals going 7-for-10 from the floor. She added a pair of free throws along with three rebounds and three assists.

Sophomore guard Emily Easom continued her hot scoring streak posting 15 points on 4-for-9 from the floor. She went 5-for-9 from the free-throw line. It was the fifth straight game that Easom has scored in double figures. Senior Kate Lanz added 14 points after missing the last two games.

Portland State (5-12 Overall, 3-5 Big Sky Conference) jumped out to an early eight-point lead at 10-2. Southern Utah (10-6, 4-3) quickly tied the game at 10-10 with an 8-0 run. After the teams traded buckets, the Thunderbirds took the lead and did not look back, going on a 12-2 run to push their advantage to 10 points at 26-16 with 7:33 left in the first.

The Vikings pulled to with a basket at 26-24 after they responded with a 10-2 run of their own. The T-Birds scored the final three points of the half at the line to take a 35-28 lead into the break.

Rivard, making her second start of the season, led the Vikings with 10 points at the break going 4-for-5 from the floor and 2-for-2 from the line.

Southern Utah opened the second half with a 12-1 run to go up by 18 points at 47-38 with 16:34 left. Later in the half, the Vikings put together a 8-0 run to cut the lead to five points with less than five minutes remaining.

Senior Kate Lanz hit a three pointer that was followed by a pair of free throws by senior Allie Brock to pull the game within four points at 64-60 with 38 seconds left.

The Vikings had to foul to extend the game but the T-Birds went 5-for-6 from the line down the stretch. The Vikings missed their final three shots and the Thunderbirds won the game 69-60.

Carli Moreland and Lori Parkinson each scored 17 points to lead Southern Utah. SUU outshot the Vikings .426-to-.365 in the game. The Vikings outrebounded the Thunderbirds 42-to-35 in the game.

The Vikings return to Portland before heading to Northern Colorado (Jan. 30) and North Dakota (Feb. 1) to finish the first half of conference play.

NOTES: Mikaela Rivard scored a career-high 16 points … Emily Easom scored in double figures for the fifth straight game … Kate Lanz played after missing the last two games for a violation of team rules.