The Hornets have just three games remaining on the schedule (including a home contest against Northern Arizona on March 8) as they try to snap a 35-game losing streak against Big Sky competition. The last time Sacramento State beat a Big Sky team was Jan. 27, 2001, when it defeated Portland State. The victory over the Vikings also marked the last time the Hornets defeated a Div. I opponent as both wins this season have come against NAIA opponents (Notre Dame de Namur and San Jose Christian).

Idaho State’s Merrilee Udy hit an off-balance three-pointer with 0.6 seconds left to give the Bengals a three-point victory last Saturday. With the score tied at 67-67, the Bengals ran the clock down to five seconds before the Hornets forced a loose ball that fell right into Udy’s hands with two seconds left. Udy quickly heaved up the three-point attempt that went in, marking her only points of the contest. Sacramento State had a chance to tie, but freshman Sarah Craig’s halfcourt, desperation three-point attempt fell short as the buzzer sounded.

Sacramento State’s three-point loss to Idaho State tied for the team’s slimmest margin of defeat during its 35-game losing streak against Big Sky teams (the Hornets lost at home to Weber State, 62-59, during the 2000-01 season).

The Hornets have not fared well away from home this season as the team is 0-9. Sacramento State’s closest margins of defeat have come at UC Riverside (nine points, 65-56) and at Portland State (14 points, 69-55).

A Look At This Week’s Opponents

Montana will enter Thursday’s game with a 16-7 overall mark and a 7-3 record in the Big Sky. The Grizzlies are currently in third place in the conference standings and have won six of their last seven games. The team’s only blemish during the last seven games was an overtime loss at Weber State. Montana defeated Sacramento State, 82-45, earlier in the season and owns a 13-0 all-time record against the Hornets.

Montana State, which hosts Northern Arizona on Thursday, enters the week with a 17-6 overall record and a 8-2 Big Sky mark. The second-place Bobcats lost on the road to both Weber State and Montana last week, snapping a season-high eight-game winning streak. MSU is a perfect 12-0 at home and has won each of those games by at least four points. Montana State defeated Sacramento State, 91-53, earlier this season and is 12-2 all-time against the Hornets.

Head Coach Carolyn Jenkins

Carolyn Jenkins is currently in her third season as head coach at Sacramento State. Jenkins, who became the fifth Sacramento State women’s basketball coach in the program’s 35-year history, came to the Hornets after serving four years (1996-2000) as the top assistant and recruiting coordinator at Michigan State. Prior to the that, the 32-year old Fresno Basketball Hall of Fame electee was an assistant at Stanford from 1991-95.

While at Michigan State, the Fresno, Calif., native and 1990 graduate of UC Berkeley spearheaded a recruiting class that was ranked among the top 25 in the country on three occasions (1996-97 through 1998-99). During her stint at Stanford, the team reached the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament all four years including two Final Four appearances (1991-92 and 1994-95) and a national championship in 1991-92.

The Hornets’ women’s basketball team currently has 10 players with a 3.0 gpa or better. Four members of last year’s team (Crystal Conley, Danielle Iceman, Lori Kerswell and Kristine Knowlton) were named to the Big Sky Conference all-academic team.

One Down, Two To Go

Entering the season, Sacramento State set its sights on erasing three dubious losing streaks. The Hornets took care of one of them, snapping a 44-game losing streak with a 77-55 victory over Notre Dame de Namur on Dec. 21. The streak was the second-longest in NCAA Div. I history as Long Island University holds the all-time mark with a 58-game losing streak that lasted from 1986-89. Prior to the win over Notre Dame de Namur, the team’s last victory came at home against Portland State (75-56) on Jan. 27, 2001.

The Hornets will now focus their attention on snapping a 27-game road losing streak and a 35-game losing streak against Big Sky Conference competition. The team’s last victory on the road came in an 89-83 win at UC Riverside on Jan. 20, 2001. Since that time, the closest the Hornets have come to victory on the road was a 64-60 setback at Montana State on Feb. 9, 2001. The win over Portland State on Jan. 27, 2001, was also the last time the Hornets defeated a Big Sky team.

Injuries Affecting the Starting Lineup

Various injuries and factors have caused Sacramento State players to miss a combined 81 games this season. Despite the fact the Hornets have used one starting lineup 11 times (Sydney Gatson, Diane Peterson, Sarah Craig, Danielle Iceman and Kristine Knowlton), head coach Carolyn Jenkins has still been forced to use 11 different starting lineups this year.

