POCATELLO, Idaho — One thing remained on the to-do list for the Portland State women's basketball team following its championship 2018-19 season: Beat Idaho State.
 
Check.
 
The Vikings topped the Bengals 69-64 Saturday at Reed Gym, a place where they hadn't won since Jan. 10, 2009. Location had hardly been the issue for the Vikings against the Bengals, however. The Vikings (10-7, 4-3 Big Sky) hadn't beaten Idaho State in any location since Jan. 17, 2011, as they snapped a 16-game losing streak to the Bengals (7-9, 3-4 Big Sky) with their win Saturday.
 
"It's tough to win anywhere on the road but I loved our poise when they made their runs at the end of both halves," head coach Lynn Kennedy said afterwards.
 
Two freshmen, who had no experience with the Vikings' history against the Bengals, helped snap the team's streak of futility. Belle Frazier and Cassidy Gardner led the Vikings with 17 and 13 points, respectively, while going a combined 7-of-12 from beyond the arc.
 
Both players came up especially big for the Vikings in a 15-2 Viking run out of halftime. Frazier scored eight of the Vikings' 15 points in the run while Gardner added one of her three three-pointers in the game. That helped turn what had been a one-point halftime deficit for the Vikings into a 46-34 advantage with 4:13 left in the third quarter.
 
Frazier's 17 points tied a career high for the freshman, while Gardner finished in double figures for the first time as a Viking.
 
"Both Belle and Cass were aggressive offensively and were looking for their shots today," Kennedy said of the freshmen.
 
The Vikings' run out of halftime helped right the ship after Idaho State closed the first half on an 18-7 run. The Vikings, who had led for the entire first half, took a 24-14 lead with 7:18 left in the second quarter. However, redshirt junior forward Tatiana Streun picked up her second foul on the next possession, sending her to the bench where senior forward Jordan Stotler was already sitting with two first-quarter fouls.
 
The Bengals took advantage of the Vikings' two starting posts being out, scoring the next eight points and the last six of the half to take their first lead of the game.
 
"We got away from our game plan in the last five minutes of the first half," Kennedy said. "We just needed to focus back into that and it helped that Jordan and Tots were back [in the second half] after foul trouble."
 
The Bengals made mores runs in the second half, but the Vikings did a better job of answering them after halftime.
 
Idaho State made three three-pointers in a little over a minute to get back within five at 50-45 late in the third quarter. Junior guard Kylie Jimenez answered with her first three-pointer of the game on the Vikings' next possession, however, and then converted a three-point play just before the third-quarter buzzer to make it 56-45 going into the fourth.
 
Idaho State, which finished 10-of-16 from three-point range, hit another three-pointer to get within seven at 58-51, but Streun and Desirae Hansen hit back-to-back buckets to make it an 11-point game again at 62-51 with 6:44 remaining.
 
Stotler snapped a 6-0 ISU run that cut the Viking lead to five with 2:33 left, as Frazier hit her for a layup while passing out of a double team.
 
The Bengals cut it to five again at 66-61 with 1:13 remaining, and then got the ball back off a PSU turnover. The Bengals missed a three-pointer, however, and the Vikings made enough free throws in the final minute to close out the win.
 
Overall, both teams had strange patterns in their shooting Saturday. The Vikings went 15-of-25 (.600) in the first and third quarters, but went 9-of-27 (.333) in the second and fourth. The Bengals, meanwhile, shot 17-of-25 (.680) in the second and fourth quarters, but went 9-of-33 (.273) in the first and third.
 
The Bengals out-rebounded the Vikings, 34-31, but the Vikings did a much better job on the offensive glass than they did in their last game against Montana. The Vikings gave up 27 offensive rebounds in their win over the Lady Griz Monday, but only gave up nine offensive boards to the Bengals Saturday.
 
Three other Vikings joined Frazier and Gardner in double figures in Streun (11), Jimenez (10) and Hansen (10). Streun added seven rebounds to her 11 points despite playing limited minutes due to foul trouble. Jimenez chipped in four rebounds and four steals to her 10 points while playing all but three seconds of Saturday's game for the Vikings.
 
Stotler finished out of double figures for the first time in the Vikings' past five games, but still contributed with six points, six rebounds, four assists and two blocks.
 
The Vikings continue on the road Monday, when they face Weber State at the Dee Events Center in Ogden, Utah. Tipoff between the Vikings and Wildcats is scheduled for 6 p.m. (PT) / 7 p.m. (MT).
 
Game Notes: The Vikings improved to 23-36 all time against Idaho State with Saturday's win…The Vikings have won four of their last five following Saturday's win with the only loss coming to the league leaders in Montana State…With two more blocks Saturday, Stotler moved into a tie for fifth on the career blocks list at Portland State, matching Sheri Stemple (1991-93) with 101.