MOSCOW, Idaho — Seven different players scored in the opening quarter for the Portland State women's basketball team as the Vikings saw a better start to Thursday's game at Idaho. But an Idaho offense that leads the Big Sky Conference in scoring proved too much as the first-place Vandals won their 11th straight game, 86-66.
 
Even as the Vikings (6-20, 2-12) put together their second-highest scoring first quarter of the Big Sky season with 19 points, the Vandals (22-5, 13-1) outpaced them with 27. Additionally, while the Vikings were red hot coming out of halftime – shooting 62.5 percent (10-for-16) in the third quarter – the Vandals still outscored them, 31-22, in the period.
 
The Vikings' 46.7 percent (28-for-60) shooting for the game marked their third-highest mark of the season. But the Vandals made 50.8 percent (33-for-65) on the other end. A lot of that came in the paint, where the Vandals outscored the Vikings 50-34.
 
"They're the best team in the league for a reason. They're good at every position and then have more ammo coming off the bench. When they're shooting like they did tonight, it's really hard to limit them," Portland State head coach Karlie Burris said afterwards.
 
"I thought the differences in the game were our turnovers [PSU had 16 to 13 for Idaho] and rebounding [Idaho out-rebounded PSU by 15]. Two points of emphasis for us every game."
 
Burris and the Vikings can still be proud with how they started the game. The Vikings were coming off a game last Saturday in which they fell into a 14-0 hole out of the gates against Northern Colorado. It was the eighth time the Vikings have trailed by double figures after the opening quarter.
 
But Thursday night, the Vikings made their first three shots from the field and six of their first eight. It came from everyone, too, as seven of the nine Vikings who played in the first quarter scored, while no one had more than four points.
 
"We've been talking a lot about starting strong. That's been important. In our last game [against the Vandals], they had big first and third quarters, which unfortunately they did again tonight. But I thought today we did a better job of trying to keep pace with them," Burris said. "Again, a couple of unforced live-ball turnovers led to easy buckets for them. Those are the things we're trying to limit, but definitely a much better start for us."
 
The better start meant the Vikings were in striking distance when they made a push in the second quarter. Cici Ellington scored the first seven points of the period for the Vikings, including a three-pointer to start a 7-1 run that got the Vikings back within two. Hannah Chicken converted a tough six-footer from the left baseline to cap that run with 6:22 remaining.
 
But the Vandals held the Vikings scoreless over the rest of the quarter while taking a double-digit lead into halftime. The Vikings didn't get closer than 10 points throughout the second half.
 
Ellington and Chicken led the Vikings with 16 points each. Ellington's 16 points came on 7-for-10 shooting from the field, while she added four rebounds and a block. Chicken, meanwhile, went 7-for-15 from the field while chipping in four rebounds, three steals and two assists.
 
"I thought Cici was aggressive early in the first half. She did a good job of being aggressive and getting into her spot. Hannah, the same thing," Burris said of the pair.
 
"I thought we had a mismatch when they went a little bit smaller, but they did a good job of just clogging the paint and making us really try to rework our offense a little bit to try to get some people open looks."
 
Kyleigh Brown scored seven of her 15 points in the fourth quarter when she was 3-for-5 from the field.
 
Freshman Sophie Buzzard also had a strong second half, scoring all seven of her points on 3-for-5 shooting after halftime.
 
Idaho's Kyra Gardner led all players with 17 points in the game, while the Vandals put six different players in double figures.
 
The Vikings will continue on the road Saturday, when they play at Eastern Washington for a 2 p.m. tipoff.
 
"It'll be much of the same for Eastern. We're going to need to do a much better job on the boards," Burris said in looking ahead to the Eagles. "Our goal is to win the rebounding margin and obviously we know we're facing Kourtney Grossman and Jaecy Eggers, two of the best in the league if not the country. So, we've got our work cut out for us, but we are up for the challenge,"
 
Game Notes

• The Vikings fell to 15-40 all-time against the Vandals with Thursday's loss.
• The Vandals out-rebounded the Vikings, 41-to-26, including a 14-to-8 advantage on the offensive glass. The Vandals outscored the Vikings 13-6 in second-chance points.
• The Vikings were -3 in the turnover margin Saturday, which led to an 18-10 advantage for the Vandals in points off turnovers.
• Brown's 15 points marked her 32nd straight game in double figures. The streak started on Feb. 20, 2025, making tomorrow the one-year anniversary of the streak starting with 17 points against Idaho State.

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