MOSCOW, Idaho – The Vikings clawed their way back from a 16-point deficit at the half but came up one point short, falling 61-60 to the Idaho Vandals Thursday night in Moscow, Idaho.
 
The Vikings (11-9 overall, 5-4 Big Sky Conference) had the ball, down by one, with 15.6 seconds remaining. Kylie Jimenez initiated the offense with around 10 seconds on the clock. Jimenez passed to Ashley Bolston on the right wing who attacked the middle and went up for the potential game-winner. She played through contact on the release and the ball came up short of the rim but right into the hands of Courtney West.
 
West got it back out to Kiana Brown, again on the wing, with just under two seconds left. Brown drove to the basket and looked to get hit from two different Vandals and her shot fell short as the Vikings fell in heart-breaking fashion.
 
The one-point loss should not diminish a tremendous second-half performance by the Vikings. Idaho (11-10, 7-3) led 43-27 at the break after outscoring Portland State 29-13 in the second quarter.  
 
Portland State went into the break down by 16 but made tremendous halftime adjustments and looked like a different team defensively over the final 20 minutes. The Vandals shot 51.4 percent from the floor with seven three-pointers in the first half but the Vikings held them to just 25.8 percent shooting and two three-pointers over the final two periods.
 
Idaho maintained their 16-point advantage throughout most of the third quarter but the Vikings were able to cut the lead to just five points heading to the fourth after closing out the quarter on an 11-0 run. The Vikings' run was fueled by three-consecutive three-pointers, one by Jimenez and two by Brown.
 
The Vikings held Idaho to just seven points in the third as the Vandals went 3-for-16 from the floor and 1-for-9 in the period. After scoring just two points in the first half, Sidney Rielly started to find her rhythm in the third, scoring seven points, going 3-for-5 from the floor with a triple.
 
After trading points to open the fourth, Rielly hit back-to-back threes to give the Vikings their first lead since the end of the first quarter. A three-pointer by the Vandals gave them the lead again at 55-53. Rielly hit another three-pointer to take a 56-55 lead. The teams traded baskets once again until a jumper by Idaho put it up 61-58.
 
Brown hit a pair of free throws to pull the Vikings within one at 61-60 with 2:09 remaining in regulation. Both teams went cold from that point out, going a combined 0-for-8 from the floor.
 
Portland State had two shots to win the game late but came up short, falling by the final one-point margin.
 
Rielly scored a team-high 20 points, including 18 in the second half. She scored 11-consecutive points for the Vikings in the fourth quarter. Rielly went 8-for-14 from the floor and 4-for-5 from distance.
 
Brown came off the bench for 13 points, including a trio of triples over 25 minutes. Bolston added 12 points, five rebounds, six assists, and just one turnover in 35 minutes.
 
Taylor Pierce led the Vandals with 22 points on 8-of-17 shooting and 6-of-14 from deep. Mikayla Ferenz came into the game averaging a Big Sky-leading 22.9 points per game. Portland State held her to just eight points on 3-of-13 shooting.
 
The Vikings will now make the 71-mile trip from Moscow, Idaho to Cheney, Wash. where they will take on the Eastern Washington Eagles on Saturday, Feb. 3. Tip is slated for 2 p.m. PT. Eastern Washington defeated Sacramento State 83-76 Thursday night.