CEDAR CITY, Utah — Owner of four fourth-quarter comebacks earlier in the Big Sky season, the Portland State women's basketball team saved its best for last. Down 11 with 5:36 remaining and 10 with 2:54 remaining, the Vikings closed on a 14-1 run to complete a 60-57, comeback win over Southern Utah in both teams' regular-season finale. 
 
The Vikings (11-12, 7-11 Big Sky) had never before overcome an 11-point deficit in the fourth quarter, making Friday's comeback the largest in program history. It didn't come from nowhere, as the Vikings have erased at least a six-point fourth-quarter deficit in their four other comeback wins. Friday's comeback was by far the biggest, however.
 
"Just an unbelievable finish. We never gave up tonight and kept fighting. A true team win on the road," Portland State head coach Lynn Kennedy said afterwards.
 
Sophomore Jada Lewis, who also hit the game-winning three-pointer against Northern Arizona on Feb. 11, delivered a crucial, go-ahead three-pointer with less than 10 seconds remaining. That gave the Vikings their first lead of the fourth quarter at 58-57, and two defensive stops sandwiched around a pair of free throws for senior Kylie Jimenez closed out the victory for Portland State.
 
It was quite the journey for the Vikings to set up Lewis for the go-ahead triple. An intentional foul and a technical foul called back-to-back on the Vikings came as part of a 16-4 SUU run in the third quarter that gave the Thunderbirds (11-8, 6-5 Big Sky) all the momentum, up 46-39. The Thunderbirds extended that lead to double figures at the start of the fourth quarter, but that's when things flipped towards the Vikings.
 
Down 54-43 with 5:36 remaining, Jimenez – who had been scoreless to that point in the game – kick-started the Vikings' rally with a three-pointer.
 
Both teams failed to score over the next two-plus minutes. Southern Utah eventually broke the deadlock with a Madelyn Eaton layup that made it 56-46 with 2:54 left on the clock.
 
Fifth-year senior Tatiana Streun immediately answered with a layup – her last bucket of a game-high 19 points – while Jimenez followed with a layup off a quality assist from Desirae Hansen. That made it 56-50 with 1:40 remaining, and freshman Nakia Boston followed by hitting one of two at the line a minute later.
 
A mad scramble at half-court with 35 seconds remaining resulted in an intentional foul being called on Southern Utah's Liz Graves. That gave the Vikings two free throws and the ball, most importantly, down five at 56-51. Jimenez hit both free throws, while Hansen got a rebound basket on the ensuing possession to bring the Vikings within one at 56-55.
 
Graves hit one of two free throws on the other end, giving the Vikings the ball back, down 57-55, with 18 seconds left.
 
Enter, Lewis.
 
The sophomore guard had been 0-of-5 from three-point range to that point, but when Jimenez drove to the right and the Thunderbirds collapsed inside, Lewis was left open on the right wing. With one game-winning shot already under her belt, Lewis calmly added to her collection with the go-ahead three-pointer with 9.8 seconds remaining.
 
Eaton then missed a potential go-ahead shot in the paint on the other end, and Morgan Baird secured a critical defensive rebound – the last of a career-high 14 for the freshman forward. Jimenez added two more free throws with 1.0 seconds remaining, while SUU's Darri Frandsen's look at a game-tying three-pointer clanged off the rim.
 
The Vikings initially looked to claim momentum out of halftime, opening the second half with an 8-3 run to take their largest lead of the game at 33-28. That's when SUU started a parade to the free-throw line, however. Three different three-point plays gave the Thunderbirds a 38-35 lead, while six straight free throws a little later gave the Thunderbirds a 46-39 lead.
 
The Vikings shot 8-of-11 (.727) in the third quarter, but were still out-scored 23-16 thanks to nine free throws for the Thunderbirds in the period.
 
Still, the Vikings regrouped in time for their comeback in the fourth quarter.
 
"We talked about pushing through tough possessions and being better the next possession. They battled the entire night," Kennedy said of his team.
 
Jimenez scored all nine of her points in the final five-plus minutes of the fourth quarter.
 
Baird's 14 rebounds, meanwhile, amounted to more than half of the Vikings' total of 27. The Thunderbirds – the Big Sky's top rebounding team – out-rebounded the Vikings 44-to-27, but Baird's, Streun's and the other Vikings' efforts in the paint meant the Thunderbirds only scored six second-chance points despite grabbing 15 offensive rebounds.
 
Boston followed Streun's 19 points with 11 of her own, while Hansen also went into double figures with 10. Baird and Lewis added six and five points, respectively, to round out the Vikings' scoring.
 
Turning their attention to next week's Big Sky tournament, Friday's outcome didn't change the Vikings' positioning – they'll still face Eastern Washington in the first round at 1 p.m. PT / 2 p.m. MT Monday – but it certainly gave them some momentum going into the postseason. Not to mention, a belief that any deficit they face in Boise is within reach.
 
Game Notes: The Vikings improved to 16-11 all-time against the Thunderbirds with Friday's win…The victory snapped the Vikings' three-game losing streak to the Thunderbirds…Jimenez moved past Montana's Sherri Brooks (1992-96) for ninth all-time within the Big Sky Conference with two steals Friday…Streun entered the career top 10 at Portland State for games played while appearing in the 117th game of her career Friday…Hansen needs only six points to reach 1,000 in her career, at which point she'll become the fourth Viking in the past four years to reach the 1,000-point milestone…Hansen will join Sidney Rielly in 2017-18, Ashley Bolston in 2018-19 and Jimenez in 2019-20.