Seton Sobolewski lavished praise on Portland State standouts Kelsey Kahle and Kelli Valentine after the Big Sky leader's victory over Idaho State on Jan. 10, describing the duo as skilled guards masquerading as posts.

Kahle and Valentine again showed why Thursday, gashing Idaho State with one crucial basket after another in Portland State's 71-61 win at Stott Center. The duo, along with the Vikings' all-conference point guard Claire Faucher, sparked an 18-3 run late in the second half that sank the Bengals.

Michelle Grohs and Jenna Brown each scored 16 to lead Idaho State. But Kahle overshadowed everyone else on the floor with a game-high 28 points, while Faucher and Valentine added 20 and 10, respectively.

"We got a little bit tired," said Sobolewski, Idaho State's coach, by cell phone from Portland, Ore. "A lot of it was letdowns due to fatigue."

The result dropped the Bengals (7-16, 4-6 Big Sky) into a tie with idle Northern Colorado for fifth place in the volatile Big Sky standings.

Idaho State appeared throughout much of the game to have a shot at springing an upset win over Portland State (17-7, 10-1). The Bengals never led, but they trailed just 33-28 at the half and 44-43 with 10:55 left in the game.

That's when Portland State's dynamic trio took over the game, combining for all 18 points of its 18-3 run.

The Bengals chose to switch on the Vikings' assortment of screens, which often left Valentine and Kahle open on the perimeter. They repeatedly punished Idaho State by hitting open jumpers or slipping to the basket for layups. Faucher dished out two assists during the run.

The trio finished with 58 of Portland State's 71 points, including 32 of its 38 after halftime.

"It was some fatigue things where we lost them in the shuffle," Sobolewski said. "It was a situation where we had to help off of them on the on-ball screens, and we struggled to recover."

The Bengals struggled to respond partly because they continued to suffer from the turnover bug. They committed five of their 20 turnovers during Portland State's run. Brown tied her career high with seven.

Idaho State was coming off a win over Northern Colorado last week during which it committed a season-high 23 turnovers.

"It was just a lot of little things," Sobolewski said. "It's been a concern all year. We've gotten better at it at times, and we've let down at times."

Still, this wasn't a game Idaho State was favored to win. The Bengals face a much more crucial road test at Eastern Washington on Saturday that has bigger ramifications on the conference standings, and Sobolewski sounded ready to turn the page on Thursday's loss.

"It was just not enough to get over the top," Sobolewski said. "We've got to move on from this loss and be prepared for Eastern Washington."

Injury update

Sophomore guard Chelsea Pickering did not travel with the team after undergoing surgery Wednesday to repair the torn ACL in her right knee, Sobolewski said. She will begin her rehabilitation exercises immediately and likely will not travel the rest of the season, he said.