CHENEY, Wash. — The Portland State women's basketball team shot better than 40 percent in all four quarters and tied both their conference season highs for three-pointers (8) and points in regulation (78). But red-hot shooting from Eastern Washington out of halftime gave the Eagles the cushion they needed as they beat the Vikings 87-78 Saturday at Reese Court.
 
The Eagles (13-15, 6-9) broke open a four-point game at halftime with a flurry of three-pointers in the third quarter. They made seven of their first 10 outside shots in the second half, stretching their lead to 70-55 at the start of the fourth quarter.
 
The Vikings (6-21, 2-13) got back within single digits late in the fourth. Cici Ellington, who led the Vikings with 23 points on 11-for-15 shooting Saturday, scored seven straight points at one point to cut an 80-66 deficit in half with 2:02 remaining. But the Eagles answered with the final of their 11 three-pointers in the game to go back up by 10 and closed it out from there.
 
"Giving up six three-pointers in the third is just way too many," Portland State head coach Karlie Burris said afterwards. "They hit them versus our zone as well as our man and so it's attention to detail, attention to scout, and trusting the defense and what we're trying to do."
 
The Vikings first made a push to get back in the game in the second quarter. The Eagles' Kourtney Grossman hit a layup to go up by 10 with 8:43 remaining before halftime. Jamia Carter answered with the first of four three-pointers for the Vikings in the second quarter. By the time Hannah Chicken hit the last of the four with 3:47 remaining, the Vikings had drawn within one at 34-33.
 
The Eagles pushed it back out to a four-point lead at halftime, but then an 11-2 start to the second half stretched the lead to 13 and the Vikings were playing catchup the rest of the way.
 
Despite the loss, it was a much better showing against an Eastern Washington team that beat the Vikings by 18, 81-63, in Portland on Jan. 22. The Eagles out-rebounded the Vikings by 31 in that game – a season's worst rebounding margin – but the Vikings kept it to a nine-rebound margin Saturday.
 
Within that nine-rebound margin was a 12-to-7 advantage in offensive rebounds, however, which the Eagles turned into 12 second-chance points.
 
"Only losing by nine [today] was certainly an improvement. But the offensive rebounds that hurt us were the put backs. I felt like when they got them, they converted 50 percent of the time. So those 12 second-chance points just really, really hurt when you feel like they've defended their initial action well. It's just a killer," Burris said.
 
The offensive showing may have been the biggest positive Saturday. The Vikings put four players in double figures for a third time in their last six games. Their eight three-pointers also tied their most in a Big Sky game, while their 13 fast-break points were two off their season high.
 
The strong shooting meant the Vikings actually outshot the Eagles .455-to-.451 despite the loss. The 45.5 percent (30-for-66) shooting also marked the second straight game and third out of the last five that the Vikings have topped 45 percent from the field.
 
"It's great to have four in double figures. I still would like to have more production. I didn't think we had a post presence early to go inside-out. In the second half, I thought we were much better at trying to be intentional about that. But again, we're at our best when we're playing with pace in transition. I think that's been a point of emphasis of trying to share the ball and take the right shot. That's been good for us lately," Burris said of the offense.
 
Ellington led the Vikings with her 23 points. That marked a new season high and came within two points of the career high Ellington set during her true sophomore season at Loyola Marymount on March 5, 2020. Ellington has now scored in double figures in five of the last six games, including a pair of 20-point games during that stretch.
 
Beyond the scoring, Ellington has been shooting efficiently of late. She was 7-for-10 from the field Thursday at Idaho. With her going 11-for-15 Saturday, Ellington shot 72.0 percent (18-for-25) from the field over the weekend.
 
"Cici in the open court is hard to guard. She's a tough matchup whether it's a forward or a guard on her. She has size on the guards and she has quickness on the forwards, so whenever she gets that matchup, she's really dynamic," Burris said of Ellington.
 
"Shooting 11-for-15 from the field is really solid. She had a huge three [in the fourth quarter] for us, too. So, really proud of what she's done for us the past few games."
 
Chicken followed Ellington with 17 points on 8-for-14 shooting to go with nine rebounds against the Eagles. Kyleigh Brown scored 15 of her 16 points in the second half, extending her double-digit scoring streak to 33 straight games.
 
Laynee Torres-Kahapea hit a late three to get the Vikings back within six with under 25 seconds remaining. That put her in double figures with 10 points to go with four rebounds, three assists and two steals.
 
The Eagles also put four players in double figures. Ella Gallatin led the way with 25 points and 10 assists, while Grossman had her own double-double with 24 points and 16 rebounds. Elyn Bowers (12 points) and Jaecy Eggers (10) also went into double figures for the Eagles.
 
The Vikings head home now for their final home stand of the season next weekend. They host Montana State Thursday (7 p.m.) and Montana Saturday (2 p.m.) before closing the regular season at Weber State the following Monday.
 
Game Notes:

• The Vikings fell to 36-49 all-time against the Eagles with Saturday's loss.
• Saturday marked the seventh time out of 15 Big Sky games that the Vikings have actually outshot their opponent. But the Vikings are just 2-5 in those seven games.
• The Vikings committed only 10 turnovers Saturday. That was their second-lowest total in a Big Sky game this season.