CEDAR CITY, Utah — With 4:55 left in the fourth quarter, sophomore Desirae Hansen hit a three-pointer – her fifth of the game and second in the previous 90 seconds – to bring the Portland State women's basketball team within three points of Southern Utah at 58-55. The play had flashes of the Vikings' comeback against University of Portland earlier this month, when Hansen led the Vikings back from a 15-point halftime deficit with a big fourth quarter. 
 
The comeback didn't materialize this time, however, as Southern Utah scored the next 13 points to close out a 71-58 win over the Vikings Monday night at America First Events Center.
 
"I thought we did a good job of fighting through everything a road game gives you," PSU head coach Lynn Kennedy said afterwards. "We didn't get some things to go our way in the last five minutes and they did. We will keep working and get to it at home on Thursday.
 
"This is part of being the 'lone wolf' [Portland State is without a travel partner in the 11-team Big Sky Conference this season]. Especially on the road, teams will be able to prepare for us by not playing earlier in the week, and we need to be better against that. As a young team, that's all you can ask is for them to keep working. Good things will start to happen from that."
 
Hansen did everything she could to lead the Vikings (6-6, 0-2 Big Sky) back against the Thunderbirds (7-3, 1-0 Big Sky). Her three-pointer with 4:55 left gave her a new career high of 23 points, while she finished 9-of-14 from the field overall and 5-of-7 from beyond the arc. Four of Hansen's five three-pointer came in the second half, when she also scored 14 of her game-high 23 points.
 
Kylie Jimenez and Tatiana Streun added 14 and 10 points, respectively, while they and Hansen combined for 47 of the team's 58 points between them.
 
Jimenez was the only Viking scoring early in the game, as the Viking offense was stagnant at times against the Thunderbirds. Jimenez accounted for eight of the Vikings' first 13 points in the game. The junior guard was 4-of-6 from the field at that point of the game, while the rest of the Vikings were just 2-of-10.
 
The cold shooting outside of Jimenez helped the Thunderbirds build an early 22-13 lead with 8:28 left to go before halftime. Hansen got going from there – hitting shots on back-to-back possessions to get the Vikings back within five – but the Thunderbirds answered each Viking run with one of their own.
 
A 9-0 SUU run, punctuated by a three-pointer from Shaylyn Fano, gave the Thunderbirds a 33-19 lead with 4:27 left before halftime. Hansen answered with her first three-pointer of the game, but the Thunderbirds still led by 10 at the break.
 
Hansen hit her second three-pointer quickly out of halftime, getting the Vikings back within five at 35-30 with 8:09 left in the third. Hansen's third three-pointer came with 4:54 left in the third and brought the Vikings back within four at 43-39.
 
Every time the Vikings would get close, though, the Thunderbirds would seemingly find a back-breaking three of their own. SUU's Harley Hansen – no relation to the Vikings' Desirae Hansen – pushed the Thunderbirds' lead back out to nine at 50-41 with a pair of three-pointers within two minutes of each other. Fano then hit a three-pointer at the third-quarter buzzer, giving the Thunderbirds a 10-point lead – the same advantage they had at halftime – going into the fourth quarter.
 
SUU's Rebecca Cardnes – the Big Sky's leading scorer – hit another three-pointer to give the Thunderbirds a 58-47 lead with 7:14 remaining. Hansen got the Vikings back within three soon after that, but Cardenas answered with six of the Thunderbirds' next eight points to put her team back up by double digits.
 
The Thunderbirds finished 9-of-24 from beyond the arc, and shut down all Viking shooters from the outside besides Hansen. Outside of Hansen, who was 5-of-7 from deep, the Vikings went just 1-of-12 as a team. Additionally, the only other three-pointer came from senior forward Jordan Stotler, as Jimenez and freshman Belle Frazier – two players who rank among the Big Sky leaders in three-pointers made per game – went a combined 0-of-9 from beyond the arc.
 
Jimenez had a strong game within the arc, however, as she went 7-of-10 on two-point field goals, and added five rebounds, four assists and a steal. Stotler finished with five points, seven rebounds and four blocks, and now ranks just one block away from entering the career top 10 at Portland State in the category.
 
Freshman Syd Schultz, who the Vikings played alongside Stotler and Streun for the first time this season, had a solid game off the bench, finishing with six points, six rebounds and a steal.
 
The Vikings have a quick turnaround for their next game, as they return home for a game against last year's Big Sky regular-season champion in Idaho Thursday, Jan. 2. Tipoff between the Vikings and Vandals is scheduled for 7 p.m. (PT) at Viking Pavilion.
 
Game Notes: The Vikings fall to 15-9 all-time against Southern Utah following Monday's loss…The Vikings are just 1-6 all-time in Big Sky road games against the Thunderbirds…The Vikings tied the Thunderbirds, 31-31, in rebounds, meaning the Vikings are now 5-0 when they out-rebound their opponent this season, 1-1 when they tie, and 0-5 when they lose the rebounding battle…Jimenez moved into sole possession of eighth place in career assists and 10th place in career steals at Portland State following Monday's game.