A LOOK AT THIS WEEK

The Sacramento State women's basketball team looks to snap

its four-game losing streak when it welcomes in Montana State and

Weber State to Hornet Gym this week. The Hornets face the Bobcats for

the second time in seven days on Thursday, Feb. 15, before hosting

the Wildcats on Sat., Feb. 17. Both games begin at 7:05 p.m. Last

week, the Hornets lost on the road to Montana, 93-51, and Montana

State, 64-60, on back-to-back days.

The Hornets enter the week with a 3-17 overall record and a

1-9 mark in the Big Sky. The team is 2-7 at home this year with its

only Big Sky win of the season coming against last-place Portland

State on Jan. 27 in Hornet Gym. Sacramento State sits 3.5 games

behind sixth-place Cal State Northridge in the Big Sky standings with

six regular season games to play. The top six teams in the conference

advance to the Big Sky Tournament, which takes place March 8-10.

Montana State enters Thursday's game with a 15-7 overall

record and an 8-3 mark in the Big Sky. The Bobcats, who have made a

remarkable turnaround from last year's 6-21 squad, currently sit all

alone in second place in the conference standings, 2.5 games back of

first-place Idaho State. MSU and the Hornets split two games last

season with each team winning on its home floor.

.Weber State (10-12, 7-5) hosts Montana on Thursday before

making the trip out to Sacramento for Saturday's contest. The

Wildcats have won three in a row and are currently in fifth place in

the Big Sky. WSU dealt the Hornets their second-worst loss of the

season, 87-45, on Jan. 13. The teams split two games last season, but

Weber State is 8-1 against the Hornets since Sacramento State joined

the conference.

On May 30, 2000, Carolyn Jenkins became the fifth Sacramento

State women's basketball coach in the program's 35-year history.

Jenkins, who now owns an 3-17 career mark as a head coach, came to

the Hornets after serving the past four years (1996-2000) as the top

assistant and recruiting coordinator at Michigan State. Prior to the

that, the 31-year old native of Fresno, Calif., was an assistant at

Stanford from 1991-95.

While at Michigan State, the 1990 graduate of UC Berkeley

spearheaded a recruiting class that was ranked among the top-25 in

the country on three occasions (1996-97 through 1998-99). During her

stint at Stanford, the team reached the Sweet 16 of the NCAA

Tournament all four years including two Final Four appearances

(1991-92 and 1994-95) and a national championship in 1991-92.

In addition to her eight years of coaching at the

intercollegiate level, she was also a floor coach for the U.S. Pan

American team in 1993 and served in the capacity of floor coach and

team scout for the U.S. Senior National Team in 1994.

Montana State is guided by second-year head coach Frank

McCarthy who has posted a 21-28 record with the Bobcats. In 12 years

as a collegiate head coach, McCarthy is 211-118.

Weber State is coached by Carla Taylor, who has posted a

153-196 record in her 13 years with the Wildcats.

'00-01 Big Sky Standings

(as of Feb. 12)

Sacramento State lost in 15th- and 16th-straight Big Sky road

games as the team dropped games to Montana and Montana State on

consecutive days.

The Hornets were outrebounded, 44-28, while shooting just

36.7 percent from the field as Montana cruised to a 93-51 win last

Thursday. The 42-point margin of defeat tied for the seventh-worst

loss in program history.

Montana, which led 42-29 at halftime, used an 18-2 run to

start the second half to put the game out of reach. The Hornets were

led by senior Torilynn Boyd's game-high 19 points while junior

Sephora Scoubes finished with 11 points and a game-high nine rebounds.

Saturday, the Hornets fell, 64-60, despite a game-high 25

points from Michelle St. Clair and a 7-0 run in the final 49 seconds.

MSU jumped out to an early 14-8 lead before the Hornets answered with

a 14-3 run to take their largest lead of the game at 22-17 with 5:05

remaining. The Bobcats ended the first stanza on a 10-2 run to take a

27-24 lead at halftime.

