PORTLAND, Ore. — Down double digits multiple times in the second half, the Portland State women's basketball team punched back against Idaho State Thursday.
 
The Vikings (12-15, 6-11 Big Sky) erased an 11-point deficit in the third quarter, coming all the way back to tie the game at 52-52 at the start of the fourth. Another Idaho State run gave the Bengals a 68-56 lead with 4:27 to go when the Vikings answered again, holding the Bengals scoreless over the final four and a half minutes while nearly coming all the way back.
 
The Vikings scored seven straight to draw within five at 68-63 when a three-pointer by Viking freshman Belle Frazier with 55 seconds left went half-way down before bouncing out. The Vikings got two more looks at three-pointers that would have cut the Bengals' lead to two with at least 20 seconds left, but both ended up missing.
 
Consequently, the Bengals (16-11, 12-6 Big Sky) held on for a 68-63 win at Viking Pavilion.
 
"I loved our fight," Portland State head coach Lynn Kennedy said of his team afterwards. "We got down about five different times and kept coming back. But the thing is, we had the shots we needed. If a few of our threes late go down, it's a different game."
 
The Vikings came out aggressively at the start of the game, scoring the first eight points while holding the Bengals to one make on their first six shots from the field. Freshman Syd Schultz hit a baseline jumper on the first possession of what was her first-career start Thursday. Sophomore Desirae Hansen followed with a three-point play after grabbing an offensive rebound while senior Jordan Stotler hit a three-pointer from the right wing to put the Vikings up 8-0.
 
Freshman Cassidy Gardner hit another three-pointer to put the Vikings up 16-10 with 1:46 to go in the first quarter, but things started to swing the Bengals' way from there. Six offensive rebounds led to eight second-chance points for the Bengals in the first quarter, which helped them overcome a 5-of-16 (.313) start from the floor. The Bengals' shooting then picked up from there, as they shot 50 percent or better in the final three quarters of the game.
 
A 10-1 Idaho State run put the Bengals up 20-17 with 8:53 left in the third quarter. Viking freshman Jada Lewis hit a three-pointer to tie the game again at 22-22, while Gardner and Frazier turned a good defensive stand into a runaway layup for Kylie Jimenez that put the Vikings up 24-22 with 5:26 left before halftime.
 
The Bengals answered with a 9-0 run, however, the last seven points of which came when Jimenez subbed out after tweaking a prior injury. It was still a seven-point game at halftime, and the Bengals pushed it to a double-digit game in just over three minutes at the start of the second half.
 
Hansen and Jimenez picked up their play from there, as they combined for 26 of the Vikings' 35 second-half points. Hansen scored 15 of her 22 points after halftime, and hit eight of her first 10 shots from the field. Jimenez, meanwhile, made an instance impact after shaking off the injury tweak, scoring 11 of her 16 points after the break.
 
Nine of Jimenez's 16 points came in the third quarter, when she and Hansen combined to score the final 17 points of the quarter for the Vikings. Jimenez got fouled shooting a three-pointer as the third-quarter buzzer sounded, and hit all three ensuing free throws to get the Vikings back within two at 52-50 heading into the fourth.
 
Redshirt junior Tatiana Streun then tied the game for the Vikings while scoring on the first possession of the fourth quarter. Idaho State responded with a 16-4 run, however, and that proved to be enough cushion even as the Vikings made their run late.
 
Hansen's 22 points led all players Thursday, while she finished one point from matching the career high she set with 23 points against Southern Utah on Dec. 30 earlier this season. Hansen finished 8-of-12 from the field and 3-of-6 from three-point range Thursday, while adding six rebounds, four assists and two steals.
 
Jimenez's 16 points came on 5-of-12 shooting from the field, while the junior guard added five rebounds, four steals and two assists. Additionally, Jimenez now has 995 points in her career, leaving her only five points from becoming the 19th member of the 1,000-point club at Portland State.
 
Jimenez can reach the benchmark Saturday, when the Vikings host Weber State at 2 p.m. in their final home game of the regular season. The Vikings will honor senior Jordan Stotler before the game as she plays in her last home game as a Viking.
 
Game Notes: The Vikings fell to 23-37 all time against Idaho State with Thursday's loss…The Vikings tied Idaho State in rebounding, 35-35, the first time the Vikings haven't lost the rebounding battle in their past 14 games…Schultz scored nine points on 4-of-5 shooting to go with four rebounds in her first start…Jimenez has recorded two steals or more in nine straight games, while her four steals Thursday moved her into a tie with her former teammate Ashley Bolston (2016-19) for fifth on the all-time steals list at Portland State…Stotler had three blocks Thursday, giving her 83 for the season and leaving her only 11 blocks from matching the single-season school record of 94 that Courtney West set during the 2016-17 season.