A LOOK AT THIS WEEK

Coming off a pair of losses to Big Sky Conference rivals

Northern Arizona and Weber State last week, the Sacramento State

women's basketball team takes a reprieve from its conference schedule

when it travels south to take on UC Riverside on Saturday, Jan. 20.

Saturday's contest marks the last non-conference game of the season

for the Hornets, who play 12 more Big Sky games.

The Hornets have lost four-straight and currently sit with a

1-12 overall record and a 0-4 mark in the Big Sky. The team is 0-7 on

the road and have lost their last three games away from home by an

average of 29.3 points. Sacramento State, who's only victory of the

season came on Dec. 30 against Gonzaga, has not played UC Riverside

since a 79-61 home victory during the 1990-91 season.

After the Riverside game, the Hornets play three-consecutive

conference games in a span of eight days against Eastern Washington,

Portland State and Cal State Northridge, respectively.

UC Riverside will enter Saturday's game with a 5-13 overall

record. The Highlanders, who have not played since an 85-72 loss at

Portland on Jan. 8, have dropped five of their last six games

including a 54-46 home loss to Idaho State on Jan. 6. The team is 4-4

at home including an overtime victory over Montana State. UC

Riverside is led by Amy Houchens who is averaging 14.7 points, 5.3

rebounds and 36.4 minutes per game.

A LOOK AT LAST WEEK

The Hornets lost a pair of Big Sky games last week including

a 59-56 home loss to Northern Arizona followed by a 87-45 loss at

Weber State on Saturday.

Saturday, Weber State led from start to finish while

defeating Sacramento State, 87-45, in a Big Sky Conference game

Saturday evening at the Dee Events Center.

Senior Michelle St. Clair led all scorers with 18 points,

including 3-of-6 from beyond the three-point line. Four Wildcats

finished in double figures, led by Crystal Howe's 17 points and 11

rebounds. Sarah Sonveau scored 15 points and Stephanie Stanger and

Jamie Peterson each chipped in 14.

Weber State badly outrebounded the Hornets, 53-28, while

shooting .500 (35-70) from the floor. Conversely, Sacramento State

shot just .340 (17-50) from the field and was outscored in the paint,

44-14.

After leading at the half, 36-26, the Wildcats opened the

second half on a 13-4 run and never looked back, outscoring the

Hornets, 51-19, in the second stanza. Weber State's 42-point victory

also marked the team's largest lead of the game.

On Friday, Northern Arizona withstood a late 8-0 Hornet run

and held on for a 59-56 victory over Sacramento State in Hornet Gym.

Down, 57-56, with 24 seconds to play, the Hornets had a

chance to take the lead but Sephora Scoubes' jumper was blocked by

Lynsie Blau and rebounded by Northern Arizona with eight seconds to

play.

Sacramento State then fouled Lindsay Foster with two seconds

to play. After Foster made both free throws to put NAU up three, a

Hornet desperation baseball pass from the baseline was stolen by

Foster as time expired.

The Hornets were led by senior Torilynn Boyd's season-high 24

points while freshman Tola Tallman scored nine points and pulled a

game- and career-high 14 rebounds. Sophomore Rexanne Rodriguez

finished with 10 assists.

ST. CLAIR ROLLS ON

Senior guard Michelle St. Clair scored a combined 20 points

in two games last week and is now averaging a team-leading 15.1

points per game, a mark that is third best in the Big Sky Conference.

The Grass Valley, Calif., native also ranks in the top-10 among Big

Sky leaders in four other categories including first in

three-pointers made per game (2.77), third in free throw percentage

(.842, 32-38), tied for seventh in steals per game (1.69) and 10th in

three-point percentage (.350, 36-103).

St. Clair has led the team in scoring eight times including

four of the last five games. She has scored 20-plus points on three

occasions after failing to accomplish the feat once during her first

three years with the program. This season, she has already set

single-game career highs in points (28), field goals made (nine) and

free throws made (seven) while matching her career high in

three-pointers made (four) on four occasions. She has scored at least

15 points and knocked down at least three three-pointers in all but

four games. She has done all of this despite playing a tiring 38.9

minutes per game including all 40 minutes in seven-consecutive games.

On her current pace, the 5-5 shooting guard would end the

season with 72 three-pointers, which would not only obliterate her

personal career high (46), but also the school career mark of 51, set

by current assistant coach Sarah Stapp during the 1995-96 season.

ROAD WOES

With the loss to Weber State last week, the Hornets have now

lost 22-straight games on the road dating back to the 1998-99 season.

The team's last win away from home came in a 77-62 victory at Eastern

Washington on Feb. 13, 1999.

In those 22 games, the team has been outscored by an average of 21.9 points per contest (1,716-1,235) and has come within 10 points of the final score on just four occasions.

Including neutral site losses (two last season), Sacramento

State has dropped 24-straight away from Hornet Gym.

WHENT MAKES DEBUT

Junior Shannon Whent, who was promoted from team manager to

student-athlete before the Wyoming game on Dec. 21, received her

first action of the season at Weber State last Saturday. The 5-7

shooting guard responded with six points in just five minutes of

play. She sank her only field goal attempt of the night (a

three-pointer) and went 3-of-4 from the free throw line.

BOYD ON THE REBOUND

After getting off to a slow start this season, senior power

forward/center Torilynn Boyd has come on over the past three weeks.

Boyd, who failed to pull double figures in rebounds during the team's

first seven games, has three double doubles in her last six contests

including a 13-point, 15-rebound effort at Cal State Northridge on

Jan. 6. She dropped in a season-high 24 points against Northern

Arizona last Friday and is now averaging 9.4 points and 7.0 rebounds

per game. The Mentone, Calif., native, who led the team in rebounding

during the 1998-99 season (8.0 rpg) before redshirting last year, is

currently fifth in the Big Sky in rebounding.

HORNET NOTABLES

At 1-12, the Hornets are off to their worst start in program

history...Rexanne Rodriguez's 10 assists vs. Northern Arizona was a

career high. She is now averaging 4.1 assists per game, fourth-best

in the Big Sky...Sacramento State is being outscored by an average of

16.8 points per game, last in the conference...the 42-point loss at

Weber State tied the Hornets' seventh-worst loss in program

history...not only is Sacramento State struggling on the road, the

team has won just one of its last eight games at home spanning two

seasons...the Hornets are shooting .338 (54-160) from beyond the

three-point line, third best in the Big Sky...Sacramento State ranks

last or second to last in the conference in points allowed (75.5

ppg), scoring margin, rebounds (32.8 rpg), opponents' rebounds (42.8

rpg), rebounding margin (-10.1), blocked shots (2.6 bpg), assists

(11.62 apg), turnover margin (-3.1) and assist/turnover ration

(0.55)...freshman small forward Tola Tallman has led the team in

rebounding in each of the last two games including a career-high 14

rebounds against Northern Arizona last Friday.