MSU opened the second half on an 8-2 run to take a 35-26 lead

with 16:17 to play. The Bobcats increased their lead to 54-39 with

6:48 remaining. Down 11 points with 49 seconds left, the Hornets

ended the game on a 7-0 run to lose by four points.

Sacramento State shot 40.0 percent from the field and went to

the free throw line just six times. Conversely, Montana State shot

44.8 percent from the floor while finishing 11-of-17 from the charity

stripe. St. Clair, who knocked down five three-pointers, scored 21 of

her 25 points in the second half.

ST. CLAIR CONTINUES TO FILL IT UP

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

now has 64 three-pointers this season. Having already broken the

Sacramento State single-season record for treys, she needs just 12 in

the final six games to break the Big Sky record of 75, set last

season by Weber State's Shelley Olson. On her current pace, St. Clair

would finish the year with 83 three-pointers.

Already the Sacramento State career leader in three-pointers,

St. Clair is on pace to finish her four-year career with 181

three-pointers, two shy of the Big Sky record of 183, held by

Portland State's Karrin Wilson. St. Clair already broke the

conference single-game record with nine three-pointers earlier this

season against UC Riverside.

Currently seventh in the nation and first in the Big Sky in

three-pointers (3.2 per game), the Grass Valley, Calif., leads the

conference with 16.9 points per game and is ranked in the top-10 in

three other Big Sky categories including fourth in free throw

percentage (.826), fifth in three-point percentage (.372) and eighth

in steals (1.85 per game).

St. Clair has led the team in scoring in 13 games this season

and has scored at least 20 points seven times, including a

career-high 36 at UC Riverside. In her three years prior to this

season, St. Clair had never scored more than 18 points in a game and

combined to average 7.8 points per game.

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 11 games into the season. All three players

were slated to start at the beginning of the year.

The team's starting tandem of guards, St. Clair (39.0) and

Rexanne Rodriguez (39.3), 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 eight games and junior guard Shannon

Whent, who was upgraded from team manager to student-athlete on Jan.

4, has played in only three games.

THE BIG THREE

The Hornets have three players among the top 17 scorers in

the Big Sky. Michelle St. Clair (1st, 16.9 ppg), Sephora Scoubes

(9th, 13.1 ppg) and Torilynn Boyd (17th, 10.0 ppg) each average

double figures in points. In all but one game this season, one of the

three has accounted for the team's leading scorer.

TRAILING AT THE HALF

Plain and simple, when trailing at the half, Sacramento State

has a tendency to lose games. Just look at the numbers: This season,

the team is 0-13 when trailing at the half and has lost 15-straight

dating back to last season. Over the last five years, the team is

7-85 when trailing at halftime.

RODRIGUEZ AT THE POINT

Sophomore Rexanne Rodriguez had gone six-straight games with

at least eight assists before recording four against Montana State.

The team's only true point guard, Rodriguez is second in the Big Sky

in assists (5.45 per game) and seventh in assists-to-turnover ratio

(1.47). On her current pace, the Grass Valley, Calif., would finish

the season with 142 assists which would place her third all-time in

Sacramento State single-season history and 10th in conference history.

REBOUNDING DISPARITIES

Similar to last season's struggles, Sacramento State has had

trouble controlling the boards. The team has been outrebounded 16

times this season and is currently last in the Big Sky in rebounding

margin (-9.2). The Hornets are 1-15 when being outrebounded and have

eclipsed the 40-rebound mark just once this season. Sacramento

State's 22 rebounds at Idaho State on Feb. 3 was not only a season

low, it was the lowest output by the team since recording 21 boards

against Stanford on Dec. 19, 1995.

HORNET NOTABLES

The 93 points scored by Montana last Thursday was the most by a

Hornet opponent this season and the 42-point margin of defeat tied

for the seventh-worst loss in program history...the Hornets have lost

16-straight Big Sky contests on the road spanning parts of three

seasons...the team's five three-point attempts against Montana was a

season low...Sacramento State has not shot above .400 from the field

in each of the last six games.