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PORTLAND, Ore. — Portland State head women's basketball coach Lynn Kennedy saw only two flaws in the Vikings' 90-52 win over Simpson last Friday: the start of the game, and the team's defensive intensity. A week later, Kennedy got answers to both questions as the Vikings beat Lewis & Clark 97-46 in another exhibition Friday night at the Viking Pavilion.
 
The Vikings outscored the Pioneers by at least 10 points in every quarter, and held them to just 18 points in the second half. Additionally, the Vikings outshot the Pioneers .500-to-.315 in the game while forcing 23 turnovers on 14 steals Friday night.
 
"I think we came out better in the first quarter tonight," Kennedy said of his team's performance after the game. "We were settled down. We got into our sets a little bit quicker because we had more intensity on the defensive end and that's what we talked about all week. We were able to turn them over a little bit in that first quarter and that allowed us to get out on the break. We knocked down some open shots early on whereas we didn't last week."
 
The Vikings answered both challenges from their coach in the first 16 seconds of the game, as freshman point guard Kylie Jimenez hit a three-pointer on the Vikings' opening possession, and the Vikings immediately followed with a full-court press that led to steal and a layup for junior forward Jordan Stotler.
 
By the end of the first quarter, the Vikings had doubled-up Lewis & Clark with a 26-13 lead, a much-better start than the Vikings' first quarter against Simpson, when the Vikings led by only two at 13-11. Senior forward Pia Jurhar helped lead the Vikings to the quick start, as she led all players with seven points in the first quarter alone, and added four rebounds, three on the offensive end.
 
The Vikings flashed their athleticism in the second quarter, especially during a 17-0 run mid-way through that stretched the Vikings' lead to 29 at 48-19. Senior Ashley Bolston found a cutting Ana Tainta on the baseline for a reverse layup that gave the Vikings their first 20-point lead at 40-19 with 5:29 left in the half. Tainta followed with a steal and score just under a minute later that made it 44-19, while Jimenez ended the run with a juke along the right wing that freed herself up for a mid-range jumper that made it 48-19.
 
The Vikings led 54-28 at the break, and picked up their defense even more from there, as they held the Pioneers to just 10 points in the third quarter, and eight in the fourth quarter. Additionally, the Vikings held the Pioneers to just two three-pointers in the second half, after Lewis & Clark had been 7-of-18 from beyond the arc in the first half.
 
"We mixed it up more tonight defensively than we have really in three years," Kennedy said of his team's defensive performance. "I think for us, we've got to be able to do that this year, especially with the athletes that we have – how long we are, how athletic we are. We can play person-to-person. We can play full-court defense. We can play trapping defense. We'll be able to mix it up a bit more, and we did that tonight." 
 
The Vikings played their bench for much of the fourth quarter, with freshman Desirae Hansen taking over in the final period. Hansen scored 13 of her team-high 17 points in the final quarter, while shooting 5-of-8 in the period after starting the game 1-of-5. Jurhar also put the finishing touches on a double-double with six points and three rebounds in the fourth quarter.
 
Jurhar finished the game with 15 points and 10 rebounds, which would have given her third-career double-double if the game hadn't been an exhibition. Six of Jurhar's 10 rebounds came on the offensive end Friday, and the senior forward filled the stat sheet in other ways, too, with three blocks, two assists and a steal.
 
Three other players joined Hansen and Jurhar in double-figures, while seven Vikings finished with seven or more points in the game. Bolston tied Jurhar with 15 points, 10 of which came on a 10-of-10 performance at the free-throw line. Jimenez also finished with 12 points Friday, while Stotler finished with 11 points and eight rebounds, five of which came on the offensive end.
 
Tainta led all players with four steals Friday, while finishing with nine points and two assists. Savannah Dhaliwal added another seven points to go with four rebounds, including two on the offensive end. Senior forward Courtney West only played 19 minutes Friday, but still finished with four points, seven rebounds (three offensive), three assists and three steals.
 
The Vikings officially open their season Nov. 9, when they host Warner Pacific in the first counting game in the new Viking Pavilion. Tipoff between the Vikings and Knights will be at 7 p.m. (PT).