PORTLAND, Ore. — If the Portland State women's basketball team can bottle what it did in the third quarter against Eastern Washington Thursday, then the Vikings will have their own version of Michael's Special Stuff.
 
Behind a near-record 14 points from freshman Jenna Kilty in the period, the Vikings turned what had been a seven-point halftime deficit into a six-point lead at 55-49 entering the fourth quarter. They couldn't maintain that level in the final period, however, and the Eagles held on at the end to beat the Vikings, 73-71.
 
The Vikings (1-2, 0-1 Big Sky) started the third quarter just 2-of-9 from the field, dropping their field goal percentage to .270 (10-of-37) after they finished the first half 8-of-28. Missed shots have been a symptom of the Vikings' delayed start to the season, and Thursday's game appeared to fall in line. However, with Kilty going off, things started to click for the Vikings as they hit six of their last eight shots in the third period, and closed out the game 12-of-19 (.631) after the start of the second half.
 
"Third quarter, we did a pretty good job of attacking the basket and getting wide-open shots and knocking them down," Portland State head coach Lynn Kennedy said afterwards. "We had missed so many easy shots at the basket in the first half that we really put an emphasis on the third quarter. We did that but then we got away from it again in the fourth."
 
Kilty showed her scoring prowess in the Vikings' run in the third. The freshman guard scored the Vikings' first nine points after halftime, and finished with 14 of the team's 25 points in the third period. Kilty hit five of her seven shots in the quarter, including 2-of-3 three-pointers as well as an off-balance 18-footer as time expired.
 
Kilty's 14 third-quarter points put her just two points short of the school record for points in a quarter. Sidney Rielly – the player Kennedy often compares Kitly to – set the record with 16 points in the first quarter against Montana on Jan. 5, 2019. Kilty finished with 17 points Thursday, easily setting a new career high in her young Viking career.
 
"She stepped up offensively," Kennedy said of Kilty in the third quarter. "She was able to get to the basket, and her shot was nice and smooth from the outside. We need more of that from her. I'd like to see her be a little bit more aggressive, especially early on, but yeah, she had a really good third quarter."
 
Kilty's penultimate bucket in the third quarter gave the Vikings their largest lead of the game at 53-45 with 1:15 remaining in the period. That closed out a 9-0 Vikings run, which followed a 12-4 PSU run at the start of the period that helped turn the game around.
 
The Eagles (2-6, 1-2 Big Sky) raised their level at the start of the fourth quarter, however, drawing within one at 57-56 after opening the period on a 7-1 run. A three-pointer from Viking junior Desirae Hansen with 6:43 remaining pushed the Vikings' lead back out to four at 62-58, but the Eagles answered with a mini, 6-2 run to tie it up again at 64-all.
 
Senior guard Kylie Jimenez converted a three-point play off a running floater in the lane to put the Vikings up 67-64 with 3:33 remaining. The Eagles countered with a 7-1 run to go up 71-68, before sophomore Syd Schultz answered with a beautiful post move that gave her an easy bucket to make it 71-70 with 1:29 left.
 
The teams traded empty possessions from there, before a fast-break layup from the Eagles' Aaliyah Alexander off a long rebound gave Eastern Washington a 73-70 lead with less than 33 seconds remaining. 
 
The Vikings turned the ball over on their ensuing possession, but the Eagles opened the door for the Vikings again with two empty trips to the line sandwiched around a free throw from the Vikings' Hansen. That gave the Vikings the ball back with 6.6 seconds left, with a chance to tie or win the game with a three. The Eagle defense didn't allow a quality look for the Vikings, however, as Jimenez got forced to the baseline and had to put up a desperation shot with the clock winding down.
 
Jimenez finished with a game-high 20 points, bettering her season-high by nine thanks to a 4-of-9 shooting night from beyond the arc. Hansen hit all of her field goals from three-point range, finishing 3-of-6 from deep while stuffing the stat sheet with 13 points, nine rebounds, six assists and two steals. Schultz came off the bench to chip in eight points and four rebounds, while sophomore Marina Canzobre added a career-high six points.
 
The improved second half against the Eagles should give the Vikings confidence they can win the rematch, as the teams face each other again Saturday. The Vikings went 14-of-28 (.500) from the field in the second half, by far their highest percentage in a single half so far this season, as well as a dramatic improvement over their first half when they went 8-of-28 (.286). The Vikings also hit a season-high 10 three-pointers against the Eagles, matching their total from their first two games combined.
 
Additionally, several players either set or tied season highs in scoring between Jimenez, Kilty, Schultz and Canzobre. Jimenez also grabbed a season-high five rebounds, while Hansen's six assists marked another season high.
 
"We've got so much to work on ourselves. That's the big thing," Kennedy said in looking ahead to Saturday's rematch. "We're still trying to figure out games and situations, so we're focusing on ourselves [ahead of Saturday]. We'll make adjustments, and we'll be ready."
 
The Vikings and Eagles tip off their rematch at 12 p.m. Saturday.
 
Game Notes: The Vikings fell to 34-39 all time against the Eagles with Thursday's loss…The Eagles did well against the Vikings pressure defense, only giving up 10 turnovers when the Vikings came into the game averaging 20.5 forced turnovers a game…The Vikings shot over 20 free-throw attempts for the third straight game to open the season, going 17-of-22 (.773) from the line…The Vikings were playing only their third game of the season Thursday, while the Eagles were playing their eighth.