PORTLAND, Ore. — Out of all the improvements the Portland State women's basketball team has made following last season, the biggest has to be how the Vikings are finishing games. Saturday, that was fully on display, as the Vikings closed out a 60-55 victory over Northern Arizona behind a dominant defensive effort in the fourth quarter.
 
Northern Arizona (15-12, 9-5 Big Sky) hit two free throws to go up 51-50 with 6:39 remaining, but they'd score only four more points the rest of the way. The Vikings held NAU to just 2-of-13 (.154) shooting in the fourth quarter, including an 0-of-6 mark from three-point range.
 
And this was a Northern Arizona team that came into Saturday leading the Big Sky in scoring offense with 77.5 points per game – six more points per game than any other team in the conference. The Lumberjacks' 55 points against the Vikings marked a new season low for them, while they became the ninth different team the Vikings have held below 60 points this season.
 
"For me, this game showed the growth of our team, that we can find different ways to win," Portland State head coach Chelsey Gregg said of the win afterward. "I feel like when we're locked in and when we're bought into what we're doing, gosh, we play some really good defense."
 
By finishing games the way they are, the Vikings now find themselves in the middle of a three-game win streak overall, and a five-game win streak at home. You could point to any of the wins in either of those win streaks and see a strong finish from the Vikings. Against Northern Colorado Thursday, the Vikings held the Bears without a field goal over the final 3:32 of game time. Against Idaho State on Jan. 21, the Vikings held the Bengals without a point over the final 3:33 of game time.
 
Both of those games came at home, but the Vikings have also done it on the road. Against Eastern Washington last Saturday, the Vikings outscored the Eagles 30-22 in the fourth quarter, turning what was a one-point game into an 80-71 win.
 
It's a dramatic turnaround from a year ago, when the Vikings went 0-20 within Big Sky play, losing several games after leading in the fourth quarter.
 
"We've experienced what it feels like to not [finish]," Gregg said. "I told them at the end of the game, especially for those who are returners, I would never have wanted to go through last year, but it brought us to here. I don't think we're here and making the progress that we are without last year. And so, I'm just really proud of the progress that they've shown and we're not done yet."
 
The Vikings put themselves in a position to finish Saturday's game thanks to a big third quarter. The Lumberjacks led 31-26 at halftime, but the Vikings came out with new energy, and outscored the Lumberjacks 22-14 in the third quarter. Alaya Fitzgerald – held to only two points in the first half – scored eight of the Vikings' first 12 points in the third quarter, and created one of the other two buckets with a steal and assist to teammate Cinco McCartney.
 
Fitzgerald kicked off her scoring spurt with a three-pointer. That may have been as good as any indicator of the Vikings' mindset in the second half, as Fitzgerald was 0-of-5 from three-point range in the first half, but still came out firing at the start of the second.
 
"She was getting good looks in the first half. She just had to continue to shoot with confidence and attack and it would come. Whether she took that to heart or saw something different and was able to capitalize on that, I don't know, but she really gave us a lift there to start the third. Really just proud of how she came out," Gregg said of Fitzgerald.
 
Fitzgerald capped her strong start to the second half with a three-point play that gave the Vikings their first lead of the game at 38-36. NAU responded with five straight points to go back in front at 41-38, but the Vikings answered with eight straight of their own.
 
Six early free throws in the fourth quarter gave NAU its last lead of the game at 51-50. Again, the Vikings immediately answered, and again it was Fitzgerald who put the Vikings out in front. Given a second opportunity after an offensive rebound from Rhema Ogele, Fitzgerald hit a three-pointer with 6:20 remaining that put the Vikings up for good
 
Esmeralda Morales then stretched the lead with a pair of highlight-reel plays. The first came as she hit a reverse layup to put the Vikings up four. Then, after the teams traded empty possessions, she drove into the paint – drawing three NAU defenders – and hit McCartney with a no-look pass for a layup.
 
NAU got back within three at 58-55 with 1:17 remaining, but that'd be the last they'd score. They missed five shots within the final minute, including three straight three-pointers at the end of the game.
 
The Vikings' turnaround in the second half saw them outshoot the Lumberjacks .394-to-.308 after halftime, and outscore them 20-to-6 in the paint. Both were dramatic reversals from the first half when NAU outshot the Vikings .440-to-.333 and outscored them 14-to-8 in the paint.
 
Morales led all players with 21 points in the game while also chipping in five assists and four rebounds. Fitzgerald scored 15 of her 17 points after halftime while adding four rebounds, two assists and three steals. No other Viking was in double figures, though McCartney and Jada Lewis were close with nine and seven points, respectively.
 
Rhema Ogele scored only four points, but she led all players with 11 rebounds in the game. Ten of Ogele's 11 rebounds came in the second half, when the Vikings were essentially even on the boards (minus-1) after being outrebounded by eight in the first half.
 
The Vikings hit the road for two games next week, starting with a game at Idaho State on Feb. 16. The Vikings' game at Idaho State last season was one of those the team didn't finish. They led by six inside of four minutes remaining before losing, 67-64.
 
But put this year's team in that same situation, and they finish the job.
 
Game Notes: The Vikings improved to 32-25 all time against the Lumberjacks with Saturday's win…The Vikings have now won 14 of their last 16 games against the Lumberjacks…The Vikings' five-game home winning streak is their longest home winning streak since they won 11 in a row between the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons…Morales' 21 points gave the sophomore her eighth 20-point game of the season…Fitzgerald's 17 points extended her streak of scoring 15+ to four straight games.