PORTLAND, Ore. — The Portland State women's basketball team led by double digits from the final minute of the first quarter until the final whistle Saturday afternoon against Eastern Washington. That made for a somewhat muted reaction when the Vikings put the finishing touches on a 75-58 win over the Eagles at Viking Pavilion.
 
The outcome was never much in doubt after the opening quarter thanks to a stifling Viking defense that forced a short-handed Eagles team into going 2-of-32 from the floor at the start of the game. The Vikings (8-6, 2-2 Big Sky) led by 22 at 30-8 before the Eagles (2-10, 1-2 Big Sky) finally hit their third field goal of the game with 3:43 left in the second quarter. The Viking lead only dipped below 15 points once the rest of the way.
 
The Vikings' form dropped a bit as a result in the second half, as the Eagles started to find their stroke late in the second quarter. The Eagles started the game 2-of-15 from three-point range, but made eight of their next 17 shots to keep the game respectable.
 
"Games like this are tough and when you have a young team that hasn't been in this position much before, it's tough to come out for the second half with the same intensity as you had in the first," head coach Lynn Kennedy said afterwards. "For them to tie us in the third quarter and for us to lose the fourth quarter, that just shows we didn't have that same intensity level. We played a lot of people, but we still have to bring it, especially being the 'lone wolf' [PSU is without a travel partner in the 11-team Big Sky Conference this season]."
 
Jenna Dick's three-pointer with 7:49 left in the fourth quarter cut the Viking lead to 13 at 57-44 and forced the only timeout of the game from Kennedy.
 
Fortunately for the Vikings, their own three-point shooting saved them from any real danger as the Vikings matched the Eagles shot for shot in the second half. Freshman Belle Frazier hit one of her career-high five three-pointers right out of the Viking timeout to make it a 16-point game again at 60-44. Junior Kylie Jimenez followed with a three-pointer of her own on the Vikings' next possession to put the Vikings up 19 at 63-44.
 
The Vikings finished 13-of-29 from beyond the arc against the Eagles, tying a program record for threes in a game that the Vikings also tied in their season opener against Multnomah on Nov. 5. Six different Vikings hit three-pointers against the Eagles, led by Frazier's career high of five. Besides Frazier, Jimenez, Desirae Hansen and Tatiana Streun all hit two each for the Vikings, while Jordan Stotler and Cassidy Gardner each hit one.
 
Frazier went 5-of-7 from beyond the arc individually, making her 7-of-11 from three-point range in the Vikings' two home games this weekend. That's a welcomed contrast from the previous week, when Frazier went 0-of-8 overall and 0-of-4 from three-point range against Southern Utah this past Monday. Frazier's 15 points against the Eagles Saturday marked her most in a game since she scored 17 against UC Davis on Nov. 30.
 
Streun also had her best game in a few weeks while recording her fifth double-double of the season with a team-high 18 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. Streun had 10 points in the Vikings' past three games, but hadn't come close to a double-double since recording two back-to-back in the Vikings' games against Grand Canyon and the University of Portland in the early part of December.
 
Streun got to the line well Saturday, as she hit a career-high 10 shots from the charity stripe on 11 attempts against the Eagles. Streun was also 2-of-2 from beyond the arc against the Eagles, just as she was Thursday against Idaho. Streun had never hit more than one three-pointer in a game before the Vikings' win over the Vandals Thursday, but has now done it in back-to-back games. 
 
"She's always been a good shooter," Kennedy said of Streun. "Part of it is I think she's getting her feet set and is knocking those shots down to give her confidence. She really put in a lot of work on her three-point shot this last year. And she's got to be a three-point threat, even Jordan. We've got to have those posts come out and shoot from three and knock 'em down like they do all the time in practice."
 
Stotler nearly posted her second straight double-double, as she finished with 10 points and nine rebounds against the Eagles after recording 10 points and 11 rebounds against the Vandals. Even more impressive was how Stotler passed the ball this weekend, as she tied a career high with four assists against Idaho Thursday, and then surpassed that with six assists against the Eagles Saturday. Stotler finished with 10 points, nine rebounds, six assists and two blocks against the Eagles, giving her a two-game average of 10.0 points, 10.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 3.5 blocks over the weekend.
 
All five Viking starters finished in double figures for the second straight game with Jimenez (14) and Hansen (11) joining Streun, Frazier and Stotler. Hansen added eight rebounds and four assists to her 11 points, while Jimenez added two assists and two steals to her 14.
 
Some early offensive rebounds were all that kept the Eagles in the game early, as five of the Eagles' eight points in the first quarter came on second chances. The Eagles finished with 18 offensive rebounds in the game, and actually out-rebounded the Vikings 46-44 overall.
 
"We've got to be better on the boards. Give them credit, they came in short handed and played tough, but we've got to be better. If we do that, then I don't think the outcome is as close," Kennedy said. 
 
The Vikings will need a better performance on the boards in their next game, when they host Montana State next Saturday. The Bobcats stand as the only unbeaten in Big Sky play, after Northern Colorado beat Montana in other action Saturday. The Vikings and Bobcats tip off at 2 p.m. (PT) next Satudray at Viking Pavilion.
 
Game Notes: The Vikings improve to 33-37 all time against Eastern Washington with Saturday's win…The Vikings have won five straight against the Eagles…Saturday's game was the first between the two teams since they faced each other in last year's Big Sky championship game (a 61-59 PSU win)…Saturday was the first time this season the Vikings won a game in which they lost the rebounding battle (they had been 0-5 before).