PORTLAND, Ore. — Through one half Saturday against Weber State, no one in attendance at Viking Pavilion would have known that the Portland State women's basketball team had played a double-overtime game just two days earlier.
 
Showing no signs of fatigue despite playing 50 minutes in a loss to Idaho State Thursday, the Vikings jumped out to a 32-29 halftime lead while shooting 48.0 percent (12-of-25) from the field. But the tired legs caught up to the Vikings in the second half, as the Wildcats used a big third quarter to run away from the Vikings, 71-56.
 
"I was really proud of the effort [in the first half]. I thought we were playing together, and I thought we got away from that in the second half. We found it again a little bit in the fourth quarter, but you can't trade baskets in that situation," Portland State head coach Chelsey Gregg said after the game.
 
"It's unfortunate that we couldn't get one for the seniors."
 
It was a 27-10 blowout for the Wildcats (11-14, 8-7 Big Sky) in the third quarter. After the Vikings (4-20, 1-14 Big Sky) held them to just 35.7 percent (10-of-28) from the field in the opening 20 minutes, the Wildcats came out firing in the second half, especially from three-point range. Half of their 10 field goals in the third quarter came from beyond the arc, while the Wildcats shot 51.6 percent (16-of-31) from the field after halftime.
 
The Vikings stayed with the Wildcats initially. Alaya Fitzgerald converted a three-point play to bring the Vikings back within two at 42-40 with 4:20 remaining in the third quarter. But the Wildcats closed the quarter on a 14-2 run and then led by at least 12 points the rest of the way.
 
"We have to be able to identify the hot hand. We talked about eliminating [Billy Lanae, who led Weber State with 22 points on 6-of-10 shooting from three-point range], and we didn't execute the game plan," Gregg said.
 
"Weber State found a way. They were shorthanded and they found away. And we didn't."
 
Things started well for the Vikings. Motivated perhaps by the Senior Day ceremony for Alaya Fitzgerald, Sofía Llanos, Rhema Ogele, Courtney Turner and Lana Wenger, the Vikings played a standout first quarter defensively. Weber State hit its first three shots, all from beyond the arc, but the Vikings held them to just 1-of-12 from the field over the final eight minutes of the period.
 
Kyleigh Brown and Laynee Torres-Kahapea hit back-to-back three-pointers early in the second quarter that gave the Vikings a 20-13 lead with 8:01 remaining before halftime.
 
Ogele had an especially strong opening half on her Senior Day. Playing in front of family for the first time, she was a rebound away from a first-half double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds by halftime. She'd finish with 14 points and 14 rebounds, tying her career high for rebounds and recording her fifth double-double of the season.
 
Ogele passed two players in the career top 10 with her 14 rebounds Saturday. She now ranks seventh all-time with 646 career rebounds. She also moved into fifth place on her own with her 109th career start, and tied Tatiana Streun (2016-21) for sixth all-time in double-doubles with the 11th of her career.
 
"I'm just really proud of Rhema. She had her brother, her dad and her sister in the stands. They were seeing her play live for the first time. So, for her to have the game that she had and for her to fight until the end, I was really proud of the effort and performance from her today," Gregg said of Ogele.
 
Fitzgerald – like Ogele, a four-year starter playing on her Senior Day – led the Vikings with 17 points in the game on 5-of-9 shooting from the field and 3-of-6 from three-point range. Her three three-pointers moved her past Emily Easom (2012-15) for 10th all-time with 137 makes in her career.
 
"Alaya was definitely making shots today. I've always talked about with her, it's not necessarily the points. She affects the game in other areas. But it was nice to see her finish strong," Gregg said of Fitzgerald.
 
Brown added 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting herself. Torres-Kahapea finished with seven points, two assists and two steals.
 
But the Wildcats' hot shooting proved too much for the Vikings. They finished the game with 12 made three-pointers, tying Montana on Jan. 30 for the most by a PSU opponent this season. The 12 three-pointers came on 46.2 percent shooting from beyond the arc, the second-best mark by a PSU opponent this season.
 
The Vikings conclude the regular season next week with a three-game road trip at Montana State, Montana and Sacramento State. The trip begins Thursday, Feb. 27, at Montana State. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. PT / 7 p.m. MT.
 
"Hopefully we take this to heart. We have a tough road trip to finish out the year. We'll need that kind of grit and toughness that we saw on Thursday, as well as the togetherness and connectedness. We'll need that to travel with us," Gregg said.
 
Game Notes: The Vikings fell to 31-36 all-time against Weber State with Saturday's loss…The Wildcats out-rebounded the Vikings 36-to-26, including an 18-to-9 advantage on the offensive glass…Big Sky opponents have now outscored the Vikings 270-200 (4.67 points per game) in the third quarter of games this season.
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