“We are very fired up to be going on to play in the tournament,” head coach Dan Muscatell said. “We’re going to be rolling in with some confidence.”

The last time the Hornets made the tournament was the 1996-97 season, the team’s first year competing in the Big Sky Conference. Sacramento State finishes the season with an overall record of 8-19 and a conference record of 4-10. The team’s eight wins are the most since the 1995-96 season and the team’s four Big Sky wins are the most since the 1999-00 season.

“I feel very proud of this team. We have accomplished a lot we set out to, but our one big goal was getting to the tournament,” Muscatell said. “We knew we couldn’t accomplish any of our other goals without getting to the conference tourney.”

Sacramento State will now travel to the Big Sky postseason tournament, to be hosted by Weber State or Montana. Their game tonight will decide the tournament host. The Hornets have earned the sixth seed in the tournament and will play the No. 3 seed, Thursday, March 10 at 6 p.m. The No. 3 seed is yet to be decided, but will be Eastern Washington or Northern Arizona.

In Sacramento State’s victory, the Hornets were led by sophomore guard Kim Sheehy and junior guard Cindy Alldrin, who scored 15 and 13 points respectively. Junior forward Lindsey Heard added 10 points, shooting 3-of-5 from the three-point line, while also pulling down six rebounds.

“We got an incredible emotional lift from our crowd tonight for one of the first time since I have been here,” Muscatell said. “It is great to have the support of the other student-athletes in the stands. You could tell it really motivated our player as the game went on.”

Sheehy, who pulled down a team and career-high seven rebounds, also sank three three-pointers, continuing to climb up the record book charts. The Santa Fe, N.M. native now has 53 three-pointers on the season, ranking her second all-time in program history for three-pointers in a season. Sheehy is also averaging 10.1 points per game in Big Sky play.

On the defensive end of the floor, senior Kristine Knowlton, who was playing in her final game at the Hornets Nest, pulled down seven rebounds and also blocked five shots, the most of any Hornet this season.

“What a great night four our seniors,” Muscatell said. “Kristine had arguably her best game since I have been coaching here. Sam (Samania Black) played great tonight and Tyeisha (Brown) and Tess (Thompson) were louder than anybody off the bench. Brown, the Hornets leading scorer this season, did not play as she is still recovering from a knee injury.”

Sacramento State erased an 25-23 halftime deficit by shooting 42.9 percent from the floor in the second period. The Eagles (16-11,8-6) struggled with their shot in the second half, shooting 25 percent from the floor.

“We talked at halftime about our 27-game season being just one-half away from being over,” Muscatell said. “We felt they looked fatigued and we challenged our kids to tire them out with good player and ball movement.”

Sacramento State took its first lead in the second half on a layup from Alldrin with 15:12 to go. A layup from junior forward Ashley Cadotte gave the Hornets a 36-33 lead with 13:55 to go, sparking a 17-4 run that extended the team’s lead to 53-37 lead with five minutes remaining. Heard sank three three-pointers during that run.

With a 16-point Hornet lead, the Eagles would get no closer than a 12-point deficit. Sacramento State forced Eastern Washington into 18 turnovers while creating nine steals.

Sophomore Stephanie Cherry, who is averaging 8.1 points per game in conference play, came up with two steals during the game, including picking Eagle guard Ashley Jamison clean at mid-court and finishing the play with a layup, making the score 51-37 with just over five minutes to play. Also registering two steals was Cadotte. Knowlton added five points to her five blocks while also grabbing one steal in her season-high 28 minutes on the floor.

Sacramento State swept the series with Eastern Washington, defeating the Eagles earlier in Cheney on Feb. 3. It is the first time since the 1996-97 season that the program has swept a series with a conference foe. It is only the second time in program history it has happened. The Hornets eight wins over Division I teams is also its most since the 1995-96 season, while the team’s five home victories are the most since the 1999-00 season. Sacramento State has not one two Big Sky game s at home since the 1999-00 season.

Check back to www.hornetsports.com to find out updated information on the Big Sky Conference tournament.