Portland State University Athletics

SAN DIEGO, Calif. — Portland State head women's basketball coach Chelsey Gregg said before the season that she didn't want to ride the roller coaster anymore. That means no more wild ups and downs from game-to-game.
 
That will have to remain a goal for the Vikings for the time being after they followed a strong, 71-62 road win over UC Davis Thursday with a 71-43 loss to San Diego Saturday at the Jenny Craig Pavilion.
 
"Credit to San Diego. They were ready. They were physical. We just didn't have our mojo tonight," Gregg said. "We'll get back to work, watch film, make adjustments, and we'll come out better for our home opener on Tuesday."
 
Poor stretches at the start of the first and third quarters put the Vikings in a hole they never climbed out of. San Diego scored the first 11 points of the game, then scored another eight straight to open the second half. The run to start the third quarter made it a 19-point game at 43-24, and the Vikings never got closer than 15 the rest of the way.
 
The Vikings (1-1) were without Rhema Ogele due to concussion protocol. Ogele starred in the Vikings' win over the Aggies on Thursday, setting a career high with 24 points on 12-of-14 shooting to go with 11 rebounds for her third career double-double.
 
Ogele's presence in the post was sorely missed. With Ogele, the Vikings outscored the Aggies 40-30 in the paint Thursday. But without Ogele, San Diego owned the paint, outscoring the Vikings 44-12. Additionally, the Vikings felt Ogele's absence defensively. With her and 6-4 forward Lana Wenger playing alongside each other Thursday, the Vikings held UC Davis to 38.7 percent shooting (24-of-62). But Saturday, the Toreros shot 52.5 percent (31-of-59) with all but three of their field goals coming from inside the arc.
 
The Vikings tried to make up the deficit despite the absences and poor start. Alaya Fitzgerald hit her third three-pointer to get the Vikings back within 10 at 29-19 in the second quarter. Freshman Laynee Torres-Kahapea followed with her first career three-pointer a little later to drop San Diego's lead to single digits at 31-22 with 2:42 remaining in the half.
 
But it was still an 11-point lead at halftime, and after the slow start to the second half, the Vikings didn't mount much of a comeback from there.
 
Fitzgerald scored 11 of the Vikings' first 19 points in the game, but then was held scoreless the rest of the way. Esmeralda Morales, who had 21 points against UC Davis Thursday, led the Vikings with 17 points, 11 of which came after halftime. Torres-Kahapea was next on the scoresheet with seven for the Vikings.
 
All of the Vikings struggled from the field. The Vikings shot 23.6 percent (13-of-55) as a team, including 20.8 percent (5-of-24) from three-point range.
 
Ogele's absence also made a difference on the glass. While the Vikings out-rebounded UC Davis, 36-to-35 Thursday, the Toreros finished +15 on the Vikings (43-to-28) Saturday. That led to a 16-8 advantage in second-chance points.
 
So, the Vikings know their marching orders after the opening weekend of the season. Even with the dip between games, the road split marked progress for a Viking team that went 3-10 on the road last season.
 
The Vikings now return to Viking Pavilion Tuesday for the team's home opener against Warner Pacific. Tipoff between the Vikings and Knights is set for 6 p.m.
 
Game Notes: The Vikings fell to 1-5 all time against the Toreros with Saturday's loss…Morales moved into 10th place all time with her 128th career three-pointer…Morales and Joy Haltom each had three steals while the Vikings finished with 10 as a team.
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