FULLERTON, Calif. — Facing the nation's most prolific team in turning opponents over, the Portland State women's basketball team got in a hole early it couldn't climb out of, falling 81-66 on the road at Cal State Fullerton Saturday.
 
The Titans (5-5) forced three turnovers from the Vikings (3-7) before PSU's first shot attempt as part of a 10-0 start to the game. The Vikings stayed in it, eventually getting within five points with just over two minutes remaining in the third quarter. But a 20-2 run for the Titans over the next six and a half minutes of game time put the game away.
 
"We prepped all week for the press, but unfortunately at the start of the game we struggled with their physicality and pace. They got off to a hot start and turned us over, and it took us a while to rebound from that," Portland State head coach Karlie Burris said after the game.
 
"We need to start with a little bit more confidence and poise. Now we've felt that type of pressure and we know what it's going to take. We know the spots that are going to be open to beat it, and we just need to execute with confidence."
 
The Vikings actually ended up with fewer turnovers (26) than the Titans had been forcing out of opponents coming into the game (27.8). But the turnovers led to easy baskets for the Titans, who outshot the Vikings .500-to-.351 as a result.
 
The pressure defense affected the Vikings offensively even when they didn't turn the ball over. The Vikings won the turnover battle in the second half (+1) but shot just 26.5 percent (9-for-34) from the floor after halftime. They missed eight shots in a row – around six turnovers – during the Titans' 20-2 run between the third and fourth quarters.
 
Offensive rebounding helped mitigate some of the missed shots for the Vikings. They out-rebounded the Titans 35-32 in the game, including a 20-15 advantage on the offensive glass. That led to a 19-7 advantage in second-chance points for the Vikings. Despite that, Burris said she had hoped the margin would be a little bigger against a Titan team that has an average rebounding margin of -3.3 this season.
 
Hannah Chicken led the rebounding effort with four of her game-high 10 rebounds coming on the offensive glass. She added 15 points to her 10 rebounds for the first double-double of her Portland State career.
 
"Hannah is going to continue to blossom. I think we need to get her more touches. She was confident breaking the press. But I saw a lot of fight from her today and we're going to need more of that," Burris said of Chicken.
 
The Vikings needed Chicken to step up with leading scorer Kyleigh Brown playing just four minutes in the first half due to picking up three early fouls. Chicken had five points and seven rebounds at halftime when the Vikings were shooting 47.8 percent (11-for-23) from the field. Sophie Buzzard led the Vikings at the break with eight points in the first half, while Taylor Moffat and Laynee Torres-Kahapea added six each.
 
"We're going to need offensive production from everyone. I thought some other players stepped up. Sophie in the first half was able to get the ball in the basket for us just from playing hard and being in the right spot," Burris said of the balanced offense in the first half.
 
Buzzard finished with 10 points, putting her in double figures for the second straight game. She added four rebounds, three of which came on the offensive end.
 
Torres-Kahapea and Moffat finished with nine and seven points, respectively.
 
Brown finally got on the board with a three-pointer two minutes into the third quarter. That cut it to an eight-point game. Brown and Chicken then scored four points each as part of a 10-2 run that cut it to a five-point game with 2:02 remaining. But that's when the Vikings' cold spell started.
 
Brown finished with 12 points, all of which came in the second half.
 
The Vikings can turn the page quickly with two games at home next week to close out the non-conference schedule. The Vikings host Seattle U Wednesday at 7 p.m., before cross-town rival University of Portland comes to Viking Pavilion next Sunday at 2 p.m.
 
The Pilots play a similar pressure defense to the Titans. The Vikings will hope to handle it better than they did this Saturday.
 
Game Notes:

• The Vikings still lead the all-time series between them and the Titans, 4-3, despite the loss Saturday.
• Despite being held scoreless in the first half, Brown extended her streak of double-digit scoring games to 16 straight.
• The Vikings were 20-for-25 (.800) from the free throw line Saturday. They came into the game leading the Big Sky in both free throws made (17.3) and attempted (23.3) per game, and yet surpassed both of those totals against the Titans.

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