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The Portland State women’s basketball team experienced the worst loss of the season on Thursday night, falling 67-42 to the University of Northern Colorado Bears, but they came back on Saturday for a dramatic win against the University of North Dakota. The win was an important one for the Vikings.
“We needed to play with a lot more effort,” sophomore guard Allison Greene said. “After you get blown out, you have to reevaluate where you’re at and what you need to do differently.”
The team shot a season-low 26.2 percent on Thursday and failed to score from beyond the three-point line for the first time all year. PSU led for the opening 12 minutes of the game, but Northern Colorado found their confidence and went up by as much as 13 before halftime. The Bears led by 10 going into the locker room and then took control in the second half, weathering a late run by the Vikings to roll to the win.
PSU was able to turn things around completely against North Dakota, who sit just above winless Weber State in the Big Sky with a record of 7-10 overall and 2-6 in conference. The Vikings did not have their best night on the stat sheet—they were out-rebounded by North Dakota and struggled at the free throw line—but aggressive shooting and collective determination after the Northern Colorado loss ultimately made the difference in a 73-66 victory.
“You could tell that both teams needed to win—you could tell it in their eyes,” head coach Sherri Murrell said. “Everyone is fighting to get into the [conference] tournament. Everyone is beating up on everyone. We needed to win, especially after the other night.”