PORTLAND, Ore. — The Bridge City Battle went against the Portland State women's basketball team at Viking Pavilion, as cross-town rival University of Portland won 71-54 Sunday afternoon, but the Vikings didn't go down without a fight.
The Vikings (4-5) never led Sunday, but also never threw in the towel. Down double digits for the first time in the second quarter, the Vikings immediately responded with a 6-0 run that got them back within four. A strong start to the second half then saw the Pilots (8-2) extend their lead to 20-plus points, but the Vikings answered with a 22-point fourth quarter that made the Pilots earn it in the end.
"I was really proud of the fight tonight. We could have folded. We may have not had that fight in us before, but we're growing and learning and getting better every day," Portland State head coach
Chelsey Gregg said afterwards.
"Especially when we're young and getting pressed like they were against us, it's easy to get frustrated and throw in the towel. But I didn't see that at all and I feel like that's a big step in the right direction for us."
The Vikings knew what they were stepping into with the Pilots' pressure defense, but it still proved difficult to handle. The Pilots came into Sunday averaging 22.67 turnovers forced per game, so the Vikings actually dipped below that with 21 turnovers, but those 21 turnovers still turned into 30 points for the Pilots.
The Pilots also came into Sunday ranked in the top 50 of the NCAA for rebounds per game, with Alex Fowler ranked 21st individually with 4.0 offensive rebounds per game. Those strengths bore out for the Pilots and for Fowler, who grabbed eight offensive rebounds out of 12 total, but it wasn't the sizable advantage that some might have expected. The Vikings actually out-rebounded the Pilots 10-to-9 in the first half, and still only lost the rebounding battle by eight as the Pilots out-rebounded them 48-to-40 for the game.
That's a far cry from how things went for the Vikings last weekend, when they were out-rebounded by more than 20 in both games.
"We would have liked to have seen a little bit more in the rebounding battle, but 15 offensive rebounds? Yeah, I don't like their 21 [offensive rebounds], but it shows that we were crashing the glass a little bit more," Gregg noted afterward.
"I was really impressed with Sav [
Savannah Dhaliwal] late, getting us some rebounds. Same with Jada [Lewis] getting some rebounds on the weak side."
Dhaliwal and Lewis led the effort on the boards, as they finished with a team-high eight rebounds each. Five of Dhaliwal's eight rebounds came on the offensive glass, while she added a team-high 13 points on 5-of-12 shooting. Lewis' eight rebounds tied a career high for the junior guard, while she added 11 points on 3-of-8 shooting from three-point range.
Mia 'Uhila also grabbed six rebounds for the Vikings to go with six points, two assists and a steal. Fellow freshman
Alaya Fitzgerald added five rebounds for the Vikings, while finishing with nine points for her highest scoring total since she scored a career-high 17 against Hawai'i on Nov. 21.
The Viking defense also played well on the perimeter against the Pilots, as the Pilots missed all 17 of their three-point attempts Sunday.
"That's what our zone does," Gregg said of the defensive effort from three-point range. "I don't know the last time I've seen a stat like that [0-of-17 from three-point range]. So, that's a great job by our defense."
It was the middle two quarters that proved the difference Sunday, however. The Pilots closed the second quarter on an 11-3 run after the Vikings got back within four earlier. That gave them a 35-23 lead going into the break, and the Pilots extended that to a 45-23 lead with a 10-0 run out of the gates in the third quarter.
The Vikings scored 11 of the first 15 points in the fourth quarter to get back within 15 with five minutes remaining.
Esmeralda Morales then hit a three-pointer a little later that made it 60-46 with 4:04 left, but the Pilots answered with nine straight points that put the game away.
Morales added eight points for the Vikings while going 2-of-5 from three-point range and chipping in three assists.
Sunday's fight should still benefit the Vikings next week, despite the loss, as they face another tough team in Long Beach State. The Beach had been 7-0 before losing a close game, 68-59, to Oregon Saturday.
The Vikings and Beach will tip off at 2 p.m. Friday in Long Beach, Calif.
Game Notes: The Vikings fell to 26-29 all-time against the Pilots after Sunday's loss…The Pilots out-scored the Vikings 40-24 in the paint…The Vikings' 15 offensive rebounds were their second-most in a game this season, trailing only the 19 they had against Dixie State on Nov. 12.
