Weber State University Athletics
Weber State University
Portland State
Rally Falls Short for WSU
2/28/2010 6:45:00 AM | Women's Basketball
OGDEN, Utah -- A late second half rally came up short for the Wildcats on Saturday night as Portland State took a 65-62 win at the Dee Events Center.
Neither team led by more than four points over the course of the first half, and the Wildcats were holding tough as Portland State led 32-29 at the break.
Weber State took a 36-34 lead on a layup by Ali Thorderson with 18:09 left in the game, but the Vikings went on a 17-2 run over the next six minutes and 20 seconds to lead by 13 with just under 12 minutes to play.
The Wildcats answered with 10-straight points, led by three baskets from Sarah Conner, to cut the lead to three at 51-48. The Vikings matched the run with 10-straight of their own, and again led by 13 with 4:19 remaining.
Weber State had one more run left in them as they refused to quit. Tonya Schnibbe scored seven of her career-high 26 points over the next 3:29 to lead WSU on a 9-0 burst to get within four with 50 seconds remaining.
Two free throws by Kelly Marchant put PSU back up by six, but Conner cut the lead to four again with a layup with 30 seconds left.
After the Vikings missed on the front end of a one-and-one from the line, Megan Patterson dropped in a trey with 13 seconds left to put the Wildcats within one, but Marchant pushed the lead back to three with two more free throws, and Schnibbe's game-tying attempt was blocked to preserve the win for Portland State.
Schnibbe hit 10 of 18 shots from the floor and six of seven from the line for her 26 points. She also added five rebounds and three assists. Conner joined Schnibbe in double figures with 16 points on seven of nine shooting.
Eryn Jones led the Vikings with 21 points on 8 of 17 shooting from the field. Marchant added 15 points for the Vikings, while Kate DePaepe had 11.
Weber State dropped to 9-19 overall and 3-12 in the Big Sky with the loss, while Portland State improved to 15-13 overall and 9-6 in the conference.
