RENO, Nev. – A pair of first-half runs by Weber State gave Portland State a deficit it could not come back from as the Vikings fell, 91-68, to end their season in the opening round of the Big Sky Conference Women's Basketball Tournament Monday night in Reno, Nev.
 
"It was nice to be able to play a playoff game for the first time in a couple of years for Portland State," first-year Head Coach Lynn Kennedy said following the game. "We did not give up and fought through the fourth quarter. As a young team, we can take a lot of pride out of winning the fourth. We were excited to be here and we're anxious to get back next year."
                                                
Junior G Ashley Torres Negron led the Vikings with a career-high 23 points on 7-of-16 shooting from the floor. She hit a trio of three-pointers and went 6-for-7 at the line. She pulled down a career-high nine rebound, one shy of her first career double-double.
 
Freshman G Kian McNair added 16 points for the Vikings. She hit a pair of three pointers and went 6-for-8 at the charity stripe. McNair recorded three steals to finish her freshman campaign with at least one steal in every game.
 
Portland State came out hot over the first 15 minutes of the game, going 10-for-19 (.536) from the floor. However, the Vikings cooled off quickly, going 12-for-45 (.267) over the final 25 minutes of the contest and missing missing 13-straight shots at one point in the third quarter. They shot .344 as a team while the Wildcats shot .463 as a team.
 
Portland State forced Weber State into 20 turnovers but could not capitalize on the Wildcats' miscues, turning them into only eight points. On the flip-side, Weber State turned 18 Portland State turnovers into 20 points.
 
Portland State opened the game with back-to-back buckets from sophomore G Cici West and McNair to go up 4-0. The Vikings led 14-13 with 2:31 left in the opening period before a 13-1 run by Weber State put the Wildcats up 26-15 at the end of the first.
 
Torres Negron led the Vikings with nine points in the opening frame, going 2-for-3 from three-point range and 3-for-4 at the line.
 
After being down by 11, the Vikings came all the way back to take the lead at 27-26 early in the second quarter on a pair of free throws from McNair. After the Vikings took a 31-30 lead, the Wildcats then went on an 11-1 run to go up 41-32. Weber State extended its lead to 50-38 at the break.
 
McNair led all scorers with 15 points in the first half. She went 4-for-6 from the floor, including a pair of three-pointers. She also went 5-for-6 from the free-throw line.
 
Weber State opened the second half on a 7-2 run to go up 57-40, forcing a Portland State timeout. The Vikings went cold during the third quarter going 0-for-13 before a three-pointer by freshman G Michaela Kay ended the field goal drought. Weber State went up by as much as 25 points in the third quarter to take a 75-50 lead into the fourth.
 
The Vikings out-scored the Wildcats 18-to-16 in the final frame but fell by a final score of 91-68.
 
WSU's Yarden Danan led all scorers with 24 points, going 9-for-11 from the floor and 6-for-7 from three-point range.
 
With the win, Weber State improved to 20-10 on the season and advanced in the Big Sky Tournament to face Idaho Wednesday night in the quarterfinals. The Vikings' season came to an end with the loss. They finished the season 4-26 overall.
 
NOTES: Portland State made its first Big Sky Basketball Tournament appearance since the 2011 season … Portland State started Kian McNair, Cici West, Ashley Torres Negron, Alicia Carline, and Michaela Kay for the fifth-straight game … Portland State is now 0-2 against Weber State at the Big Sky Tournament … Portland State is now 7-9 in Big Sky Tournament Play … Ashley Torres Negron scored a career-high 23 points and pulled down a career-high nine rebounds.