PORTLAND, Ore. — The Portland State women's basketball team didn't get the bounce back game it wanted Saturday, as Weber State beat the Vikings 85-57 at Viking Pavilion.
 
The Wildcats (3-4, 1-1 Big Sky) came in to the game leading the Big Sky in rebounding margin at +7.67, and that bore out in their game against the Vikings (3-4, 0-2 Big Sky). The Wildcats out-rebounded the Vikings 43-21, and out-scored the Vikings 52-26 in the paint.
 
"Kudos to them. They came ready to play. They had a tough one against NAU, played them really, and so we knew we had to give our best effort to even be in the game today," Portland State head coach Chelsey Gregg said afterwards.
 
"We're getting looks. Our offense is effective when we do what we're supposed to do, but now we've got to shoot with confidence and go get some extra possessions."
 
It's the growing pains of a Viking team that has one senior, nine underclassmen, and starts three freshmen. Of the players on the team, only Savannah Dhaliwal – the team's lone senior – has played a collegiate basketball season that wasn't affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. And even Dhaliwal has been out of action with injuries since late in the 2018-19 season.
 
"The Big Sky Conference is for real. There's no reason for us to have our heads down. We've just got to continue to get better every day," Gregg said.
 
"We've got to find that fire. I was really disappointed with our execution today. At times, I thought we could push the ball in transition – that was the game plan – and we didn't get to that as often as I would have liked."
 
The bright spot for the Vikings came in a better fourth quarter than two nights ago against Idaho State. Down big entering the final period, the Vikings could have packed it in but instead played the Wildcats even, 20-20, over the final 10 minutes.
 
The Vikings finally got hot again from three-point range after two straight games and three quarters of being in a dry spell. The Vikings came into the game having gone 4-of-30 from deep over their past two games, and started 1-of-11 through the first three quarters Saturday. But the lid came off the basket finally in the fourth quarter.
 
Jenna Kilty helped break the Vikings out of the slump, as she went 2-of-3 from deep in the final period as part of a 10-point fourth quarter for her. Kilty kicked it off with a triple with 8:18 remaining in the game, her second make from the outside after she also hit an outside shot in the third quarter. Jada Lewis followed with a three-pointer with 6:56 remaining, before Kilty and Mia 'Uhila hit a pair of triples in the final minute.
 
The Vikings went 4-of-7 from the outside in the fourth quarter, hitting nearly as many three-pointers in the final 10 minutes as they had over their previous 11 quarters (5).
 
Another bright spot remains the Vikings' ability to force turnovers. The Vikings forced 18 out of the Wildcats Saturday, as they won the turnover battle for the sixth time in seven games this season. The Vikings also finished with 11 steals in the game, one off their season high. 'Uhila led the way with four steals, tying her career high as a Viking, while Esmeralda Morales and Syd Schultz also had two each.
 
But the Vikings turned the 18 turnovers from the Wildcats into only eight points. On the flip side, the Wildcats turned 17 turnovers from the Vikings into 23 points.
 
Kilty's big fourth quarter meant she led the team with 13 points in the game on 4-of-6 shooting from the field and 3-of-4 from the outside. Dhaliwal also nearly had a double-double as she finished with 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting to go with nine rebounds (four offensive), three assists and a steal. Rhema Ogele and Esmeralda Morales also each had eight points for the Vikings, while Lewis followed them with seven.
 
The Vikings get to stay home as they gear up for a week of work following their losses to Idaho State and Weber State. The Vikings host Pepperdine and cross-town rival University of Portland next weekend. They open the weekend against Pepperdine Friday at 6 p.m., before hosting the Pilots next Sunday at 2 p.m.
 
"Each game is going to be a learning experience and as long as we take that away and continue to work hard during the week – and they stay with it and bought in – we'll be alright. That's going to be the focus, continuing to get better every day," Gregg said.
 
Game Notes: The Vikings still lead the all-time series between them and the Wildcats, 30-29, despite Saturday's loss…The Vikings shot 14-of-30 (.467) in the second half after going just 8-of-28 (.286) in the first half…The Vikings shot 7-of-13 (.538) in the fourth quarter…Weber State shot 33-of-58 (.569) in the game, after shooting 50 percent or better in every quarter.