Sacramento State’s contest against Montana State on Thursday will be broadcast via the internet on www.msubobcats.com.

On Jan. 22, junior Tyeisha Brown tallied a team-high 12 points, eight rebounds, five assists and four steals but the Hornets could not overcome an early halftime deficit as Sacramento State fell to Idaho State, 65-53, at the Hornets Nest.

In the first half, Idaho State jumped out to an early 4-0 lead before Sacramento State answered with a 5-0 run to make it 5-4 at the 16:57 mark. The Bengals outscored the Hornets 19-7 during the next 5:28 to lead, 23-13, with 11:10 remaining. ISU cruised the rest of the way while taking its largest lead of the game, 45-25, at halftime. The Bengals shot 54.8 percent (17-31) from the floor while Molly Hays recorded a game-high 17 points for ISU.

In the second half, Sacramento State outscored ISU, 14-8, to cut the lead to 53-41 at the 10:13 mark. The Hornets used a 7-3 run to make it a 56-48 contest with 6:48 remaining before the Bengals answered with a 5-0 run to take a 61-48 lead at the 4:35 mark. Sacramento State made its final push with a 5-0 run of its own to make it 61-53, but ISU used a 4-0 run to end the contest.

On Jan. 24, senior Danielle Iceman tallied a team-high 11 points while freshman Stephanie Cherry tied her season high with 10 points, but Sacramento State fell to Weber State, 47-43, at the Hornets Nest.

In the first half, Weber State jumped out to an 8-2 advantage at the 14:10 mark before Sacramento State used a 9-2 run to move ahead, 11-10, with 9:07 remaining. The two teams exchanged leads four times before the Wildcats went on a 4-0 run to lead, 22-18, at the half.

In the second half, Weber State opened the period with a 4-0 run to take its biggest advantage of the contest (27-18) at the 18:49 mark. Sacramento State evened the score at 27-27 (12:34) after Cherry nailed a free throw to finish a 9-1 run. The Hornets captured their first lead of the second half when junior Kristine Knowlton tipped in a rebound to make it 31-30 with 8:56 remaining. Weber State regained control with a 10-2 run to make it 40-34 (6:01). The Hornets tied the game (43-43) with a lay up by Cherry after making a steal at the top of the key to end an 8-3 run. With 11 seconds remaining, Angela Sampson collected an offensive rebound and sank a five-footer to put the Wildcats up 45-43. Sacramento State had a chance to answer on its next possession, but a 10-foot jumper by Brown didn’t fall and Gjertsen sank two free throws to end the contest.

A LOOK AT THIS WEEK''S OPPONENTS

Montana State is 8-8 overall and 0-3 in the Big Sky after falling to Montana on Jan. 23 in its only contest of the week. The Bobcats lost their first two conference games to Weber State (78-58) on Jan. 15 and Idaho State (82-69) on Jan. 17.

In the game against Montana, Julie Deming finished with a game-high 16 points and 11 rebounds while the Lady Griz shot 50.0 percent from the field en route to a 60-44 win at Worthington Arena.

Kati Burrows and Jana Smith each finished with 12 points to lead the Bobcats. Montana State finished the game shooting 24.6 percent (16-65) including a 3-for-24 effort (.125) from the three-point line.

Montana is 14-4, 3-0 after defeating Montana State (Jan. 23) by a score of 60-44. The Lady Griz won their first two games against Idaho State (76-66) and Weber State (63-60) on the road.

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). He earned his first win with the Hornets on Jan. 14 with a 56-50 win at Portland State.

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.

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.

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.

DEFENSE LEADS THE WAY

After the first nine games of the season, Sacramento State gave up an average of 73.0 points per game while allowing opponents to shoot 44.5 percent from the floor. In the Hornets’ last eight games, the squad has allowed 55.8 points per game and a 35.0 shooting percentage.

In its last eight contests, Sacramento State has allowed only one opponent (Idaho State - 46.0) to shoot better than 40.0 percent from the floor.

In the Big Sky team rankings, the Hornets are currently third in three-point field goal percentage defense (.315), third in steals (9.59 spg), and fifth in blocked shots (3.24 bpg), scoring defense (64.9), and defensive field goal percentage (.405). Sacramento State has seen its defensive field goal percentage drop substantially since Dec. 29 (.442) .

BROWN BEGINNING TO EMERGE

Since becoming a regular staple in the Hornet starting five on Dec. 9, junior Tyeisha Brown has slowly developed into the heart and sole of the Sacramento State squad.

The Vallejo, Calif., native currently leads the squad with 145 points (8.5 ppg) and 38 steals (2.24 spg) while also ranking third in assists (25, 1.47 apg) and rebounds (65, 3.8 rpg), and fifth in blocked shots (five). In Big Sky Conference play, Brown leads all Hornets with an average of 12.8 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.8 steals and 2.8 assists per game. Brown also ranks fourth in the Big Sky with 38 steals (2.24 spg). Her season-high seven steals against Saint Mary’s placed her tied for second in the program single-game record book.

Brown, who became the first Hornet to surpass 20 points in a game this season, has led the Hornets in scoring on six occasions while also cracking double figures seven times.

CHERRY BOMB

Freshman Stephanie Cherry has not been a part of the bench rotation for the past several weeks but is beginning to find ways to contribute in the past three games.

Since playing against Eastern Washington on Jan. 17, Cherry has averaged 7.0 points, 3.0 rebounds, 3.0 steals and 15.4 minutes per game. The native of Fairfield, Calif., tied her season high with 10 points against Weber State on Jan. 24. She also set a new season-high mark with three steals. Cherry’s previous 10-point effort was against North Carolina State on Nov. 28 at the Commerce Bank Wildcat Classic in Manhattan, Kan.

Before Jan. 17, Cherry was averaging 2.2 points, 1.5 rebounds, 0.6 assists, 0.1 steals and 7.9 minutes per game.

HORNET NOTABLES

Freshman Jessica Voisard, who ranks eighth in the Big Sky with an average of 6.1 rebounds per game (86), has sat out the last two games with a concussion...sophomore Sarah Craig missed the second half of the Idaho State game and did not suit up for the Weber State contest due to an ankle injury...in her last four games, sophomore Katelyn Ciampi has shot a combined 11-for-17 from the floor. The Martinez, Calif., native leads the Hornets with a .458 field-goal percentage...junior Samania Black is 10th in the Big Sky with 28 steals (1.65 spg)...junior Kristine Knowlton is second in the Big Sky with an average of 1.50 blocks per game...junior Alyson Thurman tied her season high with six rebounds against Weber State...Sacramento State is currently in the midst of a 21-game Big Sky home losing streak. The Hornets have also lost their last 15 games at the Hornets Nest.