The one constant in the starting five has been Peterson, who is the only Hornet to start all 24 games this season. Other than Peterson, only Gatson (20), Iceman (19), Craig (18) and Knowlton (16) have started more than seven games.

Freshman power forward/center Katelyn Ciampi started the first seven games of the season before suffering a stress fracture that kept her out of action for 15 games. Junior forward Alyson Thurman, who was the Hornets’ top rebounder and third-leading scorer last year, will miss the 2002-03 season with a back injury. Thurman had surgery on her back in January and the team is hopeful she’ll be able to return to the hardwood next season.

Junior power forward/center Nichole Hardaway, who sat out nearly two years because of academics, missed the first nine games of the season until being reinstated prior to the game against Saint Mary’s. Hardaway, who appeared in eight games after reinstatement (and led the team in rebounds five times), is now out indefinitely because of personal reasons.

Junior guard Dolores Olivarez, who redshirted last season with an ACL injury, has missed six games this year due to injury. Junior guard Sydney Gatson missed the first three games of the year with a back injury and freshman guard Sarah Craig sat out two games because of religious convictions. Freshman guard Tess Thompson suffered an ACL injury in practice in early January and will miss the remainder of the season while freshman guard Kate Conarroe missed two games earlier in the season due to illness.

Double-Digit Craig

Freshman Sarah Craig, who along with freshman Megan Moon became the first two Canadians to appear in a Sacramento State uniform since the program joined the Div. I ranks for the 1991-92 season, has started her intercollegiate career in impressive fashion. Among team leaders, the Calgary, Alberta, native is currently first in scoring (12.0 points per game), offensive rebounds (49 total, 2.2 per game) and steals (39, 1.8 per game), and second in field-goal percentage (.412) and minutes (32.7 per game). Including a 13-point performance against Idaho State on Saturday, Craig has scored in double figures in all but five games in which she has appeared. She posted a season-high 20 against both Hawai’i and Air Force. She has scored 264 points this season, 45 points more than the Hornets’ second-leading scorer (Danielle Iceman - 219). Craig, who missed two games earlier in the year because of religious convictions (Sunday games against UCLA and Nevada), currently ranks seventh in steals, 12th in scoring and 16th in rebounding (4.8 per game) among Big Sky leaders.

Iceman’s Impressive Week

Junior power forward Danielle Iceman is coming off arguably her most impressive week of the season. The Redding, Calif, native averaged 18.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.0 blocked shot last week. In addition, she shot 68.2 percent (15-22) from the field and 1.000 (6-6) from the free-throw line. Against Weber State, Iceman scored a season-high 20 points to go along with a team-high tying nine rebounds and two blocked shots. In the loss to Idaho State, Iceman again led the team in scoring with 16 points on 8-of-11 shooting. The power forward has been the Hornets’ leading scorer a team-best 10 times this season and has 12 double-figure scoring games, second most on the squad. Iceman, who needs to convert just 12 more free throws to crack the top 10 on Sacramento State’s career list for most free throws made, has scored in double figures 26 times during her career despite this being her second season with the team.

Ciampi Returns In Fine Fashion

After missing the previous 15 games with a stress fracture in her foot, freshman power forward/center Katelyn Ciampi made her return to the lineup in impressive fashion last week against Weber State and Idaho State. Against the Wildcats, the Martinez, Calif., native scored 12 points (on 5-of-8 shooting) and recorded a career-high nine rebounds in just 20 minutes of action. She followed that performance with nine points and five rebounds in 24 minutes against Idaho State. For the week, the freshman averaged 10.5 points and 7.0 rebounds. Ciampi, who started the first seven games of the season before suffering the injury, is now averaging 8.3 points and 5.3 rebounds per game on 39.7 percent shooting from the field. Ciampi could be moved into the team’s starting lineup this week.

Halftime Tells The Tale

Through 24 games this season, Sacramento State is 2-0 when leading at halftime, 0-21 when trailing at the break and 0-1 when tied at half. The Hornets held halftime leads against Notre Dame de Namur and San Jose Christian, and were victorious in both games. In the team’s 22 losses, Sacramento State has been outscored by an average of 13.8 points in the first half. Besides the games against UC Riverside (where the Hornets trailed, 27-26) and Idaho State (34-34 at the break), Sacramento State has been outscored by at least five points in the first half of every loss. The team has been down double figures at the half 12 times.