PORTLAND, Ore. — *In our best Jeff-Goldblum-in-Jurassic-Park voice*
 
The Viks find a way.
 
Despite going more than eight minutes without a field goal in the fourth quarter and giving up a tying layup in the final seconds of regulation, the Portland State women's basketball team found a way to win, beating Sacramento State 66-64 in overtime Thursday.
 
It was another testament to the fight and grit within the Vikings (2-3, 1-2 Big Sky), albeit in a different style than the second-half comebacks the Vikings showed against Eastern Washington last weekend. 
 
"Even with the fourth quarter, I like how we executed at the end. It helps us to be in these late-game situations again, and improving from last Thursday [when the Vikings lost a close game, 73-71 to Eastern Washington] as well," head coach Lynn Kennedy said afterwards. "In overtime, I liked how our defensive intensity picked back up and we went back to our third-quarter play, and that was good to see in overtime – to finish it out with execution and hitting free throws at the end."
 
The Vikings led at halftime for the first time this season, and quickly extended that lead to double digits in the third quarter. A Dirk Nowitzki-style fadeaway jumper from junior Desirae Hansen gave the Vikings their largest lead of the game at 42-26 with 3:54 left in the third quarter. However, the Hornets immediately responded with an extended, 18-6 run that brought them within four at 48-44 midway through the fourth quarter.
 
The Vikings had gone cold from the field by that point, going without a field goal from the 8:08 mark of the fourth quarter until the final seconds of regulation. The Vikings finished just 2-of-17 (.118) in the fourth quarter, but seven offensive rebounds in the period helped the Vikings stay ahead.
 
Portland State still led by eight at 52-44 with 3:19 left despite their struggles from the field. Sacramento State's Jazmin Carrasco hit a big three-pointer to cut it to a five-point game with two minutes left, while the Hornets' Summer Menke followed with four straight points to make it 52-51 with just over a minute left.
 
The teams traded empty possessions from there, before the Vikings hit one of two free throws to give the Hornets the ball back at 53-51 with 18 seconds left. The Hornets' Tiana Johnson got good positioning on the Viking defense in the post, tying the game with a layup with eight seconds left.
 
The Vikings countered with Hansen, who got the ball on the elbow and slipped behind two Sacramento State defenders with a spin and drive for a layup. That appeared to be the game-winner, as it gave the Vikings a 55-53 lead with 4.7 seconds left, but the Hornets went the length of the floor and found Jakira Wilson for a game-tying layup with 0.3 seconds remaining.
 
To the Vikings credit, they didn't let the deflating end of regulation shake them, and never relinquished the lead in overtime.
 
Senior guard Kylie Jimenez found Hansen on the Vikings' first possession in overtime with a quick pass down low. Hansen flicked it over to a wide-open Tatiana Streun on the opposite block for a layup that gave the Vikings a 57-55 lead early in the extra period. The Hornets tied it up twice more, but could never take the lead.
 
Hansen hit a crucial 18-foot, straightaway jump shot that gave the Vikings a 62-59 lead with 1:56 remaining. Streun then came up with a big offensive rebound with just over 20 seconds remaining, forcing the Hornets to foul to extend the game. Hansen hit one of two free throws to make it a two-possession game at 63-59 with 18 seconds left. The Hornets got a quick two from Johnson, before Jimenez hit both free throws to make it 65-61.
 
A late three from Carrasco – her third in the fourth quarter and overtime – made it a one-point game at 65-64, but left only two seconds on the clock. Jimenez hit the front end of two shots on the other end before missing the second and allowing Sacramento State to dribble out the clock without a final look to tie or win.
 
"The first three quarters we followed the game plan perfectly," Kennedy said. "SAC was coming in with a lot of confidence. They played extremely hard in the fourth and give them credit for coming back. Offensively, we were executing in the first three quarters. We had a lot of wide-open shots that we missed, so hopefully on Saturday we knock some of those down."
 
Hansen finished with 21 points – her first 20-point game of the season – to go with nine rebounds, three assists and three steals. Jimenez chipped in 15 points to go with a season-high seven assists, four rebounds and four steals.
 
Rebounding allowed the Vikings to stay ahead despite their cold finish to the game. The Vikings out-rebounded the Hornets 26-15 in the second half and overtime, and grabbed 11 offensive rebounds after halftime. Five different Vikings had at least five rebounds Thursday. Hansen led the way with her nine rebounds, but sophomore Syd Schultz grabbed a season-high eight boards (five offensive) while Jada Lewis tied her career high with seven. Streun and Nakia Boston grabbed five each, with Boston's five marking a new career high for the freshman.
 
There were plenty of rebounds to be had for either team as neither the Vikings nor the Hornets found consistency shooting the ball. The Hornets wound up out-shooting the Vikings .391-to-.317 but went just 5-of-26 from three-point range. The Vikings, meanwhile, hit their first two three-pointers of the game but then finished the game just 3-of-19 from deep the rest of the way.
 
The Vikings will hope for a better shooting performance Saturday, when they face Sacramento State again, this time in a road match at 12 p.m. But even if they don't find their stroke, the Vikings know they can find a way to win after Thursday.
 
* Jeff Goldblum voice *
 
The Viks find a way.
 
Game Notes: The Vikings improved to 32-19 all time against Sacramento State after Thursday's win…Streun's five rebounds Thursday move her within four of 500 in her career…Jimenez's four steals bring her within 13 of 250 in her career, a mark only three other Vikings have reached in their careers…Jimenez also stands 40 assists away from 500 in her career, a milestone only two other Vikings have reached in their careers…Hansen scored in double figures for the 17th straight game.