The Hornets will complete their first season under first-year head coach Dan Muscatell and seniors Cindy Besio, Danielle Iceman and Diane Peterson will compete in their final games. Senior Sydney Gatson, who suffered a season ending knee injury on Feb. 12, will not suit up for the contest.

In the Hornets’ last meeting against the Lumberjacks, 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 Sacramento State, 60-51, at the Hornets Nest on Feb. 7. 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 points, 14 rebounds) and Lacey Tolbert (10) also scored in double figures for the Luberjacks.

A LOOK AT THE LATEST ACTION

On Feb. 26, senior Danielle Iceman tallied a team-high nine points while sophomore Katelyn Ciampi grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds but Montana had four players score in double figures as the Lady Griz defeated Sacramento State, 68-46, at the Hornets Nest.

Iceman, a native of Redding, Calif., finished 3-of-6 from the field and 3-of-4 from the free-throw line. Ciampi, a native of Martinez, Calif., recorded double figures in rebounds for the first time this season. She also led the squad in rebounds for the fifth time this season and for the third-consecutive game. Sophomore Megan Moon led the Hornets with three assists while junior Kristine Knowlton tallied two blocked shots.

Overall, Sacramento State shot 16-for-56 (.286) from the floor while Montana ended the contest shooting 25-for-52 (.481). Both teams grabbed 38 rebounds and Sacramento State edged Montana from behind the arc with a 5-of-16 (.313) effort compared to the Lady Griz’s 4-for-13 (.308) performance. UM finished 14-of-17 (.824) from the line compared to Sacramento State’s 9-of-13 (.692).

On Feb. 28, Ciampi tallied a team-high 14 points and 10 rebounds but Montana State used a late second half run to defeat Sacramento State, 66-48, at Hornet Field. The game marked the final home game of the 2003-04 season for the Hornets.

Ciampi was the only Hornet to score in double figures after going 7-for-12 from field. Ciampi has now recorded double-figure scoring in nine games this season and also tallied double-digit rebounds in consecutive games. The forward also led the Hornets with a game-high two blocked shots. Senior Diane Peterson led the Hornets with three assists while junior Tyeisha Brown tallied a game-high three steals.

Overall, Sacramento State went 17-for-67 (.254) from the floor while Montana State ended the contest shooting 23-for-50 (.460). The Hornets also finished 9-for-13 (.692) from the free-throw line compared to the Bobcats’ 14-for-19 (.737) effort. MSU also connected better from behind the arc with a 6-of-13 (.462) effort compared to Sacramento State’s 5-of-28 (.179).

A LOOK AT THIS WEEKS OPPONENT

Northern Arizona is 11-15 overall and 4-9 in the Big Sky after dropping home contests to Montana State (Feb. 26) and Montana (Feb. 28). The Lumberjacks also won a non-conference game against Texas-Pan American (Mar. 3).

Against Montana State, NAU rallied from a six-point halftime deficit but the Bobcats escaped with a 68-66 win behind Kati Burrows’ 21 points.

Three Lumberjacks finished with double-figures in points led by Lacey Tolbert’s game-high 22. Alyssa Wahl (19 points, 10 rebounds) and Natalie Metz (11) rounded out NAU’s leading scorers.

Against Montana, four Lady Griz finished in double-figures as UM defeated NAU, 56-48.

The Lumberjacks were led in scoring by Metz (14) and Alexis Rhodes (10) while Laura Dinkins and Wahl grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds each.

Against Texas-Pan American, four Lumberjacks finished with at least 10 points as NAU defeated the Lady Broncs, 64-49, at Walkup Skydome.

Metz (17), Rhodes (15), Tolbert (12) and Dinkins (11 points, 10 rebounds) led the Lumberjack offense.

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).

INJURIES AFFECTING THE LINEUP

Before their game against Eastern Washington on Feb. 12, the Hornets had to deal with the loss of senior Sydney Gatson to a knee injury. After its game against the Eagles, Sacramento State has had more injuries to deal with.

