PORTLAND – Freshmen Pia Jurhar and Kian McNair each scored 14 points but the Vikings fell, 75-62, to the North Dakota Fighting Hawks Thursday night at the Peter W. Stott Center.
                                                                                            
Jurhar, coming off the bench for the first time this season, scored her 14 points on 5-of-12 shooting from the floor. She also went a perfect 4-for-4 at the free throw line and pulled down a team-high seven rebounds.
 
McNair entered the game as the Vikings' leading scorer, averaging 11.1 points per game. She improved on her average, scoring 14 points against UND, going 5-for-10 from the floor. She also recorded two assists and two steals. Freshman G Corey James added 10 points off the bench for her ninth double-digit scoring game of the season.
 
Portland State struggled on the glass against North Dakota. The Fight Hawks out-rebounded the Vikings 43-to-23 in the game and 17-to-5 on the offensive glass. UND turned its 17 offensive boards into 18 second chance points. Portland State's 23 rebounds was a season low.
 
Senior F Alicia Carline, making just her fourth start of the season, scored four points and pulled down a pair of rebounds. She made her presence known around the basket, recording a career-high six blocks. Her six blocks are tied for second most every by a Viking and are the most since Courtney Cremer recorded six against Corban in 2011.
 
North Dakota opened the game on a 7-0 run early in the first quarter. McNair got the Vikings on the board with a three-pointer from the corner. She then added a runner off the glass before sophomore G Cici West completed the old-fashioned three-point play to put the Vikings up 8-7, following an 8-0 run of their own.
 
The teams traded points before a 14-4 run by the Fighting Hawks put them up by 10 points, 24-14, at the end of the first quarter.
 
Portland State opened the second quarter with a layup by West to cut the lead to eight points, 24-16. Junior G Ashley Torres Negron cut the lead to six points, 33-27, with a three-pointer with just under four minutes remaining in the half.
 
After trading baskets, James hit a three-pointer to cut the lead to five points, 37-32 with 1:21 left in the half. A Torres Negron jumper and a pair of free throws by Jurhar cut the lead to one point, 37-36, at the break after the Vikings out-scored the Fighting Hawks, 22-13, in the second quarter.
 
Jurhar posted 10 of her 14 points in the game in the first half, while Torres scored all seven of her points in the first 20 minutes.
 
North Dakota opened the second half with a 11-4 run to open up an eight-point lead, 48-40. The Fighting Hawks' lead grew to as much as 12 points in the third. The Vikings closed out the quarter with a 7-3 run but still trailed 61-53 heading to the fourth.
 
After McNair hit the first basket of the fourth to cut the lead to six points, North Dakota rattled off 10-straight to go up by 16 points, 71-55. The Vikings tried to cut into the lead but could not really make a dent and fell 75-62.
 
McNair scored all nine points in the fourth quarter for the Vikings, en rout to her 14 points in the game.
 
North Dakota's Mia Loyd posted game highs in both points (19) and rebounds (10), posting the game's only double-double.
 
North Dakota Improved to 14-12 overall and 10-5 in Big Sky Conference play with the win. Portland State fell to 3-23 and 1-14 with the loss.
 
The Vikings host their final home game of the season when they welcome the Northern Colorado Bears to the Stott Center Saturday afternoon. The game will be Senior Day for the Vikings as they will honor a pair of student-athletes whose PSU careers will come to a close at the end of the season. Tip against the Bears is slated for 2 p.m. PT.
 
NOTES:
• Pia Jurhar posted her fourth double-digit scoring game of the season with 14 points.
• Corey James posted her ninth double-digit scoring games of the season with 10 points.
• Portland State recorded a season-low 23 rebounds.
• Portland State started just two freshmen, its lowest total of the season.