FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — The Portland State women's basketball team is playing with fire.
 
Not in a dangerous way that your mom warns you about. No, the Vikings are playing with fire behind them.
 
Last Saturday, it was a smashed clipboard by head coach Chelsey Gregg that ignited the Vikings to a 53-43 win over Idaho. Thursday night, Esmeralda Morales showed some fire, playing angry after picking up two quick offensive fouls in the first quarter. Morales scored 12 of her game-high 28 points in a 30-point third quarter for the Vikings that turned what had been a one-point halftime deficit into a 15-point lead heading into the fourth quarter.
 
The Vikings closed things out from there, beating a Northern Arizona team that made the Big Sky championship game last season, 78-66, at Findlay Toyota Court.

The win fuels the Vikings' team-wide fire this season. The Vikings are out to prove themselves this season after going 0-20 in Big Sky play last season. To that end, the Vikings have now won back-to-back games over two teams – Idaho and Northern Arizona – that were picked to finish in the top half of the conference before the season.
 
"Really proud of our team for their effort tonight," Gregg said of the game. "We had a great start, managed their moments/runs, and controlled our responses. It was a great team win."
 
The 30-point third quarter – the highest scoring quarter of the season so far for the Vikings – gave PSU (7-7, 2-2 Big Sky) full control of the game. A 13-2 run in the middle of the quarter pushed the Vikings' lead out to 15 for the first time. Five of the Vikings' 13 points in the run came in a matter of five seconds. Syd Schultz hit a tough bucket along the baseline to make it 45-37 with 4:22 to go in the third quarter. Morales then stole the in-bounds and passed to Jada Lewis, who knocked down a three-pointer five seconds after Schultz's jumper.
 
The Vikings then answered an NAU bucket on the other end with back-to-back three-pointers from Morales and Cinco McCartney, giving them a 54-39 lead with 2:05 remaining in the third quarter.
 
"I loved how we came out of the locker room with confidence and we were disciplined with our execution. Those are two areas we've seen growth in the last few weeks," Gregg said of the team's play in the third quarter.
 
The Vikings finished 12-of-18 from the field in the third quarter, while also hitting five of their eight attempts from three-point range. Besides Morales' 12 points in the quarter, Schultz scored six of her seven points in the third while going 3-of-3 from the field.
 
Montana Oltrogge opened the fourth quarter with back-to-back three-pointers for the Lumberjacks (9-9, 3-2 Big Sky) that cut the Vikings' lead to nine points. However, the Vikings answered every NAU run down the stretch.
 
Mia 'Uhila swung momentum back towards the Vikings with a three-point play that gave the Vikings a 64-50 lead with 6:35 remaining. The play came immediately after Morales subbed out after picking up her fourth foul, as 'Uhila answered the call without Morales on the floor. Additionally, 'Uhila followed the three-point play with a steal on the other end that led to a fastbreak layup for Alaya Fitzgerald.
 
The 'Jacks wouldn't get closer than 10 points the rest of the way as the Viking defense helped close the door. Northern Arizona came into Thursday's game leading the Big Sky in scoring offense while averaging over 78 points per game. That was seven points more than the second-ranked team in the conference, and yet, the Vikings held them to 66 points Thursday – 12 below their average.
 
Seventeen NAU turnovers fueled the Vikings' defensive effort. Those 17 turnovers turned into 21 points for the Vikings. In comparison, the Vikings committed only 12 turnovers themselves, which turned into just five points for the 'Jacks. The Vikings had only one turnover in the third quarter when they outscored the 'Jacks 10-0 in points off turnovers.
 
"One of our keys was holding them in the 60s," Gregg said of the team's defensive effort. "We saw that on the losses they had this year, they struggled to score. Our defense has been solid and continued to be something we could hang our hat on tonight."
 
The defensive effort saw the Vikings outshoot the 'Jacks .518-to-.406. It's the first time the Vikings have shot better than 50 percent from the field this season.
 
Offensively, the Vikings had balanced scoring behind Morales. Lewis finished second on the team with 13 points, but five other Vikings had at least seven points in the game. Fitzgerald and Rhema Ogele added eight points each, while Schultz, 'Uhila and McCartney all finished with seven.
 
Ogele and Schultz led the Vikings on the boards as they finished with eight and seven rebounds, respectively.
 
The Vikings' next game sees them travel over to Northern Colorado Saturday for a 1 p.m. PT / 2 p.m. tipoff in Greeley, Colo.
 
If the Vikings play with the same fire they did Thursday night, then it'll be back-to-back-to-back wins for the Vikings on their way back to Portland.
 
Game Notes: The Vikings improved to 31-25 all time against the 'Jacks with Thursday's win…The Vikings have now won 13 of their last 15 against the 'Jacks…Morales has scored 28 points in two of the Vikings' last three games…Morales is averaging 20.5 points per game in conference play so far.