Freshman Jessica Voisard suffered her second concussion of the year in the Hornets’ game against EWU. The Mission Viejo, Calif., native missed two games earlier in the conference season after being diagnosed with a concussion during a collision at Eastern Washington on Jan. 17. Voisard will sit out the remainder of the season as a precautionary measure. The forward began to make an impact in the Big Sky rankings as the seventh-best rebounder in all games (6.6 rpg) as well as placing second in blocks (1.83 bpg) and tied for fourth (7.8 rpg) in rebounding during conference play.

THREE HORNETS PLAY IN FINAL GAME

Seniors Cindy Besio, Danielle Iceman and Diane Peterson will play in the final game of their Hornet careers on Saturday, Mar. 6, at Northern Arizona. Senior Sydney Gatson will not play in the game due to a knee injury.

Besio, a native of Cloverdale, Calif., joined the Hornets this season as a walk-on after competing for two years at the College of Marin. The point guard has appeared in six games this season and recorded the first assist of her Hornet career against Eastern Washington on Feb. 12.

Gatson, a native of Suisun, Calif., suffered an injury to her right knee against NAU on Feb. 7 and has not returned to the floor since. A five-year member of the program, Gatson ranks among the top 15 in several Hornet career categories. She ranks 10th in assists (201), three-pointers made (33), three-pointers attempted (121) and free-throws attempted (247) and 11th in free-throws made (161). Gatson also registered 636 points, 221 field goals, 107 steals, and 315 rebounds.

Iceman, a native of Redding, Calif., ranks seventh in program history with 211 career free-throws made and eighth in career free-throws attempted (306). A three-year member of the program, Iceman has been one of the Hornets’ top low-post threats since transferring from Shasta Junior College. She led the squad in scoring (10.6 ppg) as a sophomore and finished second as a junior (9.5 ppg).

Peterson, a native of San Rafael, Calif., ranks seventh in program history with 72 career makes and 293 career attempts from behind the three-point line. A transfer from College of Marin, Peterson also set the program record in Big Sky play and tied the overall mark with 12 assists against Idaho State on Feb. 22, 2003. In her first season with the program, the shooting guard placed second in attempts (171) and seventh in made baskets (43) from behind the arc in 2003-03.

HORNETS IN THE BIG SKY RANKINGS

Despite only one win thus far, the Sacramento State women’s basketball team still ranks among the conference’s leaders in several team and individual categories.

As a team, the Hornets are third in steals (8.69 spg), fourth in blocked shots (3.58 bpg) and sixth in scoring defense (67.6 ppg).

Individually, junior Kristine Knowlton is third in the Big Sky with an average of 1.39 blocked shots per-game. Junior Tyeisha Brown ranks fifth in the conference with an average of 2.00 steals per-game. Sophomore Katelyn Ciampi ranks 18th in the conference with an average of 4.8 rebounds per-game.

CIAMPI HITTING THE GLASS

With the loss of freshman Jessica Voisard to injury on Feb. 12, sophomore Katelyn Ciampi has assumed the top rebounding role for the squad in her absence. Voisard, a native of Mission Viejo, Calif., was leading the team with an average of 6.6 rpg (118), four double-digit rebound games and 10 contests as the team’s leading rebounder.

Ciampi has surpassed Voisard’s rebounding total (125) and also tied her mark with four-consecutive team-high rebounding games. However, Ciampi did set a season-high mark with consecutive double-digit rebounding games (10 - 2/26, 2/28).

TAKING CARE OF THE BALL?

In Sacramento State’s loss to Montana State on Feb. 28, the Hornets made a significant improvement in their overall play by turning the ball over a season-low 13 times. In fact, if the squad can finish with less than 13 turnovers in Saturday’s game against NAU, the Hornets will have reduced their turnover total in four-consecutive games. The team has reduced their turnover total in three-consecutive games on three occasions this season.

HORNET NOTABLES

The Hornets currently rank third for lowest points-per game allowed (67.6) and seventh in lowest opponent field-goal percentage (.426) since joining the Div. I ranks in 1991...after sitting on the bench for the entire season, senior Cindy Besio has appeared in each of the Hornets’ past six games...freshman Stephanie Cherry leads the team with an 82.4 free-throw percentage (28-34)...senior Diane Peterson has led Sacramento State in assists in a team-high 10 games this season.