FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — The Portland State women's basketball team got off the mat and swung back Saturday afternoon against Big Sky Conference co-leader Northern Arizona. It didn't change the outcome, as the Lumberjacks still won 89-73 at Findlay Toyota Court, but the counterpunch was an encouraging sign for the Vikings heading into a three-game home stand starting next week.
 
The Vikings (6-20, 1-13) shot just 3-of-15 from the field to start Saturday's game, falling behind 29-12 with five minutes left in the second quarter. But they came alive after that, making 21 of their next 31 shots over the next 20 minutes of game time to get back within seven in the fourth quarter.
 
Turnovers ended up costing the Vikings, however. After they had cut the deficit to seven, the Lumberjacks (19-7, 11-2) scored back-to-back buckets off PSU giveaways to push their lead back out to 11. Another bucket off a turnover following the media timeout made it a 13-point game again, and the Lumberjacks ran off with it from there.
 
It ended up being a 15-2 NAU run that put the game away, fueled by those three straight PSU turnovers. In all, the Lumberjacks finished +13 in the turnover margin against the Vikings (21-to-8), which led to a 29-6 advantage in points off turnovers. That proved the difference in a game in which the Vikings otherwise outshot the Lumberjacks, both overall (.509-to-.508) and from three-point range (.478-to-.417).
 
"I think we outplayed them 27 of the 40 minutes," Portland State head coach Chelsey Gregg said after the game. "We've got to start better. We can't have single digit scoring quarters. It was nice to see the ball go in again and score above 60 points.
 
"But I'm proud of our effort and encouraged by how we fought. Clean up turnovers and it's a ball game. That's a really good basketball team that we stayed with after the first quarter."
 
The Vikings set conference season highs for points (73), field goal percentage (.509), field goals (27), three-point field goal percentage (.478) and three-point field goals (11) despite the loss. A more even turnover margin, coupled with a little bit better defense, and the Vikings may have pulled out Saturday's game.
 
The Vikings had been improving in the turnover margin of late, as they were a combined plus-six in their last five games. That said, Northern Colorado outscored them 19-4 off turnover Thursday night, and the Lumberjacks topped that with their 29-6 margin Saturday.
 
The Vikings also could have used one or two more stops defensively. Before the fourth quarter, the Vikings had gotten back within 10 three different times but never closer. That's because even as the Vikings were shooting lights out, the Lumberjacks were matching the Vikings on the other end. The Vikings didn't have a run longer than five points in a row at any point in Saturday's game, which limited their chances at a comeback.
 
Northern Arizona became the first team in the Vikings' last six games to shoot over 50 percent against the Vikings. That had been another area of improvement for the Vikings, as after six of eight opponents topped 50 percent against the Vikings in January, no team had done so in February before NAU Saturday.
 
Still, the Vikings will be proud of their comeback against the Lumberjacks, even if they didn't make it all the way back.
 
Esmeralda Morales started the push with her first bucket of the game that came with 4:51 remaining in the second quarter. That kicked off a stretch in which the Vikings made their last six shots of the first half. Morales accounted for four of those six shots, including three straight makes from three-point range.
 
The Vikings opened with back-to-back misses in the third quarter, but then made nine of their next 13 from there. Laynee Torres-Kahapea finished a three-point play during that stretch, while Morales followed with five in a row to get the Vikings back within 10 at 55-45.
 
The Vikings made another five shots in a row between the end of the third quarter and start of the fourth. That stretch saw them finally cut the deficit back into single digits, something they hadn't done since the opening quarter. Lana Wenger hit a corner three to drop the deficit to nine with 7:38 remaining. After a couple of misses by both teams, Mia 'Uhila then dropped it to a seven-point game with a bucket at the 5:58 mark. But that was as close as the Vikings got, as NAU extended its lead late.
 
Morales led all scorers with 22 points in the game, all of which came during the second and third quarters. She was scoreless in the first and fourth quarters. Alaya Fitzgerald scored all 14 of her points in the second half while also leading the Vikings with six rebounds in the game.
 
Torres-Kahapea set a career high with 12 points while going 4-of-7 from the field and 3-of-4 from three-point range.
 
'Uhila and Wenger added nine points each, while Rhema Ogele scored seven before fouling out in the fourth quarter.
 
While Saturday's offensive breakthrough may not have been enough to get the Vikings a win over the Lumberjacks, they'll take that into a three-game home stand that starts next week against the Montana schools. Those three home games will be key for the Vikings to find some momentum ahead of the Big Sky tournament, which starts three weeks from Saturday on March 9.
 
Shoot like the Vikings did over the middle of Saturday's game, and the Vikings could surprise some people at Idaho Central Arena in Boise.
 
Game Notes: The Vikings still lead the all-time series between them and the Lumberjacks 32-27 despite Saturday's loss…Morales recorded her ninth 20-point game of the season Saturday and 24th of her career, tying her with Kristi Smith for sixth all-time in the PSU record book…Saturday was also Morales' 68th 10-point game at PSU, moving her past current assistant coach Ashley Bolston for 10th all-time.
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