PORTLAND, Ore. — If this weekend's series against Eastern Washington had been nothing but third-quarters, then the Portland State women's basketball team would have won by 52 points Thursday and 56 points Saturday. But that's not how games work, of course, and so the Vikings dropped a 73-67 game to the Eagles Saturday despite another ferocious comeback out of halftime.
 
The Vikings (1-3, 0-2 Big Sky) outscored the Eagles 27-13 in the third quarter Saturday, two days after they outscored the Eagles 25-12 in the third quarter Thursday. That means the Vikings were a combined plus-27 over the Eagles (3-6, 2-2 Big Sky) in the third quarters this weekend.
 
Saturday's third quarter saw the Vikings climb back from a 16-point halftime deficit, drawing within two at 52-50 by the end of the period. The Vikings turned around their shooting once again in the third quarter, shooting .600 (9-of-15) in the period after shooting .300 (9-of-30) in the first half. That mirrored the Vikings' turnaround Thursday, when the Vikings shot .286 (8-of-28) in the first half but then made 12 of their last 19 shots.
 
The Vikings were never able to tie or take the lead, however, as the Eagles stayed ahead of the Vikings by getting to the free-throw line. The Eagles shot 40 free throws attempts Saturday – the most by a Viking opponent since Nov. 10, 2017, when UNLV had 40 in an overtime game – and 18 of those attempts came in the fourth quarter.
 
"We're not there yet. I feel like we're still trying to catch up a little bit," Portland State head coach Lynn Kennedy said afterwards, referencing the Vikings' lack of practice and games compared to teams like the Eagles who have played more than twice as many games as the Vikings. "I keep saying it, and it's not an excuse, it's reality that we're kind of in the middle of October when everyone else is in December. We're trying to make up ground and I thought we did a great job [today].
 
"We could have given up at halftime [down 16]. Give our team a lot of credit, they came back and fought through it. I'm proud of them for that. We just have to be better in other quarters and that's just a matter of practicing and playing."
 
A new hero led the Vikings in the third quarter Saturday. Whereas it was Jenna Kilty scoring 14 points to lead the Vikings in the third quarter Thursday, sophomore Jada Lewis took the lead this time. Lewis went a perfect 4-of-4 from three-point range in the third quarter, scoring 12 of the Vikings' 27 points in the period.
 
Lewis started her first game as a Viking Saturday, and rewarded her coach's confidence in her by scoring a career-high 20 points on 6-of-8 shooting from three-point range. Lewis' six three-pointers marked the most by a Viking since Sidney Rielly hit 6-of-9 against Weber State on Jan. 12, 2019.
 
Additionally, Lewis' 20 points marked her first double-digit scoring game since her very first game as a Viking. Lewis scored 12 points in her collegiate debut against Multnomah on Nov. 5, 2019, but then suffered an injury that kept her out of 18 games in the middle of the season. Lewis came back late in the year, but wasn't able to show her full potential until Saturday.
 
"Jada has these moments in practice, too. Coaches have been working with her just on her defensive intensity, her rotations – I thought she did a great job [today] – and her rebounding because we do give up a little bit of size but I also think we create mismatches for us on the offensive end. And she took advantage of that in the third quarter. I wish we could have had that in the second and fourth, but we'll get to that point," Kennedy said of Lewis.
 
Lewis' last triple in the third quarter came with seven seconds remaining, and brought the Vikings within two at 52-50 entering the fourth. The Vikings twice had possessions where they could have tied or taken the lead in the fourth quarter, but came up empty both times.
 
The Vikings were still within three when what amounted to a six-point possession thanks to a technical foul being called on the Viking bench gave the Eagles the momentum for good. The Vikings turned the ball over on their ensuing possession, and a second-chance three-pointer from the Eagles' Grace Kirscher gave the Eagles a 12-point lead against at 66-54 with 5:03 left. The Vikings hit two three-pointers within the final minute to make it closer, but the six-point final margin was as close as they got the rest of the way.
 
The Eagles' free-throw attempts prevented any more serious comeback from the Vikings. Twelve of the Eagles' 21 points in the fourth quarter came from free throws, while the Vikings only had two makes from the line in the final period.
 
Overall, the Vikings shot just 11 free-throw attempts Saturday compared to 40 for the Eagles. The 29-attempt discrepancy between the two teams marked the largest free-throw discrepancy that went against the Vikings since Nov. 19, 2009, when Boise State had a 30-attempt advantage over the Vikings.
 
The Vikings' best three-point shooting game of the season to date nearly countered that free-throw discrepancy. The Vikings hit 12 three-pointers as a team to set a season high for makes for the second straight game, and went 9-of-17 (.529) from deep in the second half. Lewis led the way with her six makes, while Kilty hit three shots from deep for the second straight game. Senior guard Kylie Jimenez followed those two with two makes of her own, while freshman guard Nakia Boston hit a three in the final minute of the game.
 
Five different players scored at least eight points for the Vikings, the first time the team has had that scoring depth this season. Junior guard Desirae Hansen was the only other player besides Lewis to go into double figures, scoring 11 points to go with seven rebounds, four assists, one steal and one block. Jimenez added nine points to go with season highs for assists (6) and steals (5), while Kilty matched Jimenez with nine points to go with five rebounds and three assists. Fifth-year senior Tatiana Streun also scored eight points for the Vikings to go with six rebounds and two steals.
 
"As we continue to get better, we're going to catch up with teams," Kennedy said. "Teams will plateau as we get into January and we'll continue to get better as we get in more practices and games. I like where we're headed the last two games even though we take away losses, but we've got to continue to get better."
 
The Vikings will now look to piece everything together when they face Sacramento State in a home-and-home series next weekend. The Vikings host the Hornets for the first game Thursday at 7 p.m., while the Hornets host the Vikings Saturday at 12 p.m.
 
Game Notes: The Vikings fell to 34-40 all time against Eastern Washington after Saturday's loss…Jimenez passed Angela Hewlett (1990-92) for third all time in assists while upping her career total to 453 Saturday…Hansen has now scored in double figures in 16 straight games.