BOZEMAN, Mont. — A suffocating Montana State defense snuffed out any chance the Portland State women's basketball team had Saturday, as the Bobcats cruised to a 91-43 victory at Brick Breeden Fieldhouse.
 
The first-place Bobcats (16-6, 9-1) led 31-1 after the opening quarter and never looked back from there. The Vikings (5-16, 1-8) didn't hit their first field goal until 95 seconds into the second quarter, as they missed their first 13 shots from the field.
 
Fifteen of the Bobcats' 31 first-quarter points came off PSU turnovers. The Vikings finished with a season-high 29 turnovers in the game, which the Bobcats turned into 47 points on the other end.
 
"Super tough game. I think we're much better than what we showed today, which is what I told the group," Portland State head coach Karlie Burris said afterwards. "That first quarter, we talked about starting strong, starting composed and confident, and it just took us too long to adjust to their length and switching defense."
 
The Bobcats' 91 points marked the most by a Big Sky opponent against the Vikings this season, as well as the third-most overall. The Bobcats also became only the second team to top 50 percent against the Vikings, as they outshot the Vikings .514-to-.313.
 
Kyleigh Brown and Laynee Torres-Kahapea led the Vikings with 11 points each. Torres-Kahapea scored seven of her 11 points from the free throw line where she was 7-for-9 Saturday. Brown, meanwhile, had a streak of three straight games scoring 20+ points snapped against the Bobcats. Her 11 points extended a streak of 27 straight games in double figures, however.
 
The Vikings will close out a three-game road trip at Idaho State Monday (6 p.m. PT / 7 p.m. MT).
 
"We have to quickly turn the page to Idaho State and bring a completely different level of toughness than what we've shown all year. It's another really tough place to play, but I expect our girls to respond. And that's what we're going to do. We're going to show up and play really hard," Burris said.
 
Game Notes:

• The Vikings fell to 32-46 all-time against the Bobcats with Saturday's loss.
• The Bobcats out-rebounded the Vikings 37-to-27, the fifth straight game that the Vikings have lost the rebounding battle after only doing so four times through their first 16 games of the season.
• The Bobcats outscored the Vikings 52-to-24 in the paint.

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