KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A bad second quarter and some early foul trouble made for a rough first trip to Kansas City in 30 years for the Portland State women's basketball team. The Vikings lost 87-69 to the Kansas City Roos Friday while playing their first game against the Roos since the 1989-90 season.
 
Friday night, which came as part of a four-team consolation draw within the Preseason WNIT, could have gone differently for the Vikings (1-2) if they had just been able to keep some of their starters on the court. Jordan Stotler, Desirae Hansen and Tatiana Streun all had two fouls by the 9:38 mark of the second quarter. Freshman post Syd Schultz also picked up her second foul with 7:13 left before halftime, leaving the Vikings with one available post player with fewer than two fouls for the rest of the first half.
 
Stotler ended up playing less than five minutes of the first half due to foul trouble, as she picked up her second foul with 5:20 left in the first quarter. Hansen, meanwhile, subbed back on in the second quarter and immediately picked up her third foul on an illegal screen with 6:42 left before halftime.
 
The foul trouble left the Vikings without much answer to the Roos (2-1) defensively, and the Roos took advantage in the second quarter. Kansas City hit seven of their 11 three-pointers in the game in the second quarter, and shot 14-of-21 in the frame after opening the game 4-of-15 from the field in the first quarter. Two big Kansas City runs bookended the quarter for the Roos as a 16-2 run opened the quarter, while a 12-2 run closed it.
 
The second quarter ultimately proved to be the difference in the game, as the Vikings outscored the Roos 56-52 in the other three quarters, but got outscored 35-13 in the second quarter.
 
"It's a tough environment, and as the host team, they had all the advantages," head coach Lynn Kennedy said afterwards. "As a young team learning to play on the road, you want these experiences but not necessarily this outcome. In both of our road games so far this season, we've had good quarters with the exception of the second quarter. Foul trouble has played major role in that, and we need to adjust to what is being called and be better."
 
The good news for the Vikings was that all three of the team's starters that got into foul trouble in the first half responded with strong performances in the second half. Stotler scored 12 of her team-high 15 points in the second half, while seven of her eight rebounds and two of her three blocks also came after halftime.
 
The Vikings fed the ball inside on a number of possessions at the start of the second half, as Stotler and Streun started to make an impact in the third quarter.
 
"We knew that we had a mismatch in the post, and we started to follow that game plan in the third quarter," Kennedy said. "Jordan did a great job of finishing in the second half.
 
"Our rebounding still needs to improve, and we need to be able to make adjustments on the defensive end."
 
Streun had the best plus-minus of any Viking in the game, as she was plus-12 while scoring nine of her 13 points after halftime. Stotler got to the free-throw line better than any other player on the court, and converted when she got there while going 7-of-7 from the charity stripe.
 
Hansen didn't score until 2:50 remained in the third quarter, but matched Stotler with 12 second-half points for the Vikings. Hansen went 5-of-8 from the field in the second half, when she also had four of her five rebounds in the game, and three of her four assists.
 
Junior Kylie Jimenez was the workhorse for the Vikings, as she played the first 36 minutes of the game without a break while her teammates were in foul trouble. Jimenez scored eight points Friday while going 2-of-2 from beyond the arc and dishing out six assists.
 
Friday's loss means the Vikings will now play UC Irvine Saturday to close out their participation within the Preseason WNIT. UC Irvine lost 78-72 to Davidson in a neutral-site game, hosted by the Roos, before the Vikings' game Friday.
 
Tipoff between the Vikings and Anteaters is scheduled for 11 a.m. (PT) / 1 p.m. (CT).
 
Game Notes: The Vikings fell to 0-2 all time against Kansas City…The Roos out-rebounded the Vikings 46-34 Friday, though the teams were even, 20-20, in the second half…The Vikings held a 15-7 advantage in second-chance points during the second half…Jimenez now has 317 career assists after Friday, leaving her just 25 from joining the all-time top 10 at Portland State…Jimenez needs just 15 more made three-pointers to enter the all-time top 10 in the category, as she now has 109 after Friday.