IRVINE, Calif. — Third time's the charm. The Portland State women's basketball team avenged two recent losses to UC Irvine Monday night, beating the Anteaters, 70-61, on the road.
 
The Anteaters (3-5) beat the Vikings (4-3) in a consolation game within the Preseason WNIT, 83-75, earlier this season, and also handed the Vikings their lone loss in non-conference play last season.
 
A win in their third recent game against the Anteaters showed growth for a young Viking team that has now won three games in a row, including two straight on the road. The Vikings beat UC Davis, a fellow 2019 NCAA tournament team, on the road Saturday, 76-70. The Anteaters, meanwhile, were a 20-win last season, and had been unbeaten on their home floor going into Monday's game.
 
"This was the first road weekend where we found a way to win," head coach Lynn Kennedy, whose Viking team was 0-3 away from home going into their game against UC Davis, said afterwards. "Both games had their challenges this weekend, but both second halves we stepped up as an entire team and pushed each other to get these wins. It has been amazing to watch the growth of our team over the last three weeks and now we need to get back to work."
 
The Anteaters held a significant rebounding advantage early in the game, especially on the offensive glass. UCI had seven offensive rebounds by the 8:45 mark of the second quarter, and held a 19-11 advantage overall with six minutes left before halftime. The Anteaters took their largest lead of the game soon after that, as a three-pointer for UCI's Dani Guglielmo gave them a 38-33 lead with 3:49 remaining before half. 
 
Posts Jordan Stotler and Tatiana Streun, along with sophomore guard Desirae Hansen, stepped up to narrow the rebounding gap, however, and the Vikings soon found their way into the lead. Hansen scored the final five points of the first half to tie it at 38-38 going into the break, while Streun scored the Vikings' first six points of the third quarter as the PSU edged ahead after halftime.
 
Streun, Stotler and Hansen scored all 18 points for the Vikings in the third quarter. Streun scored 11 of the Vikings' 18 points, while her rebound basket with six seconds remaining gave the Vikings a 56-48 lead going into the fourth quarter.
 
"They are one of the best rebounding teams we will face this year. They fight for every rebound," Kennedy said of the Anteaters. "Jordan, Tatiana and Des have to be our best rebounders since they are on the backside a lot of times. They continued to work and had big rebounds late." 
 
Things got interesting early in the fourth quarter, when Streun and Hansen both picked up their fourth fouls. Hansen picked up her fourth foul with just under eight minutes remaining, leaving the Vikings without their two leading scorers at a critical time of the game. Freshmen Syd Schultz and Cassidy Gardner gave the Vikings good minutes in spell of Streun and Hansen, however, and the Vikings actually stretched their lead from 58-53 with 7:07 remaining to 66-56 by the time Streun and Hansen checked back in with 3:24 left in the game.
 
"I thought our bench gave us great minutes again," Kennedy said. "Their energy and intensity was good and provided the key minutes that you need to win on the road."
 
The Anteaters hit a three-pointer to get within seven at 66-59 with 2:37 remaining. Freshman Belle Frazier responded with a jumper, however, while Streun made a rebound basket with 1:39 remaining that proved to be the final bucket of the game.
 
Streun finished the game with 21 points on 6-of-9 shooting while adding nine rebounds, four of which came on the offensive end. Stotler recorded her first double-double of the season with 15 points and 12 rebounds to go with two blocks and two assists. Hansen, meanwhile, scored 13 of her 17 points in the first half while going 3-of-4 from beyond the arc and adding seven rebounds and two assists.
 
Streun led the Vikings' parade to the free-throw line, as well, as she went 9-of-13 from the line for a new career high. The Vikings, who came into the game leading the nation with an .842 free-throw percentage, made 18-of-25 free throws as a team, giving them 10 more makes than the Anteaters. Stotler went 5-of-6 from the charity stripe for the Vikings, while Hansen went 4-of-6.
 
The Vikings also picked up their defense after the Anteaters made four three-pointers in a 21-point first quarter. The Anteaters hit 8-of-18 shots in the first quarter, but went 14-of-56 (.250) over the final three quarters of the game. Additionally, the Anteaters had six three-pointers by halftime, but went 3-of-16 from deep in the second half.
 
Both teams shot poorly in the third quarter. The Vikings went 4-of-15 (.267) from the floor but held the Anteaters to 3-of-18 (.167) on the other end. The Vikings still got to the line in the third quarter despite not shooting well, as they went 9-of-12 from the line in the quarter.
 
Frazier grabbed a career-high six steals in the game while also chipping in 11 points and four rebounds. Schultz, fellow freshman Marina Canzobre and junior guard Kylie Jimenez all scored two points each, as well.
 
The Vikings return to the Portland area for their final three non-conference games. The Vikings open the stretch with a home game against Grand Canyon Friday, then play cross-town rival University of Portland on Dec. 15 before hosting the legendary Tennessee Lady Volunteers on Dec. 21.
 
Friday's game against Grand Canyon comes as a doubleheader with the Viking men. The Viking women tip off at 5 p.m. (PT) against the Lopes, before the Viking men tip off at 7:35 p.m. (PT) against CSUN.
 
Game Notes: The Vikings improved to 10-5 all time against UC Irvine with Monday's win…The Vikings have won their last two road games against UC Irvine, as they also beat the Anteaters 82-72 in overtime on Dec. 16, 2017…The Vikings finished with a 46-44 rebounding advantage against the Anteaters…The Vikings are now 4-0 when out-rebounding their opponent this season, and 0-3 when they don't…The Anteaters finished 22-of-74 from the field for a .297 field goal percentage, a season low for a Viking opponent this season.