PORTLAND, Ore. --- Portland State used a big second-half run and a late defensive stop to defeat the Portland Pilots 64-62 in a non-conference women’s basketball game on Tuesday night at the Stott Center. Portland had the ball trailing by two in the closing seconds, but the Pilots couldn’t get off a quality look as the potential game-tying field goal was blocked by PSU’s Katy Wade as the clock expired.

The Pilots (9-5) looked in control for much of the game and led for most of the way. But the Vikings (6-6) refused to go away and went on a 20-8 game-ending run to make up a 10-point deficit and then some. Trailing by two with 2:40 to play, PSU’s Eryn Jones hit a crucial three-pointer to give the Vikings a 60-59 lead, their first lead since scoring the game’s first field goal.

The Portland State advantage was up to five moments later after four unanswered free throws. That’s when Portland’s Nakeisha Brown drilled a three-pointer to keep the Pilots’ hopes alive with 59 seconds showing on the clock.

Then at the other end with Portland State leading 64-62, UP’s Lauren Angel came up with a big rebound on a PSU missed shot, setting up a wild final 30 seconds of the game. After a PSU foul and kicked ball, the Pilots ran an inbounds play with the shot clock turned off and 12 seconds on the game clock. But the initial pass deflected off of ReZina TecleMariam, giving the ball back to the Vikings.

On the ensuing inbounds play, the Pilots returned the favor and forced the ball out of bounds off of a PSU player, meaning UP got the ball back with 11 ticks to play. But the Viking defense then forced UP into rushed shot, and the hurried attempt from Jessica Clemens on the baseline was deflected by Wade and fell short of the rim as the final buzzer sounded.

Tara Cronin had a solid night from the field and led the Pilots with 14 points. The senior guard was 5-for-8 overall and hit her only three-point attempt. TecleMariam (11) and Angel (10) also scored in double figures for Portland, which shot 43.9 percent (25-for-67) on the night. UP was six of 11 on three’s and 6-for-8 at the foul line.

Jones led the Vikings with a game-high 16 points, while Lexi Bishop added 12. PSU, which shot 37.5 percent (24-for-64), also got 10 points from Courtney VanBrocklin. The Vikings were 7-for-20 from three-point range and went 9-for-11 on free throws.

UP held a sizeable 43-30 advantage on the boards, led by TecleMariam and Clemens, who both had seven. But the Pilots hurt themselves with 24 turnovers. PSU finished the game with just 13 miscues.

After PSU scored the game’s first bucket, the Pilots responded with a three-pointer from Brown, giving UP a lead they would enjoy for the next 31-plus minutes. TecleMariam hit a pair of three’s during the game’s first 20 minutes to help Portland to a 32-25 lead at the break.

The Pilots hit 50 percent (14-for-28) of their shots during the first half.

The Pilots next return home to host the Idaho Vandals on Thursday. Tip-off at the Chiles Center is set for 7:00 p.m.