PORTLAND, Ore. — The Portland State women's basketball team didn't take its foot off the gas Wednesday. Up 15 points after an 8-0 start to the fourth quarter, the Vikings poured it on, outscoring Seattle U 27-11 in the final period while beating the Redhawks, 85-62, at Viking Pavilion.
 
It's the largest margin of victory for the Vikings against a Division I opponent since they beat Utah Tech by 28 (80-52) on Nov. 12, 2021.
 
"I was impressed with our total team effort. It took us a while to get going in the first half. But in the second half, we got stops, which just ignited us in transition," Portland State head coach Karlie Burris said afterwards.
 
"That's a skill. To have a lead and to keep a lead and to extend a lead really. I was proud that the group responded when that was our messaging to them. I think it took everyone. It's hard to put 85 points on the board, so I'm happy that we did it as a team."
 
The Vikings (4-7) let the Redhawks (4-7) stay in it initially in the fourth quarter. After their 8-0 start, the Vikings scored only once over the next four minutes as the Redhawks cut it to a nine-point game with 4:45 remaining.
 
Seattle U's Ella Brubaker went to the line for a potential three-point play at that point that could have cut it to an eight-point game. Burris was gearing up to call a timeout if she had made it to stop the Redhawks' momentum. Instead, Brubaker missed, and the Vikings did the job for their coach. Laynee Torres-Kahapea hit a clutch three-pointer after Brubaker's miss. Taylor Moffat followed with a steal and assist to Cici Ellington on a fast break, while Ellington hit a three on the next possession to push the Viking lead back up to 17.
 
The rout was on from there as the Vikings closed the game on a 17-3 run.
 
Three-point shooting fueled the Vikings' strong second half and fourth quarter. The Vikings were just 4-for-17 (.235) from beyond the arc at halftime but shot 8-for-12 (.667) from deep in the second half.  The Vikings had already tied their previous season high of seven three-pointers by the start of the fourth quarter when they'd add another five on 62.5 percent shooting.
 
The 12 made three-pointers represent the Vikings' highest total in a game since they made 13 against Warner Pacific on Nov. 14, 2023.
 
"I kind of said that we were settling for some [at halftime]. But I thought the ones we took in the second half, we moved the ball better, played inside-out, and I thought we had some better-looking shots," Burris said.
 
The three-point shooting was spread out among the Vikings Wednesday. Five different players contributed to the Vikings' 12 three-pointers, with all five making at least two. Torres-Kahapea and Moffat hit three each, while Ellington, Kyleigh Brown and Sophie Buzzard all made two.
 
That mirrored the scoring distribution for the Vikings. Five different players scored in double figures between Ellington (18), Brown (16), Torres-Kahapea (13), Hannah Chicken (13) and Ajae Yoakum (10). It was the second time in the past three games that the Vikings had five players score in double figures after they hadn't done so since 2021. Moffat nearly gave the Vikings a sixth player in double figures, too, as she finished with a season-high nine points on 3-for-5 shooting from three-point range.
 
The Vikings passed the ball in a way fitting of their scoring distribution. They set a season high with 25 assists on 33 field goals. And just like the three-point shooting, it came from everyone. Six different players recorded at least three assists for the Vikings, while no one had more than five.
 
"We're really trying to be unselfish and trying to get the right shot. I think you shoot higher percentage shots when you do that. So, I'm hoping that the girls can take a lot of confidence in that," Burris said of her team's assists.
 
Even still, the Vikings looked to be in a precarious situation early in the second half. The Redhawks opened the second half on a 7-1 run, with the Vikings going the first 2:45 without a field goal. A three-pointer from Moffat finally broke the dry spell, and that opened the floodgates for the Vikings, who outscored the Redhawks 48-18 over the rest of the game.
 
"We haven't started out third quarters very well, so I told them, 'we're not playing hard enough.' And then I felt like they kind of flipped the switch. Our players started playing hard and [Seattle U] started to miss shots, and we were able to score in transition," Burris said.
 
Ellington helped spark the Vikings in the second half. Held to just two points in the first half, Ellington responded with 16 points on 6-for-8 shooting to go with 11 rebounds in the second half.
 
Ellington finished with team highs for points (18) and rebounds (14), giving the Portland native her first double-double since Jan. 8, 2022, when she was playing at Grambling State.
 
"I think I was just most impressed with her mental toughness to overcome [a slow start]. Because she was frustrated early. We sat her down early. But just her response was great," Burris said of Ellington.
 
"We all know how talented Cici is. So hopefully, she can get into a little groove and be super consistent. But really proud of her effort tonight and it translated into the box score."
 
Yoakum, a teammate of Ellington's at Benson Polytechnic High School in Portland, added her own double-double of 10 points and 12 rebounds. It was Yoakum's second double-double in the past three games, after she posted 11 points and 14 rebounds in the Vikings' win at Kansas City on Dec. 6.
 
Yoakum did most of the work towards her double-double in the first half when she recorded 10 points and seven rebounds. Yoakum and Chicken both had 10 points in the first half, providing the bulk of the Vikings' scoring in the opening 20 minutes of the game.
 
It's the nature of a team effort like the Vikings got Wednesday. Different players take the lead at different times.
 
And then, when it's all flowing in the right direction, you keep the foot on the gas.
 
Game Notes:

• The Vikings won their fifth straight game against Seattle U Wednesday. The victory gave them a 10-9 lead in the all-time series between the two teams.
• The Vikings set a season high with 13 steals Wednesday. Chicken led the way with a career-high six steals individually.
• The Vikings out-rebounded the Redhawks 45-to-34, their third straight rebounding victory and sixth of the season.
• The Vikings shot 46.5 percent (33-for-71) from the field for their second-best field goal percentage of the season.
• The Vikings will close their non-conference schedule Sunday, when they host cross-town rival University of Portland at 2 p.m.

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