PORTLAND, Ore. — Down one with 3:43 remaining Saturday against Sacramento State – after leading by eight earlier in the fourth quarter – it was gut-check time for the Portland State women's basketball team.
The Vikings had given up two other fourth quarter leads in losses to Northern Arizona and Montana earlier in the season. After the loss to the Lady Griz, head coach
Karlie Burris said her team still had to learn how to win.
Well, give Burris a Teacher of the Year award, and her Vikings an A+, because they responded to the deficit with a winning finish to secure a 64-62 victory over the Hornets. The finish put the Vikings back in the win column for the first time since their Big Sky opener against Weber State on Jan. 1.
"We got over the hump. This is what we needed," Burris said of the win.
"It felt like we were really confident and connected. In the past, I've looked at them and their eyes looked a little different. But today, it felt like we knew we were going to get it done."
The Vikings (6-17, 2-9) went back in front on a three-point play from
Hannah Chicken.
Kyleigh Brown followed with a tough jumper in the paint, putting the Vikings up 61-57 with 2:20 remaining.
Two free throws from
Cici Ellington answered a bucket for the Hornets (11-13, 5-6) and stretched the lead to four again with 1:30 remaining. The Vikings got a defensive stop on the next possession, but a turnover gave the Hornets the ball back with 40 seconds remaining.
Turnovers and offensive rebounds cost the Vikings in their 68-64 loss to the Hornets back on Jan. 10. And sure enough, after the turnover, the Hornets' Natalie Picton hit a second-chance three-pointer to make it a one-point game with 27.6 seconds remaining. Three-point shooting is what got the Hornets back in the game initially. They were 2-for-12 from three-point range through the first 33 minutes of the game, but then hit three straight to turn what was a 50-44 PSU lead into a one-point game at 56-55 earlier in the fourth quarter.
Ellington pushed it back to a two-point lead, going 1-for-2 at the line, as the Hornets set up their last possession. The Hornets got a look inside for a potential tie, but it missed and
Ajae Yoakum secured the defensive rebound as time expired.
"I thought the team stayed super composed," Burris said of the end game scenarios. "It felt different today. Hopefully they take some confidence from this."
The offense got the Vikings over the line against the Hornets. As Sacramento State got hot in the fourth quarter, the Vikings were able to match. They made their last five field goals in the game, while they were 7-for-9 (.778) from the field in the fourth quarter.
The Vikings outshot the Hornets .500-to-.397 overall in the game. They shot 50 percent or better from the field in each of the last three quarters, while they assisted on 16 of their 25 field goals.
"We did a better job executing what we wanted in the half court," Burris said of the offense. "I thought it took us too long to get to the free throw line, which is what we talked about at halftime. We had to attack the basket and try to get there, so I was happy we were able to close that margin. But I'm just really happy with everyone, really. We shot 50 percent for the game and you can't complain about that."
Three different Vikings scored 17 points or more for the first time this season. Chicken led that group with a career-high 22 points on 8-for-11 shooting from the field while adding seven rebounds, four assists and two blocks. Chicken scored 15 of her 22 points in the second half, when she was 6-for-6 from the field
"She came up with some big buckets where she had to make a counter move, which was huge. I thought she did a really great job on the defensive end as well, out there on the perimeter guarding their leading scorer Rubi Gray, and then also being able to bang down low with their forwards," Burris said of Chicken.
"Really glad she had a great game in front of her family who were here from Australia. I still think the sky's the limit for her."
Ellington was efficient in her 17 points, going 6-for-8 from the field and 5-for-6 from the free throw line. Brown added 17 points of her own on 7-for-15 shooting.
Those three – Chicken, Ellington and Brown – accounted for all 19 points in the fourth quarter for the Vikings, as well as 36 of the team's 38 points in the second half.
Laynee Torres-Kahapea didn't score but led the Vikings' distribution, tying her career high with seven assists while also grabbing six rebounds. Yoakum, meanwhile, led the Vikings with eight rebounds to go with six points, three steals and a block.
Saturday's victory kicked off a three-game home stand for the Vikings. Five of the team's last eight games of the season will be at Viking Pavilion, counting Saturday's victory over the Hornets.
Burris hopes that will allow her team to take Saturday's victory and run with it.
"We've been talking about this run for a long time and we truly feel like we can play our best basketball going into the conference tournament," Burris said of the home stretch.
The Vikings have learned how to win now. But any good teacher, like Burris, will tell you it takes another round or two for mastery.
Game Notes:
- The Vikings improved to 35-28 all-time against the Hornets with the victory Saturday.
- The Vikings forced the Hornets into 16 turnovers, the most by any Big Sky opponent this season.
- The Vikings won for only the second time this season when their opponent had more field goal attempts than them. The Hornets finished with 58 attempts to 50 for the Vikings, the difference coming entirely in the fourth quarter. The Vikings are now 2-16 this season when their opponent records the same or more field goal attempts than them.
- Brown scored in double figures for the 29th straight game.
