Portland, Oregon - A controversial technical foul call with 2.7 seconds remaining in overtime helped Portland State to an 85-84 win over Utah Valley State on Saturday afternoon.
The game was tied at 84 when Wolverine guard Sandy Marvin was called for a charging foul with less than three seconds to go. A technical was then called on the Utah Valley bench and PSU's Heather Arns hit 1-of-2 free throws to give the Vikings the lead.
Susie Cornejo stole the inbounds pass near half court for the Wolverines but her desperation attempt glanced off the side of the rim as the clock expired.
Robyn Fairbanks had yet another solid performance with 36 points on 16-for-23 from the field. Sandy Marvin added 21 points, Rebekah Peterson had 10 and Ashley Grimm added seven points and a career-high 10 rebounds.
Turnovers hampered the Wolverines for the second straight game as the team committed a season worst 28 including five in overtime. Utah Valley was also out-rebounded 41-39 after entering halftime with a 20-11 edge on the boards. The Vikings had 21 offensive rebounds, including 17 in the second half that helped them erase a late 10 point deficit.
Marvin gave Utah Valley (10-5) what seemed to be a comfortable 10 point lead with 3:24 remaining, but Portland State (4-9) chipped away and tied it at 77 with 32 seconds to go on a jumper by Arns, sending the game into the extra frame.
Fairbanks put the Wolverines up three in overtime with a bucket and foul shot but Arns came right back with a three to tie it at 80. After Kelsey Kahle gave the Vikings an 82-80 lead, a Fairbanks bucket and two Asumi Nakayama free throws put Utah Valley up 84-82.
Kahle then tied it up after hitting 1-for-2 from the free throw line on two occasions, before Arns free throw on the technical made the difference.
Kahle had 32 points and 10 rebounds for Portland State while Jenni Ritter added 16 and Arns had 14. Utah Valley State shot 54% for the game compared to 39% from the Vikings. PSU shot 22-for-30 from the free throw line, with Kahle hitting 17-for-21 herself, while the Wolverines were 8-for-12 for the game.
In the first half, the game was tight before Ritter hit a three to put Portland State up 18-11. After the teams traded baskets, Peterson scored five quick points and Fairbanks added a bucket to tie the game at 20.
Utah Valley had a slim 33-32 lead before Fairbanks led the team on a 10-4 run to end the half and carried a 43-36 edge into the break. Fairbanks had 19 points at the half while Peterson added eight off the bench. The Wolverines shot a scorching 59% from the field in the half.
In the second half, Beaman scored consecutive lay ups to give UV a 49-39 lead, the biggest for either team to that point. PSU answered though with a 7-0 run to cut the lead to three at 49-46.
The Wolverine lead was just two at 56-54 when Marvin and Fairbanks led a 13-3 run to give Utah Valley a 69-57 lead.
Utah Valley fell to 1-2 in overtime games and to 3-1 against Big Sky schools this season.
The Wolverines will be in action again next Saturday at home against Idaho State. Tip-off for the game is 3:05pm MT and will be played in the Shurian Family Activity Center.
