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PORTLAND, Ore. — The only lead that matters is the final one.
 
Down 16-0 and 20-2 in the first quarter, the Portland State women's basketball team didn't hold a lead until there were 5.7 seconds remaining against Montana State Thursday, but that was the only lead the Vikings needed as they beat the Bobcats 55-53 in the Viking Pavilion.
 
The 18-point comeback stands as the largest comeback victory in four seasons under head coach Lynn Kennedy, as well as the largest comeback since the Vikings overcame a 19-point deficit against Eastern Washington on Jan. 27, 2011.
 
The Vikings (9-2, 1-1 Big Sky) still trailed by nine points going into the fourth quarter, but held the Bobcats (7-6, 2-1 Big Sky) to only two field goals in the final period while outscoring them 20-9. That's a huge turnaround for the Vikings from just three days ago, when Northern Colorado handed the Vikings a 79-63 loss on the road while outscoring the Vikings 21-9 in the fourth quarter.
 
"I can't talk about how proud I am of this team. We learned from Monday night," Kennedy said after the game. "We learned and we didn't give up the entire game. We talked about going into the fourth quarter: 'it's our time. We've got to finish this game. We've got to correct what happened Monday night.' And we did."
 
Through three quarters, Thursday's game against the Bobcats appeared to be a carbon copy of the one against the Bears as the Bobcats answered every Viking run with one of their own, just as the Bears had done to the Vikings Monday. The Vikings got back within four points multiple times in the third quarter, only to see the Bobcats push the lead back out to three possessions. By the time Montana State's Claire Lundberg hit a three-pointer with less than a minute left in the third quarter, the lead had grown back out to nine points – the same deficit the Vikings faced at halftime.
 
However, just as she had done at the start of the third quarter, sophomore point guard Kylie Jimenez opened the fourth quarter with a big three-pointer, bringing the Vikings within six at 44-38. The Viking defense, meanwhile, stepped up to hold the Bobcats scoreless for the first four-and-a-half minutes of the fourth quarter, while the Vikings got within two with back-to-back jumpers from seniors Courtney West and Sidney Rielly.
 
The Bobcats pushed their lead back out to six points at 48-42, but the Vikings answered with six straight points to earn their first tie of the game at 48-48 with 3:19 remaining. West got a big offensive put-back off a missed three-pointer to make it 48-45, while freshman guard Desirae Hansen followed with a three-point play off a nice pick-and-roll with fellow freshman Ana Tainta to tie it.
 
Senior guard Ashley Bolston tied it up again at 53-53 with a baseline jumper with just over a minute remaining, and the Viking defense came up with two big stops on the Bobcats' next trip down the floor, giving the Vikings the ball back with 31.4 seconds remaining.
 
The Vikings melted the clock before trying to set up Bolston for a last-second shot, but a Montana State defender fouled Bolston away from the ball to send her to the line. Bolston hit both free throws to give the Vikings their first lead of the game with 5.7 seconds remaining.
 
Montana State called a timeout to set up their own last-second shot, which they drew up for Lundberg – their leading scoring who came into Thursday ranked third in the Big Sky with 18.7 points per game. Lundberg received the ball at the free throw line, but West and Rielly crashed hard on her and Lundberg's dribble went off Rielly's leg and rolled out to Jimenez, who melted the final ticks off the clock.
 
"What a tremendous last two minutes by our team. We locked in defensively. It wasn't pretty at times, but sometimes it's not pretty," Kennedy said.
 
The Vikings could not find the basket early in the game, as they missed their first nine shots and committed four turnovers as the Bobcats built their huge first-quarter lead. The Vikings didn't make their first field goal until there was 1:29 left in the first quarter, and were still only shooting .241 by the end of the first half – on pace for the Vikings' worst field goal percentage in a home game since they shot .217 against Idaho State on Feb. 11, 2016.
 
Jimenez opened the third quarter with a bang for the Vikings, however, as she hit a three-pointer on the team's first trip down the court, and then added a second three at the 7:42 mark to bring the Vikings back within three at 31-28.
 
"I told them at halftime, 'keep shooting. I don't want you to ever quit. At some point our shots are going to fall,'" Kennedy said of his message to the team at the break.
 
The Bobcats pushed the lead back out to eight points at 37-29, and maintained at least a two-possession lead from there until the Vikings closed the gap in the fourth quarter.
 
Lundberg led all players with 16 points in the game for the Bobcats, but nine of those came in the first seven minutes of the game. The Vikings also held Lundberg without a point in the fourth quarter, as her three-pointer with 50 seconds remaining in the third quarter was her last basket of the game.
 
Bolston led the Vikings with 14 points while adding nine rebounds, five assists and a steal. Jimenez scored all nine of her points on three-pointers in the second half while adding four assists and two steals. Junior forward Jordan Stotler matched Jimenez with nine points on 4-of-5 shooting from the field to go with four rebounds.
 
West led all players with 11 rebounds in the game – eight coming in the second half – and added four points, three assists and three blocks.
 
The Vikings have a quick turnaround for their next game, as they host Montana at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Viking Pavilion. The Grizzlies will be coming off their own emotional win Thursday, as they beat Sacramento State 88-86 in double overtime.
 
Game Notes: The Vikings won their fourth straight game against the Bobcats Thursday, while improving to 27-35 all time against the Bobcats…The Vikings also improved to 18-26 in the Big Sky series between them and the Bobcats…With three blocks against the Bobcats, West passed Northern Colorado's Stephanie Lee (2011-15) for fifth all time in the Big Sky with 200 career blocks.