CHENEY, Wash. — Facing a second-place Eastern Washington team that was one of two preseason picks to win the Big Sky Conference, the Portland State women's basketball team faced a tall task Monday. The Vikings couldn't surmount the challenge, falling 63-39 to the Eagles at Reese Court.
 
The Vikings (5-17, 0-10) held the Eagles (18-5, 8-2) to a lower percentage than their other recent opponents as Eastern Washington shot just 40.9 percent (27-of-69) from the floor. That's the lowest mark the Vikings have held an opponent since they held Idaho to 40.7 percent (22-of-54) on Dec. 30.
 
But the Vikings couldn't keep pace on the other end, shooting a conference season-low 26.5 percent (13-of-49) themselves. The Vikings made just five field goals in the second half, negating any chance at a comeback.
 
The Eagles took advantage, leading wire-to-wire Monday. The Eagles built a 14-point halftime lead behind a dominant showing on the glass in the opening 20 minutes. At halftime, the Eagles were out-rebounding the Vikings 29-to-13. They finished with a plus-21 (48-to-27) margin in the game, which led to a 25-3 advantage in second-chance points.
 
On the positive side, the Vikings took care of the ball better against the Eagles than they did the first time they faced them. The Big Sky leaders in turnover margin, the Eagles finished plus-13 (21-8) in turnovers the last time they played the Vikings, which was a key piece of their 68-58 win back on Dec. 28. But Monday, the Vikings kept the Eagles to only a plus-one (11-10) turnover margin.
 
Still, the Vikings couldn't do enough to keep Monday's game close. It was a 19-point game heading into the fourth quarter, and the Eagles quickly stretched that to as many as 27 points in the final 10 minutes.
 
The Vikings' 39 points were a conference season low as well as their second lowest total across all games this season.
 
Esmeralda Morales led the Vikings with 14 points behind a pair of three-pointers. Mia 'Uhila also went into double figures with 11 points to go with three rebounds and two assists. Rhema Ogele, who had a double-double the last time against the Eagles, nearly got another with eight points and eight rebounds. But the rest of the Vikings combined for just six points.
 
Monday's result meant the second half of the Big Sky schedule started the same way as the first for the Vikings with a loss to the Eagles. But the Vikings will look to change the results that follow, starting with a home stand against Weber State and Idaho State this weekend.
 
The home stand opens Thursday night when the Vikings face Weber State at 6 p.m. at Viking Pavilion.
 
Thursday is a much better day of the week than Monday anyways. We all have a case of the Mondays sometimes, as the Vikings did against the Eagles.
 
Game Notes: The Vikings fell to 36-45 all-time against the Eagles with Monday's loss…The Vikings have now lost 14 straight games, with their last win coming on Dec. 12 against Bushnell.
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