PORTLAND, Ore. — A better start and a heroic 28 points from Esmeralda Morales gave the Portland State women's basketball team a ray of hope Thursday night against Eastern Washington. But the Eagles won the middle of the game and then knocked down free throws at the end to pull out a 65-56 victory over the Vikings at Viking Pavilion.
 
Slow starts had been a struggle for the Vikings of late. The Vikings (5-7, 0-2 Big Sky) fell behind 17-4 at the start of their Big Sky opener against Sacramento State last Saturday, which forced them to play catch-up the whole game. That wasn't the case Thursday, however, as the Vikings jumped out to a 16-10 lead in the first quarter. The Vikings also saw improvement on the boards Thursday, out-rebounding the Eagles 34-to-33.
 
But 20 turnovers that turned into 17 points for the Eagles (8-5, 1-2 Big Sky), coupled with an off night from the field by everyone outside of Morales countered the Vikings' gains.
 
"Right now, we're just focused on the process and those milestones that we can have," Portland State head coach Chelsey Gregg said after the game. "So, it was a better start tonight. That's what we needed to give ourselves a chance, and we outrebounded them. But we didn't clean up the turnovers, and so we got two of three tonight. In order to be competitive in the Big Sky Conference, we've got to be able to have all three of those areas line up."
 
Morales kept the Vikings in it early, as she scored 20 of the team's first 29 points in the game. She scored her 20th point on a pull-up jumper with 6:28 remaining in the third quarter that brought the Vikings back within six at 35-29. But the Eagles held the Vikings to just five points the rest of the way while pushing their lead out to 11 entering the fourth quarter.
 
It was a 14-point lead with 2:59 left in the fourth quarter, when the Vikings put together a last-ditch comeback. Fitzgerald kickstarted an 8-0 run with her second three-pointer of the game, while Morales followed with one of her own. An EWU turnover then gave the Vikings the ball back, and Morales drove all the way to the rim for a layup that made it 54-48 with 1:23 remaining.
 
Morales then hit another three-pointer – her fifth of the game – following two free throws for the Eagles, bringing the Vikings back within five at 56-51. But the Eagles hit their free throws down the stretch, as they shut the door on the Vikings from the line.
 
"Ultimately, I thought we just didn't execute the way we can," Gregg said. "Part of that were the turnovers. You'd rather have a missed shot than a turnover. You can live with missed shots, though you like it when they go in. But what are the other ways you can impact the game in a positive way? Even if the shots aren't falling, we've got to be able to take care of the basketball and get better looks."
 
Morales finished with 28 points on 11-of-17 shooting overall and 5-of-8 from three-point range. Her 28 points are her second-most as a Viking, trailing only the 32 points she scored in her debut game as a freshman.
 
"Esme really came to play tonight," Gregg said of Morales. "She always gives us her best effort. It was nice to see her get her shooting back and have success there."
 
The team's shooting outside of Morales was a struggle, however. The rest of the Vikings were just 11-of-39 (.282), and six of those 11 field goals came in the fourth quarter.
 
Fitzgerald added nine points for the Vikings, while Rhema Ogele and Syd Schultz chipped in six each. Jada Lewis led the Vikings with seven rebounds, while Ogele grabbed six of her own.
 
The Vikings' 34-to-33 win on the boards was their first against a Division I team since they out-rebounded Utah Valley, 38-to-30, on Nov. 26.
 
The strong rebounding helped fuel a defense that held an Eastern Washington team that came in ranked third in the Big Sky with 71.6 points per game under their scoring average. Additionally, the Vikings forced the Eagles into more turnovers than they typically average. The Eagles came into the game ranked 11th in the nation with only 12 turnovers per game, but the Vikings forced them into seven in the first quarter and 15 for the game.
 
"I thought we played pretty good defense. I mean, they only scored 65 points, and that's a team that's typically scoring a lot more," Gregg said of the team's defensive effort.
 
Make a few more shots, and it's a different game. Saturday, it will be a different game as the Vikings host Idaho. The Vandals swept the Montana schools at home last weekend to open Big Sky play, but fell to Sacramento State, 71-56, Thursday night.
 
"Whether you want to choose to sulk until midnight, or however you need to be until midnight, tomorrow is a new day. It's a new day tomorrow, and we're back to work," Gregg said of the prep for Saturday.
 
"I wish we could mature overnight, but we're going to just continue to work."
 
Tipoff between the Vikings and Vandals is scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday.
 
Game Notes: The Vikings fell to 35-43 all time against the Eagles with Thursday's loss…The Eagles have won the last three in the series and five of the last six…The Vikings finished with at least 10 steals for the seventh time this season…Morales and Mia 'Uhila had three steals each to lead the Vikings.