PORTLAND, Ore. — The Portland State women's basketball team led preseason Big Sky favorite Eastern Washington by 10 midway through the third quarter at Viking Pavilion. But a decisive 24-1 run that stretched halfway into the fourth quarter saw the Eagles run away with a 68-58 victory Thursday night in both teams' Big Sky Conference opener.
 
Some leaky turnovers from the Vikings proved the difference. The Vikings turned the ball over 21 times against the Eagles (9-3, 1-0), which they turned into 23 of their 68 points. Seven of the Vikings' 21 turnovers came during the Eagles' 24-1 run between the third and fourth quarters.
 
Ball control was a known strength for the Eagles coming into the game. They came in leading the Big Sky with a +6.91 turnover margin, while they rank sixth in the nation with only 11.2 turnovers per game. That bore out Thursday night, as the Eagles gave up only eight turnovers against the Vikings' 21.
 
"Proud of our effort. I thought we battled. But in saying that, we've got to clean up our turnovers. They were active defensively, but I didn't feel like they forced us into 21 turnovers," Portland State head coach Chelsey Gregg said of the game.
 
While the long run and turnovers in the second half will serve as lessons for the Vikings, Gregg hopes the team will still take away the positives of how they played in the opening 25 minutes of the game.
 
The Vikings built their 10-point lead in the third behind some of the best play of the season from post players Rhema Ogele and Lana Wenger. Those two accounted for the Vikings' first 11 points of the game, while they finished with 27 combined, almost half of the Vikings' total scoring output.
 
Ogele led the way with 14 points and a career-high 14 rebounds, giving the junior her third double-double of the season. Wenger, meanwhile, added a career-high 13 points to go with six rebounds.
 
"When you have bigs on your team who can score, it's going to open things up for your guards. That's just how it works, and vice versa. When you have good guards on your team, it opens up for the bigs," Gregg said of Ogele and Wenger.
 
"We're still trying to figure out when to get them the ball and where they need it, what we can run to put them in the best position to score. The way we run things and the offense that we run, there's enough basketball for everybody. We'll continue to find ways to get them involved."
 
Ogele and Wenger combined for 19 of the Viking's 35 first-half points between 10 for Ogele and nine for Wenger. Ogele capped a 14-2 run for the Vikings between the first and second quarters that turned an early 18-11 deficit into a 25-20 lead. Esmeralda Morales also converted a rare four-point play during the run that tied it at 20-all.
 
Both Ogele and Wenger also scored during a 13-3 stretch in the third quarter that saw the Vikings build their 10-point lead at 48-38 with 4:07 remaining in the period.
 
But that's where things turned the Eagles' way. The Vikings couldn't buy a bucket to counter the Eagles' run, as they made just two of their final 11 shots from the field. The errant shooting meant the Vikings forced things a little too much over the final stretch, as 11 of their 21 turnovers came after their 48-38 lead in the third quarter.
 
"When you're down, you've got to make good decisions and you've got to make stops," Gregg said. "Can we stop the run earlier in the third? Instead of allowing them to take the lead, can we make some shots and some better decisions defensively to not allow them all the way back?"
 
The Vikings got the effort they needed in other respects Thursday. They won the rebounding battle for the second straight game and third time out of their last four contests. The Vikings out-rebounded the Eagles 39-to-33, with Ogele and Wenger accounting for 20 of that total. Besides them, Mia 'Uhila grabbed seven rebounds to go with nine points, three assists and a pair of steals.
 
Additionally, the Vikings got to the line against the Eagles. They 16-of-21 from the line, with their 16 makes representing their second-best total of the season.
 
So, the effort has been there for the Vikings recently. It just needs to be rewarded with a win.
 
"We have to continue to look at the positives. Nobody likes to lose, especially our staff and our team. But the reality is we're continuing to compete and show up for each other," Gregg said.
 
"We'll keep them motivated by focusing on the positives and continuing to grow in the areas that we're not doing well at. We're going to continue to work and get better. That's what you've got to do."
 
Game Notes: The Vikings fell to 36-44 all time against the Eagles with Thursday's loss…Alaya Fitzgerald started Thursday's game, marking her return from an injury that had held her out since Nov. 14…The Vikings went just 4-of-13 from three-point range and are now 12-of-48 (.250) from deep over their last three games...The Eagles held Morales, the Big Sky leader at 20.3 points per game, to 12 points Thursday, her second lowest total of the season.
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