kang@joutnalnet.com

POCATELLO - Her head lowered, Chelsea Pickering slowly trudged off the court with 16.1 seconds remaining in Idaho State's 70-61 loss to Portland State on Saturday.

The glum expression on her face gave no hint she heard the standing ovation the Reed Gym crowd was serenading her with. Nor did she seem to appreciate that, over the past two hours, she had astonished everyone in the gym - including her opponents - with a 31-point spectacle.

"I was more disappointed at the last two minutes," Pickering said. "I felt like I forced things. I threw up a bad shot. I didn't make an easy layup. That's what really made me mad at the end."

Idaho State's sophomore guard may have been a little harsh on herself. Pickering's career-best scoring total, which represented more than half of Idaho State's points, was what kept the Bengals afloat for most of the game.

But even that couldn't compensate for the Vikings flexing their muscles in the paint at the end of the game. They gashed the Bengals with offensive rebounds and nifty inside moves in the final 10 minutes to halt Idaho State's unbeaten run to begin Big Sky play.

"What it really comes down to is, in the last few minutes of the game, everything adds up," Idaho State senior guard Jenna Brown said. "Those plays, although that doesn't make the game, that's kind of what you remember. It's just staying consistent all the way, all 40 minutes."

For 30 minutes, at least, Idaho State (5-11, 2-1 Big Sky) conjured up the plays it needed. Portland State's Kelli Valentine opened the second half with a 8-0 run by herself to give the Vikings (11-5, 4-0) a 40-34 lead, but Pickering quickly overshadowed that run with one of her own.

Pickering, who had 17 points in the first half alone, erupted for another 10 in the span of 4:26, and with 10:28 remaining in the game, Idaho State once again held the lead, 55-51.

Five different Vikings took turns guarding her; none succeeded. Pickering muscled their guards around in the low post for layups. She glided past their posts on drives. Pickering finished 10-for-18 from the field and 4-for-5 from beyond the arc.

"I was just more relaxed this game," Pickering said. "Some games, you feel like you can shoot it, and I just felt I could shoot in this game and they were going in for me."

The same wasn't always true for the Vikings, but that didn't cost them because of their ferocity in crashing the boards. Portland State ended the game on a 19-6 run thanks in part to four offensive boards during that span, which allowed it to extend one possession after another.

Spearheaded by Kelsey Kahle and Valentine, the Vikings' posts capitalized with 10 of those points. The duo finished with a combined 39 points and 16 rebounds.

"It's an awkward matchup because you're not used to playing against post players who are that skilled," Idaho State coach Seton Sobolewski said. "It's like playing against five guards, but two of them just happen to be a little bit bigger, and they play the '4' and the '5.'"

Not even Pickering could rally the Bengals this time. She missed her final three shots before fouling out with 16 seconds to go.

Pickering, in the end, was left feeling more frustrated by what she couldn't do than happy about what she could.