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PORTLAND, Ore. — Like a well-written TV show in its prime, different people can take the lead for the Portland State women's basketball team on any given day. Saturday afternoon, sophomore point guard Kylie Jimenez took the spotlight as she led the Vikings to a 72-55 win over Northern Arizona with a resurgent performance in the Viking Pavilion.
 
Jimenez finished with a team-high 19 points – her highest scoring output since she had 28 points against UC Irvine over a month ago. Jimenez also tied senior guard Ashley Bolston for the team lead with four steals in the game, while the Vikings (13-2, 5-1 Big Sky) recorded 14 steals as a team for their most thefts since they had 16 in their win over the University of Portland on Dec. 1. Jimenez went 3-of-5 from beyond the arc, as well, while the Vikings tied a season high with 10 three-pointers against the Lumberjacks (5-11, 1-6 Big Sky).
 
The rotating cast of leads underscores the Vikings' depth, which was on full display in the team's win over the Lumberjacks. Four different Vikings scored in double figures between Jimenez, senior guard Sidney Rielly (17), Bolston (11) and freshman guard Desirae Hansen (10).
 
"You could see our balance tonight," PSU head coach Lynn Kennedy said afterward. "One player didn't dominate for us. Kylie, Sidney and Ashley all contributed with points, but Courtney [West] and Jordan [Stotler] were getting good post-ups, and Des hit a few threes. Overall, it was a hard-fought win for us."
 
The Vikings' depth has the team rolling, as PSU recorded its fifth straight win in Big Sky play with the win over the Lumberjacks. The Vikings haven't won five straight Big Sky games since they closed the 2010-11 regular season with six straight wins.
 
The Vikings also, at least temporarily, moved into a tie for the Big Sky lead at 5-1 with Saturday's win. The Vikings equaled Idaho State at 5-1 in conference play, though the Bengals face defending-champion Northern Colorado later in the day Saturday.
 
The Vikings led from the start against the Lumberjacks, as they scored the first seven points of the game and never trailed the rest of the way. The closest the Lumberjacks got after the opening minutes was within four points at 13-9 early in the second quarter, and it was soon a 10-point game at 19-9 after that.
 
The Vikings used two different pockets of three straight three-pointers in the first half in order to distance themselves from the Lumberjacks. Rielly hit back-to-back three-pointers followed by another from freshman guard Ana Tainta to give the Vikings an early 13-4 lead in the first quarter. Jimenez then opened another run from beyond the arc with a three that made it 24-14 with 3:17 remaining in the second quarter, while Hansen followed with back-to-back threes to push the Vikings' lead to 16 at 30-14.
 
Jimenez opened the second half with another three, while Bolston added a triple to make it 38-20 right out of halftime. Bolston hadn't made a three-pointer in a game since the Vikings' win over UTEP on Dec. 9, but like Jimenez, had a resurgent game against the Lumberjacks. Besides the made three-pointer, Bolston also finished with four steals against NAU for her most steals in a game since she had four in the Vikings' win over UNLV on Dec. 15.
 
NAU got back within 14 at 38-24 after Bolston's three-pointer, but the Vikings responded with 11 straight points to take their largest lead at 49-24 with 4:51 remaining. Rielly started the run with her third three-pointer of the game, while Jimenez, Hansen and junior forward Jordan Stotler all chipped in later in the run.
 
The closest NAU got the rest of the way was at 61-48 with 3:47 remaining, and the Vikings responded immediately with a 9-1 run to stretch their lead back out to 21 points.
 
The Vikings shot .474 (27-of-57) despite a physical finish to the game, giving them their third-best field goal percentage in a game this season. Conversely, the Vikings held NAU to just .315 (17-of-54) from the floor – the third time in the Vikings' last four games that they have held their opponent to under 32 percent shooting.
 
Jimenez went 8-of-13 from the floor against the Lumberjacks for her best field goal percentage in a game this season. Rielly went 6-of-14 while chipping in 17 points, while Bolston went 4-of-7 while finishing with 11 points, five assists, four rebounds and four steals. Hansen also had an all-around game for the Vikings with 10 points to go with three rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block.
 
Stotler only finished with four points in the game, but made contributions across the other categories as she finished with a career-high 12 rebounds to go with two assists, two steals and two blocks.
 
The Vikings hit the road next weekend, starting with an early game against Eastern Washington at 11 a.m. (PT) Thursday, Jan. 24. The Eagles will be coming off a dramatic, 89-87 win over Montana State in overtime, as the Eagles erased a 14-point deficit with a 33-point fourth quarter.
 
Game Notes: The Vikings improved to 25-23 all time against NAU with Saturday's win…The Vikings also leveled the Big Sky series between the two teams, 22-22…The Vikings have won seven straight games in the series after Saturday, with their last loss coming at home on March 5, 2015…The Vikings' five-game Big Sky win streak stands just two off the longest Big Sky win streak in school history, which the Vikings set with seven straight wins during the 2008-09 season…The Vikings finished with 21 assists on 27 field goals Saturday – the third time in the past four games the Vikings have had at least 20 assists.