PORTLAND, Ore. — Down 49-47 entering the fourth quarter against Omaha, it looked like the Portland State women's basketball team had the chance for a second straight comeback victory Wednesday night at Viking Pavilion. The Vikings were back in their home gym four days after erasing a nine-point four-quarter deficit in a win over UC Davis. So down late against the Mavericks, the Vikings had to feel good when they twice came back to tie it, erasing a six-point deficit to make it 53-all, and a four-point deficit to make it 57-all.
But too many turnovers (a season-high 22) and a cold-shooting fourth quarter – the Vikings were just 4-of-15 (.267) from the field in the fourth – prevented another comeback as the Vikings fell 65-57 to the Mavericks in their first of two games within the Big Sky-Summit Challenge.
The loss snaps a three-game winning streak for the Vikings (3-3), who could have matched their longest winning streak in five seasons with a win over the Mavericks (5-4).
"We had chances to win. We've got to clean up our turnovers. Credit to Omaha, but I thought a lot of them were unforced errors. We'll continue to find ways, as a staff, to help our players put themselves in the best situations," Portland State head coach
Chelsey Gregg said after the game.
"I liked our fight. Our kids worked hard, and some people stepped up and played good minutes for us."
The Vikings controlled the first half. In many ways, they were unlucky to not be leading by more at the break. They jumped out to an 8-2 lead and grew it to as large as a 12-point advantage late in the second quarter.
Kyleigh Brown led the way with 11 points and six rebounds in the first half alone. Nine of Brown's 11 points came in the second quarter, including eight as part of an 11-2 run that saw the Vikings go up 30-19 with 3:13 remaining.
Brown's free throw with 1:11 remaining before halftime gave the Vikings their largest lead of the night at 33-21.
But that's when the Mavericks flipped the game. They scored five quick points to cut the deficit to seven at halftime, then followed with eight straight out of the break to take their first lead of the game at 34-33.
The Mavericks upped their aggression, attacking the basket so they'd either score in the paint or get to the line. Out of 23 third-quarter points for the Mavericks, 18 came either in the paint or from the free-throw line.
The push into the paint helped the Mavericks' shoot better in the second half. They started the game just 5-of-20 from the field, but then made 10 of their next 13 shots while building a 45-39 lead with 3:50 remaining in the third quarter.
Brown had the answer initially for the Vikings. After the Mavericks went up six at 45-39, she cut the deficit in half with a three-pointer, then followed with a mid-range jumper on the Vikings' next possession to get them back within one at 45-44.
Sofía Llanos tied the game at 47-all two possessions later with her second three-pointer of the game. The three came as part of a season-high eight points for Llanos, who together with Brown led the Vikings to a season-high 28 bench points Wednesday.
The Mavericks went back up by six at 53-47 with 7:57 remaining in the fourth quarter, but the Vikings worked their way back in it once again.
Courtney Turner and
Rhema Ogele produced second-chance buckets on back-to-back possessions to get the Vikings back within two.
Jamia Carter then tied it with a pair of free throws a few possessions later.
Ogele, who battled foul trouble all night, had her best sequence of the game a little after that. After Omaha went up 57-53, she scored on back-to-back possessions to level the game again at 57-all with 2:05 remaining.
But that would be it for the Vikings. They'd miss their last three shots from the field as the Mavericks scored the final eight points of the game.
The Vikings couldn't get over the hump at any point during their comeback attempt. They never led in the fourth quarter despite holding the Mavericks scoreless for over four minutes in the period at one point.
The Mavericks got out of many jams Wednesday by getting to the free throw line. They finished 20-of-24 (.833) from the line, with their 24 attempts marking the second most for a Viking opponent this season. That was a significant advantage for them as the Vikings only went 8-of-12 from the line on the other end.
The Vikings will also lament five fourth-quarter turnovers among a season-high 22 on the night. That had been a strength for the Vikings this season as they came into the game leading the Big Sky Conference while giving up only 14 turnovers per game. But they exceeded that by eight Wednesday and Omaha turned that into a 23-16 advantage in points off turnovers.
Even still, the Vikings will like the fight they got from their players. Brown shot 7-of-11 from the field while scoring her game-high 18 points. Ogele added 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting despite playing a season-low 18:57 due to foul trouble. Llanos and Carter added eight points each.
The Vikings can quickly move on from the loss, as they'll play at Denver Saturday (12 p.m. PT / 1 p.m. MT) for the second of their two games within the Big Sky-Summit Challenge. The Pioneers dropped their first game in the Challenge, falling 73-61 to Idaho State on the road Wednesday.
"We've got to get our minds ready for the next one. I think it's a belief in self and a belief in what we do, and I think we have that. One game doesn't define us, and we can't allow this one game to define us moving forward," Gregg said.
"We'll continue to get better. That's what we've done. We had some losses [early in the season], then continued to get better and got some wins. We'll get back in the win column."
Game Notes: Wednesday's game was the first-ever meeting between Omaha and Portland State in women's basketball…The Vikings are now 0-3 in Big Sky-Summit Challenge games, having lost to Kansas City, 75-56, on the road, and St. Thomas, 62-44, at home last season…Brown is averaging 13.5 points per game over the team's last four games.
