PORTLAND, Ore. — It's time to be goldfish.
 
For the third time in the past week, the Portland State women's basketball team gave itself a chance to win in the fourth quarter. But the Vikings have found themselves on the wrong end each time, as they did again Thursday night as Northern Colorado pulled out a close game, 59-51, at Viking Pavilion.
 
So, it's time for the Vikings to be goldfish and keep believing, just as Ted Lasso tells us.
 
"We looked like a pretty good college basketball team tonight [despite the loss]," Portland State head coach Chelsey Gregg said after the game. "I thought it was one of the more complete games that we've put together. There are a few things we want to clean up towards the end, but ultimately, I thought we did a better job answering runs early. Shots just weren't falling tonight.
 
"I was pleased with the effort and intensity. The defense did a really nice job. Ultimately, we grew tonight."
 
The Vikings (5-13, 0-10 Big Sky) showed belief and improvement in how they responded to a 13-1 start to the third quarter for Northern Colorado (8-10, 4-6 Big Sky). Just three days earlier, Southern Utah opened the third quarter of its game against the Vikings on a 22-3 run that put the game out of reach. That game followed a close loss for the Vikings against Northern Arizona on Saturday in which NAU scored the final 18 points of the game to win, 79-68.
 
But the Vikings answered the Bears' run Thursday night. The Vikings closed the third quarter with nine straight points to trim what had been an 11-point deficit to two at 36-34 entering the fourth.
 
"Those moments are hard because you don't want to fall back and go 'oh, here we go again.' That's what we talked about in the timeout. You've got to stay in the present. You can't think about that last play. We can't go, 'oh, just like the last game.' And I was really pleased with them to stay locked in," Gregg said about the team answering the Bears' run.
 
Another 9-0 run early in the fourth quarter gave the Vikings their first lead of the second half. Reilly Kelty scored back-to-back buckets to tie it at 40-all before Mia 'Uhila hit the second of her two three-pointers in the game to give the Vikings a 43-40 lead with just under five minutes remaining.
 
The Bears immediately answered with seven straight points to re-take a 47-43 lead, however. Esmeralda Morales snapped the Bears' run with a jumper just inside the three-point line, but the Bears countered with a bucket on the other end on their next possession.
 
That was the theme of the final two minutes of the game, as the Bears followed every Viking score with one of their own. Jada Lewis knocked down a three-pointer with exactly a minute left to make it 51-49, but the Bears went inside to Kurstyn Harden, who rebounded her own miss for a second-chance bucket that made it 53-49 with 33 seconds remaining. The Vikings got back within two again after a pair of free throws from Alaya Fitzgerald, but the Bears knocked down two of their own on the other end to make it 55-51.
 
A key Viking turnover then gave the Bears the ball back, and they would go on to close out the game from the line.
 
The Vikings will rue some of their missed shots Thursday. The Vikings went just 3-of-21 (.143) from three-point range, an uncharacteristic mark for them considering they've shot 34.8 percent or better in three of their past four games. 'Uhila knocked down both of her shots from beyond the arc, meaning the Vikings were 1-of-19 from three-point range outside of 'Uhila. 
 
'Uhila led the Vikings with 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting overall, and added three assists, two rebounds and a steal.
 
"Mia really gave us a spark off the bench. Just her overall presence and swagger was much-needed tonight. When she's able to give us a defensive spark like that, I think it just leads into her offense," Gregg said of 'Uhila.
 
Fitzgerald chipped in 11 points to go with a career-high seven rebounds, an assist and a steal. Kelty only scored the four points she had in the fourth quarter, but added a career-high eight rebounds and four blocks.
 
The Vikings will face the Bears again Monday in Greeley, Colo., after first playing red-hot Sacramento State, which won its sixth game out of its last seven, in Sacramento Saturday.
 
So, the Vikings can get some revenge on the Bears potentially with a good game Monday. Perhaps then, they'll channel a little more Roy Kent than Ted Lasso.
 
Game Notes: The Vikings fell to 10-21 all-time against the Bears with Thursday's loss…The Bears have won five in a row against the Vikings and 12 of their last 13 against them…The Vikings out-scored the Bears 8-4 in second-chance points thanks to 11 offensive rebounds in the game…Twenty-four of the Bears' 36 points in the second half came in the paint, while Harden scored 16 of her game-high 19 points after halftime.