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BOZEMAN, Mont. — New stars emerge every March in basketball, and with the Portland State women's basketball team on the verge of entering the postseason, freshman Desirae Hansen stepped into the forefront Saturday, scoring 20 of her game-high 22 points in the first half of the Vikings' 68-55 win over Montana State at Worthington Arena.
 
Hansen went 8-of-10 from the field in the first half, and scored 12 points of a 23-0 run for the Vikings (22-7, 14-6 Big Sky) that turned a 7-0 early lead for the Bobcats (16-14, 11-9 Big Sky) into a double-digit lead for the Vikings. Hansen's 22 points were the most by a Viking freshman in a Big Sky game since Kian McNair scored 22 against Montana on Feb. 6, 2016. Hansen added 10 rebounds, too, giving the freshman her first-career double-double, while she also added four assists, a block and a steal.
 
Hansen's emergence helped the Vikings gain some momentum going into next week's Big Sky tournament, after the Vikings suffered a frustrating overtime loss to Montana Thursday, losing 73-70 to the Lady Griz. The Vikings and Bobcats will face each other again in each team's first game at the tournament, as they'll square off in the quarterfinals at 2:30 p.m. (MT) Tuesday at CenturyLink Arena in Boise, Idaho.
 
"It was a big game to get momentum going into the tournament. We really locked in defensively and that allowed our first-half run," head coach Lynn Kennedy said afterwards.
 
The win gave the Vikings a program record-tying 14th Big Sky win of the season, equaling the mark set by the 2008-09 Vikings, who went 14-2 in conference play. The Vikings also won their 22nd game overall on the season, one win behind the record for most wins in a season during the program's Big Sky era, which the 2008-09 Vikings also set while going 23-10.
 
It didn't look like a win was in the cards at the start of the game, as the Bobcats scored the first seven points to lead 7-0 early while the Vikings missed their first five shots from the field. The start was eerily familiar to the Vikings' first game against the Bobcats this season, when Montana State scored the first 16 points of the game and led 20-2 before the Vikings came back for a 55-53 win back at the Viking Pavilion on Jan. 3. Saturday's poor start was even more foreboding, as it came in the Bobcats' home arena, a place where the Vikings had been just 7-21 all time entering the day.
 
Junior forward Jordan Stotler got the Vikings on the board with a jumper at the 6:50 mark of the first quarter, however, and Hansen followed with her first bucket of the day less than a minute later. Sophomore point guard Kylie Jimenez then scored back-to-back baskets to give the Vikings their first lead with 3:52 remaining, and the Vikings didn't look back from there.
 
The Viking defense forced the Bobcats into 14 straight misses from the field during which time they built a 23-7 lead, punctuated by Hansen's first three-pointer of the game on the Vikings' first possession of the second quarter. Hansen added a second three-pointer to make it 26-12 a little later, and ended the half with five straight points – including a second And-1 in the first half – to put the Vikings up 35-17 at the break.
 
Hansen finished with 20 of the Vikings' 35 first-half points while going 8-of-10 from the field and adding four rebounds, two assists and a block over the first two quarters of the game. Hansen hit her first six shots from the field, and didn't miss until the 6:58 mark of the second quarter.
 
The seniors then emerged for the Vikings in the second half, as Ashley Bolston, Courtney West and Sidney Rielly combined for 31 of the Vikings' 33 points after halftime. West scored all 12 of her points after halftime, and finished with her third double-double of the season while adding 11 rebounds, two assists, three blocks and two steals.
 
Bolston, meanwhile, scored 11 of her 16 points in the fourth quarter, including nine in an 11-0 run for the Vikings after the Bobcats had cut the Vikings' lead to single digits. West added a bucket in the middle of the run, but Bolston stretched the Vikings' lead back out to 20 with a three-point play that made it 66-46 with 2:30 remaining in the game.
 
Bolston finished with 16 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the field to go with seven rebounds (three offensive), three assists and three steals. Bolston's three steals moved her past Angela Hewlett (1990-92) for fifth in career steals at Portland State as Bolston now has 209 steals in her Viking career. 
 
"It was one of those games where different players stepped up at different times," Kennedy said. "Kylie established a great pace for us to start the game, and Des just caught fire there and her teammates were looking for her. In the third, Ashley [Bolston], Sid [Sidney Rielly] and Courtney [West] all stepped up.
 
"It was a good team win, but now everyone starts at 0-0 and we need to be ready."
 
Game Notes: The Vikings improved to 28-35 all time against the Bobcats, as well as 19-26 in the Big Sky series, with Saturday's win…The Vikings have won five straight against the Bobcats, including their last two in Bozeman…Saturday's win upped the Vikings' road record to 8-4 this season, guaranteeing the Vikings their best road win percentage in the program's Big Sky era…West and Hansen became the first pair of teammates to finish with double-doubles in the same game since Cici West and Corey James each had a double-double against Corban on Dec. 12, 2015.