CHENEY, Wash. – The Vikings led late in the fourth quarter but they could not overcome a season-high 31 turnovers as they fell, 64-57, to the Eastern Washington Eagles Saturday afternoon in Cheney, Wash.
 
Portland State (11-10 overall, 5-5 Big Sky Conference) had three players in double-figures, shot 43.8 percent from the floor, out-rebounded Eastern Washington (12-11, 7-4) by 21, but turned the ball over 31 times, which led to 27 points off turnovers and the Eagles were able to outscore the Vikings 21-16 in the fourth quarter to win by seven.
 
The story of the game was the season-high turnovers by the Vikings. It started with a flurry to open the game as the Vikings went scoreless for the first 5:19 of the ballgame, while committing seven turnovers. They committed eight more in the second but were able to take advantage of poor shooting by Eastern Washington and led 24-23 at the break.
 
Portland State was able to get away with the turnovers in the first half as Eastern Washington turned 16 first-half miscues into just six points. That changed in the second half. The Vikings continued to turn the ball over but the Eagles were able to turn 15 second-half turnovers into 21 points.
 
The Vikings' 31 turnovers were the most this season, surpassing their previous season high of 24 set against UNLV in the opening game of the season.
 
JR G Ashley Bolston led the Vikings with 16 points, going 7-for-15 from the floor and 2-for-3 at the line. She pulled down three boards and had a team-high four assists. She also committed a career-high 11 turnovers over her 37 minutes of action.
 
JR G Kiana Brown came off the bench for 13 points against her former team. She went 2-for-6 from the floor with a pair of three-pointers and went 7-for-8 at the line. SO F Tatiana Strean had a solid game with 10 points and nine rebounds in 15 minutes off the bench.
 
Portland State had its way on the glass, out-rebounding Eastern Washington 45-to-24 for the game. The Vikings' +21 rebounding margin was its best this season against a Division I program. A large reason for the Vikings' success on the glass was the play of JR F Courtney West.
 
West pulled down a career-high 15 rebounds to go along with nine points, which included her first career three-pointer. She was particularly good on the offensive glass, pulling down four of the teams 13 offensive boards. Her 15 rebounds were the second most by a Viking this season and the most against a Division I opponent.
 
Sidney Rielly west held to just five points, well below her season average. She never quite got into an offensive rhythm, going 2-for-6 from the floor and 1-for-3 from distance.
 
Portland State struggled to have an answer for Eastern Washington's all-time leading scorer, Delaney Hodgins. She posted a game-high 27 points, going 10-for-17 from the floor, 2-for-4 from deep, and 5-for-6 at the line.
 
After committing eight turnovers and not scoring for the first 5:19 of the game, the Vikings went on a 6-0 run to trail by four at the end of the first. Brown gave PSU its first lead of the game with a three-pointer to go up 24-21. EWU added a late field goal but the Vikings led 24-23 at the break.
 
The third quarter was back and forth with neither team stringing together more than two shots. Eastern Washington retook the lead with a 5-0 run before a three-pointer by FR G Kylie Jimenez, her only points of the game, made it a two-point game going to the fourth.
 
The Eagles went on a 6-0 run to open up a 53-48 lead. Bolston drew a foul on a jumper right at the media timeout in the fourth. Right after the whistle, EWU's Amy Hartleroad was called for a technical after some extra-circulars between her and Bolston. After the timeout, JR G Corey James hit 1-of-2 free throws for the technical before Bolston hit a pair of free throws to pull the Vikings within two.
 
Brown followed that up with a pair of free throws of her own before a Bolston layup gave the Vikings a 55-53 lead following a 7-0 run. It looked like the Vikings were going to be able to overcome all of the turnovers but that would be their final lead of the game.
 
Portland State went just 1-for-2 with four turnovers over the final 3:05 as Eastern Washington closed out the game on an 11-2 run to win 64-57.  
 
The loss is a tough one for the Vikings in the Big Sky standings. They currently sit in eight-place after falling to 5-5 in league play. They are 2.5 games out of fourth and 3.0 games out of first with eight games to play.
 
The schedule only gets tougher next week as they return home to face the Montana schools. Montana comes to town on Thursday, Feb. 8 followed by Montana State on Saturday, Feb. 10. Both games will be played at the Pamplin Sports Center at Lewis and Clark College.