PORTLAND, Ore. — Renewed energy from the Portland State women's basketball team wasn't enough to get the Vikings a rivalry win over University of Portland Wednesday, as the Pilots topped the Vikings 67-54 at Viking Pavilion.
 
After a lackluster effort against San Francisco Saturday, the Vikings (5-5) played with more fire Wednesday, especially in the first half. They held the Pilots to 8-of-22 (.364) shooting in the opening 20 minutes, while forcing 12 turnovers that turned into 10 of the Vikings' 30 first-half points.
 
But the Pilots (8-6) responded with a strong second half in which they outshot the Vikings .640-to-.216. It was still only a four-point game at the start of the fourth quarter, but back-to-back three-pointers for the Pilots – two of only three they had in the game – stretched it to a 10-point lead and they didn't look back from there.
 
"Really proud of our effort. I think it's a different team than we saw last week," Portland State head coach Chelsey Gregg said of her team's energy. "Flying around. We made some adjustments and our kids really responded. It took us a little bit to settle in, but once we did, I thought we did some really good things against a good quality team."
 
The Vikings' improved effort won them a lot of statistical advantages. They out-rebounded the Pilots 41-to-35, including a 21-to-6 advantage on the offensive glass. The 21 offensive rebounds were a new season high for the Vikings and led to a 14-5 advantage in second-chance points. Additionally, the Vikings turned the ball over only 13 times against a Portland team that leads the West Coast Conference with over 20 turnovers forced per game.
 
What's more, the Vikings got contributions from everyone on the floor as all eight players who appeared in Wednesday's game scored for the Vikings in the opening 20 minutes.
 
"Not happy with the loss, of course, but I'm happy with the progress and the way we showed up for each other," Gregg said. "We were just really looking to have good energy and effort that we hadn't seen in a few games, and we did that."
 
It took a second for the Vikings' effort to take hold. The Pilots ran out to a 12-3 lead before the Vikings responded with an extended 17-3 run that spanned the end of the first quarter and the start of the second. The Vikings held the Pilots without a field goal for nearly 10 minutes of game time, as the Pilots missed every shot they took between the 4:22 mark of the first quarter and the 4:44 mark of the second. Freshman Joy Haltom gave the Vikings their first lead of the game with a steal-and-score with 7:37 remaining in the second quarter. Senior Paige Winter then added back-to-back buckets down low, the second on a second-chance play, to give the Vikings a 20-15 lead with 5:02 remaining.
 
Esmeralda Morales knocked down a step-back three a little later to give the Vikings their largest lead of the game at 30-23 with 49 seconds remaining in the half.
 
The Pilots got some momentum back with the final four points of the period, and that bled into the start of the third quarter as they tied it up with a three from Maisie Burnham on the opening possession of the second half.
 
The game remained within one or two possessions either way until the Pilots stretched their lead in the fourth behind the back-to-back triples. The Vikings had open looks to make it closer but didn't make enough as they went 8-of-37 (.216) from the field in the second half.
 
Morales still finished with 18 points while going 4-of-8 from three-point range. Mia 'Uhila added 12 points, nine of which came in the second half, while also contributing five rebounds and five assists. 'Uhila's five assists came against only two turnovers as she took care of the ball against a UP defense that pressed the Vikings throughout Wednesday's game.
 
Cinco McCartney led the Vikings' strong effort on the glass as she finished with a season-high 11 rebounds to lead all players. Rhema Ogele added seven rebounds (three offensive) to go with seven points and a pair of steals.
 
So, while the Vikings will certainly lament the loss, the renewed energy gives them hope for the start of Big Sky Conference play after the holiday break.
 
"We can do it. This is what it takes," Gregg said of how Wednesday's game will lead into conference play. "This kind of effort and this kind of preparation is needed against a good team night in and night out like we're going to face in the Big Sky. Understanding that this is what it's going to take, and we'll need to be consistent and find it every game."
 
The Vikings begin conference play against one of the preseason favorites in Eastern Washington next Thursday, Dec. 28. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Viking Pavilion.
 
Show up like they did Wednesday, and it could be a strong start to the conference season for the Vikings.
 
Game Notes: The Vikings fell to 26-31 all time against the Pilots with Wednesday's loss…The Pilots have won the last three against the Vikings, with Portland State's last win in the rivalry series coming in 2019…The Pilots outscored the Vikings 40-24 in the paint.
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