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MOSCOW, Idaho — Idaho's Gina Marxen hit two free throws with 2.1 seconds remaining in a tied game to give the Vandals an 80-78 win over Portland State, snapping the Vikings' six-game Big Sky winning streak coming into the game Saturday at the Cowan Spectrum.
 
The narrow loss continued a run of close calls for the Vikings (14-3, 6-2 Big Sky) against the Vandals (9-8, 6-2 Big Sky), who have now won the last three games between them and the Vikings by a combined six points.
 
The Vikings had a chance to win a close one finally against the Vandals Saturday, however, as the team rallied after the Vandals used a 12-2 run to take a 78-75 lead late in the game.
 
Junior forward Jordan Stotler came up with a big offensive rebound after the Vikings missed two free throws with 1:18 remaining, leading to an eventual game-tying three from senior guard Sidney Rielly. Stotler again came up big with a defensive rebound after the Vikings came up with a stop on the Vandals' next possession, giving the Vikings the ball back with 30.2 seconds remaining on the clock.
 
The Vikings held for what would have essentially been the final shot in regulation, with sophomore point guard Kylie Jimenez dribbling the ball out top before passing to senior guard Ashley Bolston at the top of the arc with about 10 seconds remaining. Bolston waited a second or two more before beginning her drive down the right side of the key. Multiple Idaho defenders met Bolston in the lane, and Idaho's Lizzy Klinker drew an offensive foul on Bolston that gave Idaho the ball back with 3.6 seconds remaining.
 
The Vandals called a timeout to advance the ball, and the Vikings made a regrettable foul after the Vandals in-bounded the ball at half court. The Vandals were already in the bonus, sending Marxen to the line for the go-ahead free throws.
 
The Vikings still had a final look at a win when Jimenez got the ball along the left baseline for a three-pointer, but her shot fell short as time expired.
 
"On the road against the preseason No. 1 team in Idaho, and you have two opportunities to win? That's all you can ask for from your team," PSU head coach Lynn Kennedy said afterwards. "Things didn't go our way at several times at the end, and in a one-possession game those are magnified more. But we played through a lot of ups and downs today and kept competing. We had different players step up at pivotal times throughout the game and you have to have that on the road."
 
Saturday's game featured 21 lead changes and 10 ties as the team's went back-and-forth throughout. The quarter scores tell the story better than anything as it was 21-21 in the first quarter, 20-19 PSU in the second quarter, 18-17 Idaho in the third quarter and 22-20 Idaho in the fourth quarter.
 
The Vikings took their largest lead of the game in the fourth quarter, when a layup from Courtney West gave the Vikings a 73-66 lead with 5:21 remaining. The Vikings had been on a 9-2 run at that point, and had outscored the Vandals 15-8 in the fourth quarter after they went into the period tied at 58-all.
 
The Vandals, as was the case throughout the game for both teams, responded to their opponents' run with one of their own, however. The Vandals scored nine straight points to take a 78-75 and set up the final sequences of the game.
 
The Vikings ended up out-shooting the Vandals in the game, .443 (27-of-61) to .417 (30-of-72), but couldn't contain the Vandals' trademark three-point shooting as they hit 13-of-30 from beyond the arc. That was just above the Vandals' average of 11.3 three-pointers made per game, an average that ranked them third in the nation going into the game.
 
Idaho's Taylor Pierce came into Saturday's game as the national leader in three-pointers made per game, and upped her average while going 5-of-13 from beyond the arc against the Vikings. Marxen and Mikayla Ferenz – the preseason Big Sky MVP – also chipped in four three-pointers each for Idaho.
 
The Vikings made eight three-pointers of their own against the Vandals, with Jimenez and Rielly accounting for seven of the eight between them. Rielly led the Vikings with 19 points while going 3-of-4 from beyond the arc, while Jimenez finished with 16 points on 4-of-7 shooting from deep. Rielly's three three-pointers against the Vandals gave her 121 in her Viking career, moving her into the all-time top 10 for three-pointers made at Portland State.
 
Stotler, meanwhile, posted one of her best games as a Viking as she recorded her first double-double of the season with 14 points and 10 rebounds to go with two assists, one steal and a block. Bolston also scored in double figures for the Vikings with 15 points to go with three rebounds, two assists and two steals.
 
"I'm proud of our team effort and determination," Kennedy said. "We will continue to get better."
 
The Vikings will have the comfort of home to welcome them after Saturday's tough loss, as they return to the Viking Pavilion for four straight games over the next two weeks. The Vikings open the homestand against Weber State Thursday, Jan. 31, at 7 p.m. (PT).
 
Game Notes: The Vikings fell to 12-25 all time against Idaho with Saturday's loss, as well as 0-8 in Big Sky play…The Vikings have now lost nine straight against the Vandals, and haven't beaten them since Idaho rejoined the Big Sky before the 2014-15 season…In addition to entering the top 10 all time for three-pointers made, Rielly also moved into a tie for 10th all time with her 62nd 10-point game.