PORTLAND – Portland took an early rally to open the game and the Thunderbirds spent the rest of the night playing catch-up, resulting in a 65-80 loss.

Brenna Gates led Southern Utah in the loss with 21 points as Jackson and Munns added 16 and 11, respectively. Funk totaled eight steals as Funk and Wright each finished with four assists. Southern Utah shot 34.3% in the game.

Jackson drained a three-pointer to put the Thunderbirds ahead just one minute into the game before Portland answered with a 15-point rally. Donna Koerber poured in a free throw to end SUU's six-minute scoring drought before the Vikings put in a pair of free throws and a jumper to clench a 19-4 advantage over the Thunderbirds.

Portland's rally continued as the Thunderbirds trailed 5-24 before Munns and Madison Wright each put in a jumper followed by a pair of free throws from Gates to get the Thunderbirds rolling. The Vikings held to their lead, entering halftime with a comfortable 47-22 advantage.

Munns led Southern Utah in the first half with nine points as Gates added seven. Funk snagged three steals in the opening half as the Thunderbirds rounded out the half with a 22.6 field goal percentage.

Southern Utah took an eight-point run in the opening minutes of the second half, including a pair of free throws from Munns, a jumper from Richardson, and layups from Jackson and Donna Koerber.

The Vikings led 61-36 with 10 minutes remaining before a layup from Jessica Richardson and a jumper from Funk placed SUU within 21. Although the Thunderbirds outscored Portland 43-33 in the second half, the Vikings' explosive first half sealed the 80-65 victory.

Southern Utah fell just short of the Big Sky tournament, rounding out its season with a 13-15 overall record, 6-12 in conference play.