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PORTLAND – Alicia Carline made her Portland State debut with 10 points and 11 rebounds but it was not enough as the Vikings fell to the Long Beach State 49ers, 62-58, Saturday afternoon at the Peter W. Stott Center.
 
Carline, a junior transfer from Fielding, New Zealand, missed the first four games of the regular season after suffering a hand injury in Portland State's first exhibition game against George Fox on Nov. 2.
 
The addition of Carline gave the Vikings a presence down low that they have needed thus far this season. Carline scored 10 points Saturday doing 5-for-11 from the floor with a team season-high 11 rebounds. When Carline was not getting the boards, she would tip it out to another player.
 
Junior G Emily Easom scored early and often for the Vikings and posted a season-high 19 points to lead all scorers. She went 6-for-13 from the floor including a pair of three-pointers. Easom led the Vikings at the free-throw line going a perfect 5-for-5. Easom posted 12 points in the first half and scored five points in the first four minutes.
 
Senior F Mikaela Rivard got to double-digits for the third time this season with 11 points.
 
Despite Carline's added presence down low, Long Beach State out-scored Portland State 38-to-22 in the paint. The 49ers got out and ran the floor to a 10-to-4 fast-break advantage.
 
Long Beach State got out to an early 4-0 run but the Vikings went on a 6-0 run over the next 1:14 to take their first lead of the game. They went on a 19-2 run to go up 19-6 with 9:21 remaining in the first half. The 13-point lead matched their season high.
 
After the 49ers cut the lead to four points at 22-18, the Vikings once again went up by a double-digit margin at 31-20 with 2:35 left in the half. Long Beach State was able to cut into the lead again and the Vikings led 31-27 at the break.
 
The second half was a back-and-forth affair with six ties and seven lead changes. Carline put the Vikings up six, 33-27, on their first possession of the second half. The Vikings then went cold going missing their next seven shots. Over that streak, Long Beach State took the lead and went up by five at 38-33.
 
The Vikings tied it at 40-40 on freshman PG Nele Aha's first career three-pointer. The teams traded points over the next few possessions before the 49ers went up by five again with 7:34 left.
 
Easom tied the game and then gave the Vikings the lead, 53-52, hitting a trio of free throws after being fouled on a long ball.
 
Senior G Lariel Powell gave the Vikings a one-point lead at 56-55 on a three-pointer with 2:30 remaining, her first basket of the day. Powell was came into the game as the Vikings' leading scorer averaging 12.8 points per game. She was held to just five on 2-for-6 shooting.
 
Powell's one-point lead would be the last for the Vikings as the 49ers held on to win by four, 62-58.
 
Raven Benton scored a team-high 15 points for Long Beach State along with 10 rebounds.
 
Portland State fell to 0-5 on the season while Long Beach State improved to 5-1.
 
The Vikings return to the Stott Center Friday, Dec. 5 for a 7 p.m. tip with Navy. Following Friday's game, the Vikings will play six of their next seven games on the road.    
 
NOTES: Alicia Carline made her Portland State debut after missing the first four games due to injury … Carline posted the first double-double of the season for PSU with 10 points and 11 rebounds … Carline's 11 rebounds was the most by a Viking this season … Emily Easom scored a season-high 19 points.