PORTLAND, Ore. — A storybook ending to the regular season wasn't in the cards for the Portland State women's basketball team Friday. Playing on Senior Day for fifth-year senior
Savannah Dhaliwal, the Vikings couldn't muster a magical ending as Eastern Washington beat them, 68-50, at Viking Pavilion.
The Vikings appeared to get a jolt from the special circumstances early in Friday's game.
Esmeralda Morales hit a three-pointer that gave the Vikings a 16-9 lead with 2:37 to go in the first quarter. Dhaliwal then converted a three-point play a little later that put the Vikings up 19-13 with 1:23 remaining in the opening quarter.
But the Vikings' offense went cold from there, as they shot just 11-of-34 (.324) over the final three quarters of the game. It was still tied 31-31 at halftime, but the Eagles caught fire from three-point range in the second half, going 7-of-15 (.467) from deep after halftime.
"I was bummed we couldn't send out Sav on a better note. Not sure if our legs just weren't there, or if it was the emotions of the game, but you'd think in that setting that we'd come ready to play, but that wasn't the case tonight," Portland State head coach
Chelsey Gregg said after the game.
Turnovers especially hurt the Vikings over the last 30 minutes of the game. The Vikings tied their season-high with 21 turnovers, which resulted in 20 points for the Eagles. In the second quarter alone, 10 of the Eagles' 15 points in the period came off of Viking turnovers.
Still, it wasn't until the third quarter that the Eagles broke open the game. An 11-2 run near the start of the third quarter gave the Eagles their first 10-point lead at 45-35 with 4:06 remaining in the period. The Eagles then opened the fourth quarter with eight straight points that stretched it to a 20-point lead and essentially put the game away.
Morales led the Vikings with 17 points, 15 of which came in the first half when she was 5-of-6 from the field and 4-of-4 from three-point range.
Jenna Kilty came off the bench and scored 10 points, all after halftime, while Dhaliwal finished with eight points and three rebounds in her Senior Day game.
"She's just been a Steady Eddy for us," Gregg said of Dhaliwal. "You can always just rely on Sav to give her best. You always know what you're going to get. She's always going to go 100 percent and give us her best effort at all times. That's all you can ask."
The Vikings could still give Dhaliwal a storybook ending at the Big Sky tournament, which gets underway Monday at Idaho Central Arena in Boise, Idaho. The Vikings didn't know their opponent until all of Friday's games wrapped, but they now know that they'll face Idaho in the first round Monday.
It'll be the third time the Vikings and Vandals face each other in a matter of eight days. The Vandals won the first two meetings, beating the Vikings 64-39 in Moscow Monday, and 73-68 at Viking Pavilion Wednesday.
"It's a short memory and it's getting to see a team a third time around and anything can happen. If you're a competitor, you love it. It's March Madness, it's the best time of year. You get hyped to play those games," Gregg said of preparing for the tournament.
Monday's game tips off at 7 p.m. PT / 8 p.m. MT.
Game Notes: The Vikings fell to 35-42 all-time against the Eagles with Friday's loss…The Eagles outshot the Vikings .431-to-.370…The Eagles committed only 10 turnovers against 21 for the Vikings Friday.
