On Jan. 7, sophomore Sarah Craig tallied a team-high 11 points while junior Samania Black grabbed a career-high nine rebounds to help a late Hornet rally, but Sacramento State fell in overtime to Texas-Pan American, 49-47, at the Hornets Nest. In the first half, Sacramento State jumped out to an early 4-0 advantage at the 17:36 mark before UTPA captured its first lead (6-4) with 14:51 remaining. The Lady Broncs led by as many as nine (17-8) at the 3:36 mark before leaving the floor with a 22-15 halftime advantage. Both teams shot poorly from the floor as Sacramento State finished 9-of-34 (.265) while the Lady Broncs shot 7-for-24 (.292).

In the second half, UTPA increased their lead to 25-15 at the 17:30 mark before the Hornets used an 11-0 run to take a 26-25 lead with 13:59 remaining. After two lead changes and four ties, Craig nailed a three-point shot with 1:22 remaining to eventually send the contest into overtime (41-41).

In the extra frame, Sacramento State held a 47-44 advantage (2:45) until Molly Schamel made two free-throws and scored on a lay-up to give the Lady Broncs the lead for good at 48-47 with 34 seconds remaining. Mary DeCock made one more free throw before Black’s half-court shot bounced off the back rim to end the game.

On Jan. 5, Sacramento State had three players score in double figures, but fell short as the Hornets dropped a 55-48 contest to Saint Mary’s at the Hornets Nest. In the first half, he Gaels led by an 11-4 margin with 12:43 remaining until the Hornets cut the deficit to 17-14 at the 6:35 mark. SMC answered with a 13-3 run to take a 30-20 halftime lead.

In the second half, the Hornets outscored the Gaels, 20-11, in the first 13 minutes of the period to cut the deficit to 43-40. SMC answered back with a 9-2 run to make it, 52-42, with 3:01 remaining. Sacramento State trimmed the lead to 52-48 at the 1:12 mark, but the Hornets did not find the basket again as the Gaels ended the contest with three free throws.

A LOOK AT THIS WEEK''S OPPONENTS

Portland State is 3-10 on the season after dropping an 82-60 contest to BYU on Jan. 10 at the Stott Center. Senior forward Sarah Hedgepeth, who has sat out the last two contests due to a left wrist injury, is not expected to return to action until next week.

In the game against BYU, Nancy Seljaas and Ashleigh Chamberlain each scored 15 points as the Cougars outscored PSU, 58-8, off the bench and shot 47.8 percent (32-of-67) from the field. Jane Gowans led the Vikings with a career-high 19 points

Eastern Washington is 7-6 on the year after falling to Denver (Jan. 8) before defeating Wyoming (Jan. 10) last week.

Against Wyoming, Kathleen Nygaard earned her sixth double-double of the season (18 points, 11 boards) while the Eagles held Wyoming to only 20.0 percent shooting from the field to earn the 53-30 win at Arena-Auditorium.

Against Denver, Nygaard led the Eagles with a game-high 22 points and nine rebounds and Joanna Chadd added seven steals and five boards. Denver, however, came away with the 62-52 win at Magness Arena.

HEAD COACH DAN MUSCATELL

Dan Muscatell became the sixth Sacramento State women’s basketball head coach in the program’s 38-year history, after spending the past four seasons as an assistant at Oregon (1999-03).

While at Oregon, Muscatell was involved in all aspects of the program, including the coordination of recruiting efforts and the coaching of offense and defense. He also worked with both the perimeter and post players.

The Everett, Wash., native was responsible for bringing in one of the nation’s top recruiting classes in 2001, a six-member class that was ranked 17th in the nation by All-Star Girls Report. Muscatell also coached or recruited current WNBA players Edneisha Curry (Phoenix Mercury), Jenny Mowe (L.A. Sparks), Angelina Wolvert (Cleveland Rockers) and Shaquala Williams (L.A. Sparks).

During his four years at Oregon, the Ducks were ranked in the top 25 during three of those seasons, including two top-10 finishes in 2000 and 2001. The program also combined to post a record of 74-49 while capturing two NCAA Tournament berths (2000 and 2001), a National Invitational Tournament (NIT) title (2002) and a Pac-10 crown (2000).

FAMILIAR FACES

One of the first moves by Muscatell when he took over the program was to create a coaching staff that would be a reflection of himself. Within a month, Muscatell had accomplished this feat by hiring Lindsey Dion, Karen Piers and Shaquala Williams. The catch is that each individual had been a player under Muscatell while he was an assistant coach at Oregon.

