A LOOK AT THIS WEEK

Fresh off its first Big Sky Conference victory of the season,

the Sacramento State women''s basketball team heads into the week with

a 3-13 overall record and a 1-5 mark in the conference. The Hornets

play the final game of their three-game homestand this Thursday,

Feb. 1, when they host Cal State Northridge at 7:05 p.m. The team

then travels to Pocatello, Idaho, on Saturday, Feb. 3, to play Idaho

State at 6:05 p.m.

The Hornets split a pair of home games last week, losing to

Eastern Washington, 67-54, on Thursday and defeating Portland State,

75-56, on Saturday. The victory over the Vikings snapped a nine-game

conference losing streak that dated back to last season. Sacramento

State''s 19-point margin of victory over Portland State also tied for

the team''s second largest win over a Big Sky opponent since joining

the conference prior to the 1996-97 season.

Cal State Northridge will enter Thursday''s contest with an

8-11 overall record and a 4-4 Big Sky mark. The Matadors, who are 2-5

on the road this season, have won twice in their last six games. CSN

defeated Sacramento State, 88-62, earlier this season and has now won

each of the last seven meetings between the two teams.

Idaho State enters the week with a 13-4 record including a

perfect 6-0 mark in the Big Sky. The first-place Bengals have won

nine-straight games including back-to-back victories on the road over

Montana and Montana State two weeks ago. Idaho State, which hosts

Northern Arizona on Thursday, has a 10-game home winning streak.

Since joining the Big Sky in 1996-97, the Hornets have never beaten

the Bengals (0-8).

A LOOK AT LAST WEEK

Sacramento State split a pair of home games last week, losing

to Eastern Washington on Thursday and defeating Portland State on

Saturday.

Saturday, Michelle St. Clair scored 21 points and Tola

Tallman added 14 points and 16 rebounds as the Hornets picked up

their first Big Sky win of the season. SAC led from start to finish

after opening the game on a 12-0 run. After leading, 34-24, at

halftime, Sacramento State saw its advantage trimmed to two, 45-43,

with 11:34 remaining in the game.

The Hornets then went on a 9-3 run behind baskets by St.

Clair, Tallman, Kelly Hodges and Sephora Scoubes. Portland State was

never able to pull closer than four points from that point on. The

Hornets shot .760 (19-25) from the free throw line while getting to

the stripe 18 more times (25-7) than the Vikings.

Thursday, Sacramento State shot just .305 (18-59) from the

floor and committed 29 turnovers while falling to Eastern Washington,

67-54. The Hornets took a brief 2-0 lead to open the contest before

the Eagles rattled off a 24-2 run over the next seven minutes to take

a commanding 24-4 lead. EWU, which held a 42-26 halftime advantage,

would not relinquish its lead the rest of the game as it led by as

many as 25 points in the second half.

The Hornets made the final score respectable after outscoring

the Eagles, 9-0, over the final 4:33 of the game. St. Clair led

Sacramento State with 17 points while Torilynn Boyd recorded her

third double-double of the season with 12 points and 13 rebounds.

TALLMAN TURNING IT ON

Freshman forward Tola Tallman combined for 28 points, 20

rebounds and eight steals in two games last week. The Sacramento

native recorded her second double-double of the season with 14 points

and 16 rebounds against Portland State. The 16 boards was the most by

a Hornet this season and her 14 points marked her third-straight game

in double-figure points.

Despite being a small forward, Tallman has now led the team

in rebounding in four of the last five games and has bumped her

rebounding average up to 5.6 per game. Over her last three contests,

she is averaging 16.0 points and 10.3 rebounds per contest. Although

just a freshman, Tallman is second on the Hornets in steals (27) and

rebounds (89) and fourth in points scored (121).

ST. CLAIR FOR THREE

With six more three-pointers last week, Michelle St. Clair

has already tied the Sacramento State single-season record for most

three-pointers (51) with 10 games still to play. She now has a career

total of 149 treys, breaking the school''s old career mark of 142,

held by current assistant coach Sarah Stapp.

This season, St. Clair is averaging a Big Sky-leading 16.9

points and 3.19 three-pointers per game. Against UC Riverside on Jan.

20, she knocked down nine three-pointers, shattering both the Big Sky

and school record for most threes in a game. She has led the Hornets

in scoring in four-straight games and seven of the last eight. The

Grass Valley, Calif., native has scored at least 15 points in all but

four games this season while averaging 38.9 minutes per game.

Besides points and three-pointers, St. Clair also leads the

team in free throw percentage (.804, 45-56) and steals (32). Among

Big Sky leaders, she is tied for fifth in three-point percentage

(.375) and eighth in free throw percentage and steals.

ROSTER AT JUST EIGHT PLAYERS

Sacramento State began the season with a roster of 10

players. Since that time, the number has dwindled to eight because of

injuries and academics. At the beginning of the season, sophomore

point guard Sydney Gatson was lost for the year after doctors decided

to operate on her ailing back. Seven games into the season, the team

lost junior forward Tracey Kenyon for the year after doctors advised

her to quit playing due to multiple injuries sustained throughout her

career. Next, sophomore forward Nichole Hardaway was deemed

academically ineligible three games ago and will miss the season. All

three players were slated to start at the beginning of the year.

The team''s starting tandem of guards, St. Clair (38.9) and

Rodriguez (39.1), both average an unbelievable amount of minutes per

game. Even with eight players on the roster, Sacramento State has

used a core of six players for most games. Junior center April Ranney

has played in just seven games and junior guard Shannon Whent, who

began the season as the team manager, has played in two games.

STREAKS FALL

Over the last two weeks, the Hornets have rid themselves of

two dubious streaks. First, on Jan. 20, the team won at UC Riverside,

snapping a 22-game losing streak on the road spanning parts of three

seasons. Sacramento State''s win over Portland State last week snapped

a nine-game losing streak against Big Sky teams.

Now that those two streaks are out of the way, the Hornets

have one more mark to erase. The team has lost 13-straight Big Sky

games away from home and have not been within eight points in any of

those contests.

RODRIGUEZ AT THE POINT

Sophomore point guard Rexanne Rodriguez matched her career

high in assists with 10 against Portland State last Saturday. Through

the first 11 games of the season, the Grass Valley, Calif., native

had 40 assists and 50 turnovers. In the five games since, she has 40

assists and 16 turnovers. For the season, Rodriguez is now averaging

5.00 assists per game, third best in the Big Sky, and has an

assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.21, eighth best in the conference.

HORNET NOTABLES

Sacramento State''s 19-point victory over Portland State matched the

team''s second largest win over a Big Sky opponent since joining the

conference before the 1996-97 season...senior Torilynn Boyd is sixth

in the Big Sky with 7.3 rebounds per game. As a junior during the

1998-99 season before taking a redshirt last year, Boyd finished

third in the conference with 8.0 per game...among Big Sky leaders,

junior Sephora Scoubes ranks ninth in free throw percentage (.771,

54-70), 10th in scoring (12.8 points per game) and tied for 10th in

blocked shots (0.80 per game)...Coach Jenkins has now stuck with the

same starting lineup (Scoubes, Boyd, Tallman, St. Clair, Rodriguez)

over the past five games after using eight different combinations

during the team''s first 11 games...St. Clair has played all 40

minutes in nine of the last 10 games...the Hornets are 0-11 when tied

or trailing at the half...Sacramento State is second in the Big Sky

in three-point field goal percentage (.350, 69-197).