SEATTLE, Wash. — It's about time these types of games go the Vikings' way.
 
Down five with 38 seconds remaining, the Portland State women's basketball team somehow found its way to overtime where the Vikings scored the final eight points – all from the free throw line – to pull out an 80-73 road win over Seattle U at the Redhawk Center.
 
It's exactly the type of game that would have gone against the Vikings last season. The Vikings led or were tied in the fourth quarter in three of their final five regular-season games, only to lose all three. Included in that was a 60-55 lead with 3:09 remaining over eventual Big Sky regular-season champ Idaho State that the Vikings wound up losing, 67-64.
 
But this is a new season, and Thursday's win showed that better than anything.
 
"Super proud of this team," Portland State head coach Chelsey Gregg said after the game. "We talk about controlling what we can control and continuing to fight for each other. We do that and good things will happen. Tonight, we showed our resilience and learned how to finish the game."
 
Things didn't look promising for the Vikings (2-1) with 32 seconds remaining and the Redhawks (0-3) up four with the ball. Great defense by the Vikings forced a turnover on an in-bounds play, however, giving them the ball back with 30 seconds remaining. A well-executed play then saw Esmeralda Morales find Jada Lewis alone for a corner three, which she hit while being fouled by a Redhawk player. Lewis knocked down the ensuing free throw, and just like that, the game was tied again at 67-all.
 
The Vikings gave themselves a chance to win it in regulation when Alaya Fitzgerald stripped Seattle U's Peyton Howard on a drive with eight seconds left. Fitzgerald got the final shot on the other end, but her last-second three-pointer missed and the game went to overtime.
 
Portland State scored the first five points of overtime between a three from Mia 'Uhila and a layup from Syd Schultz, but the Redhawks answered with back-to-back three-pointers that gave them the lead back at 73-72.
 
That's when the Vikings' defense – a strength through the team's first three games of the 2022-23 season – clamped down. The Redhawks wouldn't score again, missing their final five shots from the field while the Vikings went 8-of-8 from the free throw line to ice the game.
 
"We were able to get stops down the stretch and that really gave us confidence on the other end," Gregg said of the team's late comeback. "Syd [Schultz] was a beast in overtime on the defensive end and I thought we did a great job of attacking in the second half and into overtime."
 
The Vikings held Seattle U to just 33.8 percent from the field (26-of-77) throughout the game, while shooting 44.2 percent (23-of-52) from the field themselves.
 
Additionally, the Vikings got to the line significantly more times than the Redhawks. The Vikings shot 22 more free throws than the Redhawks Thursday, as they went 26-of-36 (.722) from the line while the Redhawks were just 10-of-14 (.714). The 36 attempts were the most by the Vikings since they shot 37 free throws in a win over San Jose State on Nov. 19, 2017.
 
The advantages on defense and from the line helped the Vikings make up for the Redhawks' upperhand on the glass. The Redhawks only out-rebounded the Vikings by two in the end, 37-to-35, but that included an 18-to-7 advantage on the offensive end. As a result, the Redhawks out-scored the Vikings 22-to-5 in second-chance points, with 10 of those 22 points coming in the fourth quarter alone.
 
But the Vikings would make the plays they needed to throughout Thursday night's game. Morales took the lead in that regard. The first six times Morales scored, it was always to give the Vikings the lead. And that streak only ended late in overtime when Morales was at the free-throw line as the Vikings iced the victory.
 
"Esme's leadership can't be overstated. She is such a competitor and makes her teammates better," Gregg said of Morales. "The poise she provides for us, especially at the point guard spot is special."
 
Morales finished with a game-high 21 points that included four three-pointers and a three-point play to go with seven free throws.
 
Lewis scored 11 of her 15 points after halftime, including nine in the fourth quarter alone. She also tied teammate Cinco McCartney for the game high with eight rebounds, while adding four assists as well.
 
'Uhila and Rhema Ogele both went into double figures with 14 and 13 points, respectively. 'Uhila scored seven of her 14 in the second quarter, while Ogele had nine of her 13 in the second half before fouling out late in the fourth quarter.
 
Ogele's fifth foul came with 38 seconds remaining in regulation. Seattle U's Kari Kyrkjebo knocked down two free throws to give the Redhawks a 67-62 lead after the foul, at which point the Redhawks must have been feeling pretty good.
 
Not for long, it turns out.
 
Game Notes: The Vikings improved to 7-9 all time against Seattle U with Thursday's win…This was the Vikings' first road win since March 5, 2021…Thursday's game was the Vikings' first overtime game since Feb. 20, 2021, and their first overtime win since Jan. 7, 2021…Fitzgerald led the Vikings with six assists against the Redhawks…The Vikings committed nine turnovers in the first quarter, but then had only 11 the rest of the way.