MALIBU, Calif. — Down 16 early in the fourth quarter, the Portland State women's basketball team got all the way back within four but then ran out of time as Pepperdine held on for a 65-59 win over the Vikings Saturday at Firestone Fieldhouse.
 
A cold spell that spanned the end of the first half and start of the second put the Vikings (4-3) in a hole they wouldn't emerge from. The Vikings led 21-17 with 6:46 left before halftime, but then missed their final 10 shots of the second quarter, as well as their first seven of the third quarter. Additionally, the Vikings committed five turnovers during their cold spell as the Waves (3-5) built a 14-point lead.
 
The drought may have been a result of a short turnaround for the Vikings. They beat Fresno State in a physical, back-and-forth game at home Thursday night, and had less than 48 hours to get down to Malibu and prepare for the Waves. The Vikings won't face a split, home-and-away weekend like that in Big Sky play this season. However, they'll still hope to play better on their second game of the weekend going forward.
 
The Vikings' shooting form – a strength in their back-to-back wins over Utah Valley and Fresno State coming into Saturday – wasn't there against the Waves. The cold spell affected the Vikings' final shooting numbers, of course, but they finished 22-of-65 (.338) from the field for their lowest mark of the season.
 
Jada Lewis continued her hot streak from three-point range, going 4-of-9 (.444) for her third straight game with 4+ makes from the outside. However, the rest of the Vikings were a combined 2-of-11 (.182) from deep Saturday.
 
No Viking besides Lewis connected from deep until the fourth quarter. The Waves went up 52-36 with 8:02 to go, and still led by 15 at 54-39 with 5:41 remaining when the Vikings finally started hitting. Lewis and Alaya Fitzgerald hit back-to-back three-pointers to cap an 8-0 run that got the Vikings back within seven. After the Waves broke the run, Kiana Yesiki and Lewis sandwiched two more threes around a single free throw for the Waves that made it 57-53 with 2:50 remaining.
 
Fitzgerald then played big down the stretch for the Vikings. She broke a two-minute cold spell with a rebound basket that cut it to four again at 59-55 with 55 seconds remaining. She hit two more free throws later that cut it a four again, while Syd Schultz answered a Pepperdine bucket with a rebound basket that made it 63-59 with 36 seconds remaining.
 
From there, the Vikings twice had the ball with the chance to cut it to a one possession game but came up empty both times.
 
Fitzgerald and Lewis combined for 34 of the Vikings' 59 points Saturday, as no other Viking scored more than six points. Fitzgerald led the team with a season-high 18 points while also chipping in five rebounds, five assists and two steals. Lewis finished with 16 points – her fifth straight game with at least 15 points – while also grabbing five rebounds.
 
The Vikings return to Portland for finals week at Portland State before heading across town for a rivalry game at University of Portland on Dec. 10. Tipoff between the Vikings and Pilots is scheduled for 5 p.m.
 
Game Notes: The Vikings fell to 1-5 all time against Pepperdine after Saturday's loss…Leading scorer Esmeralda Morales was held to single digits (six points) for the first time this season…Morales was also held without a three-pointer for the first time this season after she came into the game leading the Big Sky with 4.00 makes per game from the outside.