BOZEMAN, Mont. — The Portland State women's basketball team shot its way back into Saturday's game at Montana State, but the Bobcats maintained a comfortable lead throughout a 71-50 win over the Vikings at Brick Breeden Fieldhouse.
 
The Vikings (5-15, 0-8) fell behind by 20 early in the game, 32-12, but then caught fire from three-point range. After missing their first 10 outside shots, the Vikings made seven of their next nine to make it a game again.Esmeralda Morales hit four of the Vikings' seven three-pointers during the middle stretch of the game while leading all scorers with 19 points Saturday. Alaya Fitzgerald hit two of the other three, then added a third triple at the start of the fourth quarter as she finished with 13 points.
 
But despite the Vikings' hot shooting, the game hovered around an 11-point lead for the Bobcats (11-10, 5-3) the entire time. The Vikings got as close as nine points when Mia 'Uhila hit a bucket to make it 42-33 with 6:51 remaining the third quarter. Fitzgerald's three-pointer at the start of the fourth quarter then made it an 11-point game again at 56-45 with 9:42 remaining. But the Bobcats answered with a 10-0 run from there that put the game out of reach.
 
The Bobcats countered the Vikings' outside shooting with a dominant showing in the paint. Montana State outscored the Vikings 48-to-8 in the paint, with the 40-point differential representing the largest against the Vikings this season.
 
The advantage in the paint led the Bobcats to outshooting the Vikings .508-to-.405. The Bobcats became the sixth team out of the Vikings' last eight opponents to shoot better than 50 percent from the field.
 
Early foul trouble and some key absences hurt the Vikings in their defensive effort Saturday. The Vikings were again without 17-game starter Lana Wenger due to illness, as well as Alani Encinas (illness) and Cinco McCartney (knee). The Vikings have also been without assistant coach Ashley Bolston during their trip to Montana.
 
Despite the absences, the Vikings showed some fight, coming back after their early deficit.
 
Fitzgerald kickstarted the Vikings' resurgence with back-to-back three-pointers after the Bobcats went up 20. Morales followed with her first triple of the game to make it 32-21, then answered four straight points for the Bobcats with a rare four-point play.
 
Sofía Llanos, who started her second straight game after scoring a career-high 10 points Thursday against Montana, started a fastbreak with a steal that led to another triple for Morales in the third quarter.
 
But the Bobcats answered every run as they led wire-to-wire.
 
The Vikings finished the game 9-of-30 (.300) from three-point range, going 9-of-20 (.450) after missing their first 10 three-pointers in the game. The nine three-pointers are tied for the Vikings' most since they hit 10 against Bushnell on Dec. 12.
 
Besides Morales and Fitzgerald, Laynee Torres-Kahapea chipped in six points, while Llanos and 'Uhila added five each.
 
The Vikings continue on the road next week when they play at Sacramento State Saturday and Eastern Washington the following Monday. The game against the Hornets is set for a 2 p.m. tip on Feb. 3.
 
Game Notes: The Vikings fell to 31-43 all time against the Bobcats with Saturday's loss…After two games below 10 points, Morales responded with her 18th double-digit scoring game of the season…The Bobcats forced 21 turnovers Saturday, which they turned into 21 points on the other end.
  Read Full Article