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PORTLAND, Ore. — The Viking Pavilion may be new, but it likely won't see a better first half than what the Portland State women's basketball team played Sunday en route to an 80-51 win over San Jose State.
The Vikings (2-0) led the Spartans 42-11 at halftime, and held them without a field goal for nearly seven minutes in the first quarter as the Vikings built a 28-7 lead at the end of the first period of play. Additionally, the Spartans (0-3) didn't score until there was 5:09 left in the second quarter, leaving them with only one field goal in a span of about 12 minutes of game time.
The Spartans finished the first half just 5-of-33 from the field, giving them a first-half field goal percentage of just .152.
"Probably one of the best first halves we've seen," Portland State head coach
Lynn Kennedy said of his team's performance. "We got in lock-down mode. It was almost a defensive clinic in the first half. To hold a team like that to 11 points, it was pretty amazing"
The Spartans bounced back in the second half against the Vikings, but still finished 17-of-64 from the field for a .266 field goal percentage. The Vikings haven't held a Division I opponent to that low of a field goal percentage since they held Loyola Marymount to just .242 shooting on Dec. 11, 2010.
The Vikings will lament a small drop in form in the second half that resulted in 15 second-half turnovers, but still led by 20 or more points throughout the half.
"Some of that is when you have a large lead, your intensity does drop," Kennedy said of the team's turnover problems in the second half. "What I did like, though, was that when they cut it to 20, we went right back up. So we stayed in control. We've just got to make sure we stay consistent throughout the game, even in games like this where you go through some ups and downs."
The Vikings initially took control of the game with 23-0 run over the final six minutes of the first quarter, turning a tied game at 5-5 into a blowout at 28-5. The Vikings picked up their shooting in the run, as they shot 9-of-13 over the latter part of the first quarter, after starting the game 3-of-11 from the field. Freshman
Desirae Hansen and senior
Courtney West combined for six straight points at the start of the run, as Hansen fed West for three straight buckets with each assist prettier than the last.
Senior
Ashley Bolston fed West for a fourth straight bucket and then hit a three-pointer from the right side that gave the Vikings an 18-5 lead with 2:30 left in the quarter. Rielly followed with her own three-pointer, and then received a left-handed, full-court outlet pass from Hansen that gave the Vikings a 23-5 lead with 1:19 left.
Rielly hit another three-pointer from straight away that pushed the Vikings' lead to 23 at 28-5 with 36 seconds remaining.
San Jose State's Mikaylah Wilson finally broke the Viking run with a jumper with 20 seconds left in the quarter, but the Vikings stretched it to a 29-point lead with eight straight points to start the second quarter.
The Spartans stopped the bleeding with another bucket to make it 36-9, but Hansen fed West on a no-look half-court pass a little later, while Rielly followed with a jumper that gave the Vikings their first 30-point lead of the night at 40-9 with 3:44 left in the half.
Rielly gave the Vikings their largest lead of the game with a three-pointer that made it 52-18 with 6:32 left in the third quarter, but the Spartans followed with a 10-0 run, and the teams played level with each other for the remainder of the game.
"I didn't like our intensity coming out of halftime, especially with them getting a technical foul [at the end of the first half]. We should have had a little momentum. But when you win by 30 and you have a lot to work on, it's a good thing. We'll take it. Anytime you can beat a time like this by 30, you take it."
Bolston led the Vikings with 19 points against the Spartans while going 5-of-11 from the field, and added five rebounds (three offensive), five assists and five steals. Rielly followed Bolston with 14 points on 5-of-12 shooting from the field, and made three of the five three-pointers she took in the game.
"[Ashley and Sidney] played like seniors tonight," Kennedy said of Bolston and Rielly. "They took over. It was nice to see, especially Ashley. She got double teamed a lot of times and she still found a way. She actually helped us overcome the slump in the third quarter with her second-chance points and getting to the basket. And then Sidney on the break, it was amazing to see her run like that again."
West had a double-double in the first half, as she grabbed her 10th rebound with 4:33 left in the second quarter. West finished the game with 12 points and 12 rebounds, five coming on the offensive end, and added three blocks.
Sophomore
Kylie Jimenez also went into double figures for the Vikings with 11 points while adding six assists, five rebounds, four steals and three three-pointers. Hansen only scored two points for the Vikings, but finished with a game-high eight assists to go with seven rebounds.
Overall, the Vikings enjoyed a huge advantage on the boards, out-rebounding the Spartans 54-44. The Vikings had seven offensive rebounds in the first quarter alone, when the Vikings out-rebounded the Spartans 18-7 overall.
The Vikings remain home for their next game, as they host UC Davis – a WNIT quarterfinal team a season ago – on Friday, Nov. 16, at 4 p.m.
Game Notes: The Vikings improved to 5-1 all time against San Jose State following Sunday's win…The Vikings are 2-0 to start the season for the first time since the 2012-13 season, when they started the year 3-0.
