PORTLAND, Ore. — The Portland State women's basketball team got outworked Saturday, dropping a 74-63 game to the University of San Francisco at Viking Pavilion.
 
The Dons (3-7) outscored the Vikings 48-to-24 in the paint Saturday, while they out-rebounded the Vikings 25-to-9 in the second half and 40-to-29 for the game. The dominance in the paint emerged early for the Dons. Twenty-eight of their 33 first-half points came from the paint, and three of the other five came on free throws.
 
"We knew that their record wasn't indicative of how good of a team they are and how they can play. However, I was displeased with how we showed up today," Portland State head women's basketball coach Chelsey Gregg said afterwards. "We allowed too many transition opportunities, as well as points in the paint. I thought we should have been better in that area."
 
Opponents have been able to shoot well against the Vikings (5-4) through the team's first nine games of the season. The Dons became the fourth team to shoot better than 45 percent against the Vikings, as they finished 46.9 percent (30-of-64) from the field.
 
Defensive stops were too few and far between for the Vikings. It was only a seven-point game entering the fourth quarter, but the Vikings never got closer as the Dons answered nearly every PSU basket in the final period. Out of five scores for the Vikings in the fourth quarter, the Dons immediately answered the next time down the floor four of those five times. Throughout the game, the Vikings' longest run was five points.
 
"I think a lot of it is just heart and mentality," Gregg said of the team's defensive struggles Saturday. "We have to address that in practice. That needs to be a big area of growth for us. We'll continue to get better. Continue to challenge them and call them up to raise their level.
 
"If we learn from this and come out better the next time, then okay."
 
The Vikings struggled to answer offensively, too, at times. The Dons initially took control of the game by holding the Vikings scoreless for more than seven minutes in the second quarter. The Dons scored 15 straight points during that stretch, turning what was a 20-14 PSU lead into a 29-20 advantage of their own.
 
Esmeralda Morales tried to bring the Vikings back with an outstanding individual play at the end of the half. She dribbled down the clock before knocking down a step-back three-pointer as time expired. That got the Vikings back within six, and a layup from Rhema Ogele out of halftime would cut the deficit down to four.
 
But that's as close as the Vikings would get the rest of the way. Another scoring drought, this time for two and a half minutes led to a 9-0 third-quarter run for the Dons that pushed their lead to 15. Morales again hit a big three to snap the run, while Mia 'Uhila came alive to score 13 of her 17 points after halftime. But the Vikings never trailed by anything less than three possessions over the final 17 minutes of the game.
 
Morales led the Vikings with 21 points, right on her season average of 20.5, which leads the Big Sky Conference. She did well to get to 21 points considering the Dons double teamed her relentlessly all game. 'Uhila also went into double figures with 17 points, a lot of it coming on physical drives to the basket, while adding five rebounds and four assists.
 
Rhema Ogele joined her junior classmates in double figures with 12 points. Lana Wenger finished with eight points to go with two rebounds and two blocks.
 
The Dons limited the Vikings' biggest offensive threat, however, in the Vikings' three-point shooting. The Vikings had been especially potent from deep when playing at home, as they came into the game averaging 11.3 three-pointers on 46.6 percent shooting in the team's three previous games at Viking Pavilion. But Saturday, while Morales went 3-of-5 from three-point range, the rest of the Vikings were a combined 0-for-10.
 
So, it's clear what needs to improve ahead of Wednesday's rivalry game against the University of Portland. The Pilots play even more aggressively than the Dons, a fellow member of the West Coast Conference, so the Vikings will have to play with more fire when the ball goes up at 2 p.m. at Viking Pavilion.
 
They can't get outworked two games in a row.
 
"We've got to have a short memory. We have a crosstown rival coming in Wednesday and got to keep moving forward," Gregg said.
 
Game Notes: The Dons improved to 2-1 all time against the Vikings with Saturday's win…Saturday's game was the first meeting between the two teams since the 1987-88 season…Saturday marked the first time the Vikings have lost a game this season when Morales has scored 20 points or more.
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