PORTLAND, Ore. — The Portland State women's basketball team had a long way to go still, but the biggest indicator that Saturday's game against Idaho State would be different may have come in the team's first four shots of the game.
 
Lana Wenger dribbled to an open spot on the elbow…BANG. Mia 'Uhila shot a wing three…BANG. Alaya Fitzgerald got open for a jumper…BANG. Rhema Ogele passed out to an open Wenger at the top of the key…BANG.
 
After back-to-back games in which they shot below 30 percent, the Vikings (6-18, 1-11) hit their first four shots. They'd finish the first quarter 8-of-13 from the field, shooting 61.5 percent in the opening 10 minutes of the game.
 
Again, there was a long way to go from there, but in the sport of basketball there's no bigger confidence booster than seeing the ball go through the hoop. The Vikings got that from the jump, and it's the reason they ended their 15-game losing streak with a 59-53 win over Idaho State (10-13, 6-6) at Viking Pavilion.
 
"We had to get that monkey off our backs. We talk about managing it, but it's always there," Portland State head coach Chelsey Gregg said after the game. "We talk about going 1-0, and that's really what it is. We got better today, we won today, we went 1-0 today. Tomorrow, we'll have a day off, and then Monday we'll be back to work. But to be able to celebrate the team hanging tough and showing up today, it's just…yeah. You could feel the energy, the way the team was playing together."
 
The stats back up the breakthrough for the Vikings. Going through the box score, the Vikings set conference season highs or bests in:

• Field goal percentage (.449)
• Opponent field goal percentage (.339)
• Points allowed (53)
• Assists (17, on 22 field goals)
• Steals (9, tied)

 
That will usually do it.
 
Compare that to the team's first game against the Bengals and it's night and day. The Bengals have lost some key players since that game, but it was only 30 days ago that the Bengals beat the Vikings 79-43 in Pocatello on Jan. 11. The Bengals jumped out to a 30-10 lead in that game while scoring 18 of their first 30 points off PSU turnovers. But Saturday, among other statistical wins, the Vikings won the turnover battle (+2) while outscoring the Bengals 15-9 off turnovers.
 
Three different Vikings finished in double figures for only the ninth time this season. What may be most surprising is that Esmeralda Morales – the Big Sky Conference's leading scorer – wasn't one of them. She finished with two points, though contributed in other ways with six assists and three rebounds.
 
Fitzgerald led the Vikings with a season-high 19 points while tying her career high with four three-pointers. 'Uhila also tied her career high with three triples while finishing with 12 points, eight rebounds, five assists and two steals. Ogele added 14 points and five rebounds, though may have contributed most on the defensive end where she held Idaho State's Laura Bello – who had 30 points and 15 rebounds in a Big Sky tournament game against the Vikings last season – to just one point on 0-of-6 shooting from the floor.
 
"We've had one or two performances here or there, but not consistently from everybody. I thought today, we had that. Our bench was great. We brought in some extra wrinkles that we executed really well, and we made the shots that we're supposed to make. It's a different level of confidence when you do those things and do them well.
 
"We also talked about playing for something bigger than ourselves. To honor those who have been affected by cancer [fans were encouraged to wear pink and the players wrote down names of family members/loved ones who had dealt with cancer in some way]. Sometimes those games have a special way of lifting you up to meet the occasion."
 
Despite the hot start and the Vikings' improvements, the game was still up in the air going into the fourth quarter. The Bengals had scored the last seven points in the third to tie it up at 40-40. The last three points of the Bengals' run came on a bizarre play where the Vikings were called for a foul on a desperation three-pointer at the buzzer. Idaho State's Maria Dias hit all three free throws and the game was tied, 40-40.
 
The Bengals were supposed to start the fourth quarter with the ball but committed an over-and-back on the opening in-bounds to give the ball back to the Vikings. PSU seized that opportunity, opening the fourth quarter on an 8-0 to go back in front 48-40.
 
"You couldn't think too far ahead," Gregg said of starting the fourth quarter tied. "We had done a nice job of stacking positives. Whether it was getting a stop and scoring on the other end. But it was, 'we're not playing not to lose, we're playing to win.' And we just had a different confidence going into the fourth quarter that we haven't seen in a while."
 
'Uhila knocked down a corner three to open the scoring in the fourth. Wenger then got fouled on a putback, and even as she missed the subsequent free throw, it gave full momentum back to the Vikings. 'Uhila followed with a steal on the Bengals' next possession, then slipped a pass through a couple defenders to Ogele, who finished through contact. Ogele did hit the and-1 free throw, and the Vikings were back up by eight.
 
The Vikings then answered an ISU bucket with a floater from Laynee Torres-Kahapea, while Fitzgerald followed with a left-wing three. That pushed it to a double-digit lead at 53-42 and the Vikings just had to hold on from there.
 
Portland State took its first double-digit lead of the game miday through the second quarter. Idaho State opened the period with a bucket, but the Vikings answered with a 10-0 run while holding the Bengals scoreless for more than five minutes. Fitzgerald knocked down a triple to make it 23-14, while Morales followed with a steal-and-score to push the lead to 11 at 25-14. 'Uhila then hit her second triple of the game as the Vikings doubled up the Bengals at 28-14 with 4:53 remaining before halftime.
 
The Bengals would make their run in the third, but the hot start gave the Vikings the confidence they needed.
 
Wenger nearly gave the Vikings a fourth player in double figures, which would have been a season's first. She finished with eight points on a perfect 4-of-4 shooting from the field, while also contributing six rebounds and a career-high four steals.
 
A season ago, when the Vikings broke through for their first conference win in some time, they followed it up immediately with a 78-66 road win over Northern Arizona, one of the eventual Big Sky regular-season co-champions. Coincidentally, the Vikings go into that same road trip next week, though they'll start at Northern Colorado Thursday at 5 p.m. PT / 6 p.m. MT.
 
It'll be a new game and a new opponent for the Vikings. Saturday's game against the Bengals won't have much baring on it. But there's nothing like a breakthrough win to give a team confidence. It's almost as satisfying as seeing the ball go through the hoop.
 
Game Notes: The Vikings improved to 26-44 all-time against the Bengals…The Vikings have won three of their last five against the Bengals after Idaho State had won 22 of their previous 23 games…The Vikings outscored the Bengals 8-0 on fast-break points after Idaho State outscored the Vikings 17-0 in their first game against each other this season…The one sour note for the Vikings was that Morales finished 0-for-6 from three-point range, snapping her streak of hitting at least one three-pointer at 30 games, two shy of the program record.
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