PORTLAND – The Vikings suffered one of their more heartbreaking losses, falling 77-68 to the Sacramento State Hornets, Saturday afternoon at the Peter W. Stott Center.
 
For much of the game, it seemed that the traditional Portland State vs. Sacramento State storyline (Portland State turnovers against Sacramento State's points off turnovers) was not going to rear its ugly head. The Vikings controlled the flow of the game, took care of the basketball, and broke the Hornets' press.
 
However, that all changed late in the third quarter. The Hornets intensified their full-court press, the Vikings started to get a little too relaxed with the ball, and the forced turnovers started to come for Sacramento State.
 
What was a 13-point lead for Portland State (10-10 overall, 4-4 Big Sky Conference) at 56-43 dissolved into an eight-point deficit thanks to a 22-2 run by Sacramento State (8-11, 4-4). Following the big run, the Hornets led 67-58 with just under five minutes left to play in the game. Portland State cut the lead to three points, 69-66, with 1:59 on the clock.
 
That would be as close as the Vikings would get, as the Hornets scored eight of the final 10 points of the ballgame, four coming at the free-throw line, to win 77-68.
 
What should not go overlooked in this tough loss, is how the Vikings controlled and dominated the game for the the first nearly three-quarters of the game, especially the dominance of sophomore F Courtney West.
 
West was a scoring/rebounding/blocking machine against the Hornets. She scored 14 points with seven rebounds and seven blocks in the first half alone. Her seven blocks matched the Portland State all-time single-game record for blocks set by Sherri Ives against Western Oregon in 1990.
 
West broke the 26-year-old record with her eighth block of the game in the second half. She finished with eight blocks, eight rebounds, and a career-high 20 points on a career-high 10 field goals. She has been dominant of late, averaging 18.7 points, 10.0 rebounds and 4.3 blocks per game over her last three games.
 
West entered the game tied for sixth on Portland State's single-season blocks list with 45. Her eight blocks against the Hornets propelled her into second all-time with 53. The PSU single-season blocks record is 68, set by Katy Wade during the 2009-10 season.
 
Portland State shot a season-high 58.5 percent from the floor, going 31-for-53 as a team. The Vikings were shooting 69.2 percent from the floor (27-for-39) with 2:52 left in the third quarter. At one point, Portland State hit seven-straight shots in the second quarter.  
 
Subsequently, the Vikings' defense played equally as well. Through roughly the same timeframe, Portland State was holding Sacramento State to just 19-of-48 shooting, 39.6 percent from the floor.
 
Unfortunately for Portland State, that was when Sacramento State went on its big run to take the lead and eventually win the game. In the fourth quarter, Sacramento State outscored Portland State 27-10 and held the Vikings to just 36.4 percent from the floor. The Vikings turned the ball over seven times, leading to 10 points off turnovers for the Hornets.
 
The other two members of the Portland State redshirt sophomore trifecta both had impressive games for the Vikings. Ashley Bolston went 8-for-9 from the floor, with a pair of three-pointers, for 19 points. She hit the Vikings only free throw of the game on the back-end of an old-fashioned three-point play.
 
The statistical anomaly of the game for the Vikings was that they were held to just one free-throw attempt, which came with 3:33 left in the game. Portland State entered the game averaging 13.9 free throw makes per game.
 
Sidney Rielly added 18 points, going 8-for-15 from the floor with a pair of three-pointers. She led the team with six assists.  
 
Sacramento State's Maranne Johnson kept the Hornets in the game early with her three-point shooting. She went 11-for-16 from the floor in the game, including 6-for-9 from three-point range, en route to a game-high 28 points.
 
The Vikings must quickly put this tough loss behind them as they continue Big Sky play at home next week. Portland State brings in Idaho on Thursday before hosting Eastern Washington on Saturday.
 
NOTES:
• Sophomore F Courtney West set the Portland State single-game record for blocks with eight.
• West had matched the previous record of seven blocks in the first half.
• West hit a career-high 10 field goals for a career-high 20 points.
• Portland State tallied a season-high 12 blocks.
• Portland State shot a season-high 58.5 percent from the floor.
• Portland State leads the Big Sky with team shooting mark of .458.