Dion, who starred four years at Oregon as a student-athlete (1997-01), brings two years of coaching experience to Sacramento State. The Fresno, Calif., native spent the past year (2002-03) as an assistant at Seattle Pacific after serving as a student assistant with Muscatell at Oregon during the 2001-02 season. She finished her collegiate career with 639 points, 306 rebounds, 197 assists, 101 steals and two Pac-10 championships (1999 and 2000) in 108 games.

Piers, a native of Truro, Nova Scotia, spent the past year (2002-03) as an assistant at Nova Scotia Agricultural College in Truro, Nova Scotia. A three-year player at Oregon (1998-00), Piers helped lead the Ducks to back-to-back Pacific-10 titles in 1999 and 2000 while also reaching the NCAA Tournament all three years. For her senior season, she transferred to Saint Francis Xavier University in Antigosh, Nova Scotia, to pursue a major in kinetics. A team captain with the X-Men, Piers earned all-AUAA honors after finishing fourth in the country in three-point shooting percentage (.450).

Williams, a native of Portland, Ore., begins her coaching career at Sacramento State after completing her first season in the WNBA as a guard. Williams, who helped lead the L.A. Sparks to the WNBA Finals, was a four-year player at Oregon (1999-03) under Muscatell. She still ranks sixth in points (1,478), fifth in assists (369), third in three-pointers made (144) and first in free-throw percentage (.839) in the Oregon career record books. Williams helped lead the Ducks to back-to-back Pacific-10 titles in 1999 and 2000 while also reaching the NCAA Tournament in 2000 and 2001.

SOMETHING TO TALK ABOUT

Although Sacramento State has not found consistency on the offensive end of the floor, the Hornets are beginning to shore up their defense and the results are starting to show in the stats.

After the first seven games of the season, Sacramento State gave up an average of 74.6 points per game while allowing opponents to shoot 45.0 percent from the floor. In the Hornets’ last six games, the squad has allowed 58.7 points per game and a 37.3 shooting percentage.

In its last four contests, Sacramento State has not allowed an opponent to score more than 60 points and shoot better than 40.0 percent.

In the Big Sky team rankings, the Hornets are currently third in steals (9.62 spg), fourth in three-point field goal percentage defense (.330 apg) and fifth in blocked shots (3.23 bpg). Sacramento State has also dropped its defensive field goal percentage from .442 (Dec. 29) to .413 (Jan. 12).

BETTER TAKE CARE OF THE BALL

Entering this week’s play, Sacramento State continues to rank among the elite in the Big Sky Conference in steals per game. As of Jan. 12, the Hornets had tallied 125 steals and rank third in the conference with an average of 9.62 per game.

Individually, juniors Samania Black (27, 2.80 spg) and Tyeisha Brown (27, 2.80 spg) each rank tied for fifth in conference steals. Brown, a native of Vallejo, Calif., recorded the second highest single-game steal total in program history after tallying a career-best seven steals against Saint Mary’s on Jan. 5.

OWNING THE MIDDLE

Another member of the squad who is still making her presence felt in the paint and among the conference’s statistical leaders is junior Kristine Knowlton.

The native of Cornelius, Ore., ranks second in the Big Sky with 1.70 blocks per game and is second in the conference with 17 blocks on the year. Her five blocks against UC Irvine on Dec. 20 was the second-highest mark in the conference this season. Due to her efforts, Sacramento State currently ranks fifth in the Big Sky with an average of 3.23 per game (42).

Knowlton also ranks second in the Sacramento State career record book and 14th in the Big Sky with 125 blocks. She also holds the program record for most blocks in a contest with eight against Montana State on Jan. 30, 2003.

ALMOST OVER THE HUMP

Sacramento State has held a lead in the second half on four occasions this season but still has not managed to seal a victory.

The Hornets’ first lead was a 41-39 advantage at the 8:49 mark against Texas-Pan American (Dec. 6). The highest of the season was a 48-43 lead at the 9:03 mark against Nevada (Dec. 13). The squad held its latest lead in a contest (46-45, 4:07 remaining) against UC Riverside (Dec. 30). Last week, Sacramento State held a 47-46 advantage over Texas-Pan American with 1:57 remaining in overtime.

HORNET NOTABLES

Freshman Jessica Voisard, a native of Mission Viejo, Calif., ranks 11th in the Big Sky with an average of 5.9 rebounds per game (59).