Sophomore Katelyn Ciampi tallied a team-high 11 points and freshman Jessica Voisard grabbed a team-high eight rebounds but Northern Arizona hit five late free throws to defeat the Sacramento State women’s basketball team, 60-51, in a Big Sky Conference game Saturday evening at the Hornets Nest. Sacramento State is now 1-19 overall and 1-6 in the Big Sky while Northern Arizona improved to 9-10, 3-4.
Ciampi, a native of Martinez, Calif., was the only Hornet to score in double figures after going 3-of-8 from the field and 5-of-6 from the free-throw line. It marked the fourth time Ciampi has led the Hornets in scoring this season. Voisard, who ranks eighth in the Big Sky in rebounding, led the squad for the third-consecutive game. Junior Tyeisha Brown also added eight points and seven rebounds.
Natalie Metz led Northern Arizona with a contest-high 20 points after going 8-of-11 from the field including a 4-for-4 effort from the three-point line. Alexis Rhodes (11), Alyssa Wahl (11) and Lacey Tolbert (10) also scored in double figures for the Luberjacks. Wahl also grabbed a contest-high 14 rebounds.
In the first half, NAU took a 5-0 lead at the 18:25 mark before Sacramento State used an 8-3 run to tie the contest (8-8) with 15:29 remaining. After the contest’s second tie, the Hornets took their first lead (14-13) on a pair of free throws by junior Samania Black (10:09). The Lumberjacks regained the lead, 16-14, on a three pointer by Metz (8:30) and used a 12-5 run to lead 28-19 at halftime.
In the second half, NAU increased its lead to 32-21 (18:31) before the Hornets used an 8-3 run to make it 35-29 with 14:24 remaining. After the teams traded buckets for the next 2:16, the Lumberjacks got their biggest lead of the contest, 55-39, after a 16-6 run with 4:10 remaining. Sacramento State made its final push with a 7-0 to make it 55-49 (1:03) but Lacey Tolbert made five-of-six free throws to seal the game for the Lumberjacks.
Overall, Sacramento State went 19-for-57 (.333) from the floor while Northern Arizona ended the contest shooting 18-for-50 (.360). The Lumberjacks also finished 18-of-23 (.783) from the charity stripe compared to the Hornets’ 12-for-21 (.571) performance. The two teams were even in the rebounding department (39-39).
Sacramento State will next host Eastern Washington on Thursday, Feb. 12, at 7:05 p.m. before concluding the week with Portland State on Saturday, Feb. 14, at 7:05 p.m.
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