PORTLAND, Ore. — A career milestone and a Senior Day sendoff added up to the right stuff for the Portland State women's basketball as the Vikings snapped their recent skid with an 88-63 win over Weber State Saturday afternoon at Viking Pavilion.
 
Needing only five points to reach 1,000 in her career, junior Kylie Jimenez hit the milestone early in the first quarter when she hit her second three-pointer of the game off a quick pull-up. It was a sign of things to come for the Vikings (13-15, 7-11 Big Sky) as they matched a single-game program record they set just two weeks earlier with 15 three-pointers against the Wildcats (3-24, 1-17 Big Sky).
 
Senior Jordan Stotler, meanwhile, finished with 11 points to go with four blocks in her final home game as a Viking. Stotler's four blocks moved her closer to the single-season school record in the category, as she now trails the record by seven with 87 blocks this season. Stotler's former teammate, Courtney West (2016-19), set the record with 94 blocks during the 2016-17 season.
 
The two feel-good moments helped the Vikings end what had been a seven-game losing streak, righting the ship for the Vikings just in time for the Big Sky tournament that starts nine days from Saturday at CenturyLink Arena in Boise, Idaho.
 
"Jordan's effort tonight, I thought, was spectacular," head coach Lynn Kennedy said afterwards. "Sometimes you don't know how seniors are going to play on Senior Day, but she did a great job today, blocking shots left and right.
 
"Kylie felt a little bit of pressure to score 1,000, but not really. It wasn't like it was the last game of the season. It was good for her to just get it done."
 
Sophomore Desirae Hansen stole some of the spotlight from her more-tenured teammates, especially in the first half when she scored 20 of her game-high 24 points. Hansen was 7-of-10 from the field at halftime, and made five of her eighth three-point attempts in the first half. Hansen set a new career high with her 24 points, while her five three-pointers matched a career high she set at Southern Utah earlier this season. Hansen also added six assists and five rebounds, marking the seventh game this season that she's had 10+ points, 5+ rebounds and 5+ assists.
 
Hansen wasn't the only one hitting early, as the Vikings were 11-of-20 from beyond the arc at halftime. Besides Hansen, sophomore Cassidy Gardner was 3-of-3 from deep at the break, while Jimenez was 3-of-6. Gardner finished a perfect 4-of-4 from three-point range for the game, and set a new career high with 15 points.
 
The early three-point shooting helped the Vikings overcome a slow start, as Weber State ran out to an 8-3 lead. Back-to-back-to-back three-pointers by Jimenez, Hansen and Gardner helped turn that around, as the Vikings responded with a 14-5 run to take a 17-13 lead.
 
It was still a one-point game late in the first quarter, when Hansen and Jimenez hit two more three-pointers back-to-back to stretch the Vikings' lead to 26-19 going into the second quarter.
 
The Vikings put more distance between them and the Wildcats at the end of the first half, as they finished the half on a 16-5 run. Gardner bookended the run with two more three-pointers, while Hansen scored eight of the Vikings' final 16 points of the half.
 
Sixteen straight points for the Vikings out of halftime put the game on ice. Stotler punctuated the run with a three-pointer that gave the Vikings a 67-33 lead, and the Vikings led by 20 or more points the rest of the way.
 
"Our start of the second half was unbelievable," Kennedy said. "It was kind of a clinic. Offensively, we executed everything we talked about at halftime. Defensively, we locked in. That run put it away. We kind of said, 'hey, we're not going anywhere, and you're not coming back on us tonight.'"
 
Six of redshirt junior Tatiana Streun's eight points Saturday came in the Vikings' 16-0 run out of halftime. Streun had one of her best all-around games as a Viking despite not reaching double figures in scoring. Streun recorded seven rebounds, four assists and five steals to go with her eight points Saturday, with her five steals setting a new career high.
 
Additionally, Streun was one of four Vikings to finish with four or more assists, joining Jimenez and Hansen, who each had six assists, as well as Stotler, who matched Streun with four. The Vikings totaled 25 assists on 32 field goals Saturday, the second-most assists for the Vikings in a game this season, and their most since the team's season opener against Multnomah.
 
The Vikings also out-rebounded their opponent for the first time in 15 games, grabbing 35 rebounds to only 33 for the Wildcats. The Vikings hadn't out-rebounded an opponent since Jan. 2, when they out-rebounded Idaho, 49-33.
 
"The difference tonight, I thought, was our rebounding," Kennedy said. "We didn't allow second and third-chance points tonight. They had two offensive rebounds in the first half. I just love how we rebounded the ball tonight."
 
Freshman Belle Frazier matched Streun with a team-high seven rebounds, and added 12 points, two assists and two steals.
 
The Vikings play their final two games of the regular season on the road, as they head to Northern Arizona and Sacramento State next weekend. The Vikings open the trip at NAU with a 5:30 p.m. PT / 6:30 p.m. MT tip on March 4.
 
Game Notes: The Vikings improved to 30-28 all time against Weber State after Saturday…The Vikings have won six straight games against the Wildcats, including a 76-57 win in Ogden, Utah, on Jan. 20 earlier this season…Jimenez moved past Ashley Bolston on the all-time steals list Saturday, as her 217 career steals rank her fifth all time…Stotler's 87 blocks this season stand as the No. 2 single-season mark in school history, trailing only West's record of 94 during the 2016-17 season...Saturday's game was the first time the Vikings have played on Leap Day since at least 1984 (dates of games are unknown beyond the 1984-85 season).