Big Sky frontrunner Portland State outscored EWU by 15 points in the third quarter on Thursday in front of a record crowd of elementary students on Kids Day.

The Eagles (3-4, 4-12) fell to the Vikings (6-1, 14-2) 76-64 to drop EWU back below .500 in conference play.

“I don’t know what happened at halftime that caused the lull,” EWU head coach Wendy Schuller said. “We stopped being as aggressive as we had been offensively. We weren’t flashing and cutting to the open spots…we weren’t shooting the ball with confidence.”

In the first half, EWU started 4-4 from the field, trailing by just a point at the end of both the first quarter and first half. Senior forward Alissa Sealby scored 13 points in the first half as the Eagles matched PSU’s intensity offensively. Once the second half started, however, EWU struggled to get quality shots off. The Eagles shot 2-13 from the field and 1-8 from three point range in the third quarter while committing six turnovers.

“Those were not shots that we shot thinking, ‘we’re going to make it,’” Schuller said. “It was just shooting it to shoot it.”

While the Eagles outscored PSU 23-19 in the fourth quarter, it wasn’t enough to climb out of the hole dug in the third quarter. EWU finished the game shooting just 35 percent from the field. Of the four players that attempted at least 10 shots, only freshman guard Grace Kirscher shot better than 40 percent.

Thursday’s game was Kids Day and the Eagles played in front of 4,124 elementary students from various schools in the region. It is the highest attended game recorded in EWU women’s basketball history, although that mark is unofficial since attendance wasn’t tracked in the 1980s.

“The kids were awesome,” Schuller said. “This kind of atmosphere is a lot of fun to play in front of…If just one of those kids in the crowd is inspired, then it was definitely worthwhile.”

Before the game, senior guard Kapri Morrow was recognized for becoming the 18th Eagle to score 1,000 points in a career. Morrow reached the mark on Jan. 10 in a road victory at rival Montana. Morrow finished Thursday’s game with 11 points and four rebounds in 30 minutes of action.

EWU has a short turnaround after Thursday’s loss, as Sacramento State comes to Cheney on Saturday, Jan. 26. Tipoff is scheduled for 2:05 p.m. at Reese Court.