WOMEN'S BASKETBALL HOSTS PINK ZONE PROMOTION AND SENIOR DAY THIS WEEKEND
2/17/2010
Riding a seven-game winning streak, the Sacramento State women’s basketball team hosts the Montana State Bobcats and the Montana Lady Griz in a pair of crucial Big Sky Conference matchups at the Hornets Nest.
Thursday’s matchup against Montana State will be part of the WBCA’s Pink Zone initiative, with the teams wearing pink to promote breast cancer awareness. The Bobcats defeated the Hornets 95-86 in Bozeman earlier this season, with five Montana State players reaching double-figures.
The Lady Griz come to town on Saturday on what will be the final regular season home game for the Hornets’ three seniors, Ashley Garcia, Erika Edwards and Charday Hunt. The Lady Griz defeated the Hornets 77-61 in Missoula this season, improving their all-time record against the Hornets to 27-0.
Sacramento State has already ended one long streak at home this season, defeating Idaho State for the first time in 28 tries, 80-71, on Jan. 30.
LAST GAME: SACRAMENTO STATE 95, PACIFIC 81
All five starters scored in double-figures as the Sacramento State women’s basketball team posted its seventh straight victory, a 95-81 decision over Pacific on Sat., Feb. 13 at the Hornets Nest.
Both teams struggled offensively out of the gate, with the Hornets taking a 9-8 lead with 12:23 remaining in the half on a fast break layup by freshman Kylie Kuhns (Salem, Ore.). Sacramento State would never trail the rest of the way. Leading 33-26 with 2:45 remaining, the Hornets closed out the half on a 12-4 run to take a 45-30 lead at the break.
In the first half both teams shot under 36 percent from the field, but the Hornets were 8-of-19 (42.1 percent) from behind the three-point arc and 7-of-8 (87.5 percent) from the foul line.
The Hornets shot out of halftime to a 10-2 run over the opening 1:41 to take their largest lead of the game, 23 points, at 55-32. With the lead remaining 23 at 60-37 with 16:10 to go, Pacific went on a 23-3 run over the next 3:51 to pull to within three points at 63-60 with 12:19 remaining. During the run, the Tigers got four three-pointers from freshman guard Erica McKenzie. Senior Ashley Garcia (Antioch, Calif.) ended the run with a jumper from the corner, but the Tigers answered back with a layup, making the score 65-62 with 10:08 remaining.
Sacramento State then put away the Tigers for good, going on a 15-2 run over the next 2:48 to take a 16 point lead at 80-64 with 7:20 remaining. During the stretch, the Hornets got four points apiece from senior Charday Hunt (Portland, Ore.) and junior Emily Christensen (El Dorado Hills, Calif.), a three-pointer from senior Erika Edwards (Redmond, Wash.), and two points apiece from junior Tika Koshiyama-Diaz (San Jose, Calif.) and freshman Mallorie Franco (Fortuna, Calif.). The lead grew to 19 points at 90-71 with 2:45 remaining, before ending 95-81 in favor of the Hornets.
The 95 points were a season-high for Sacramento State, who were led by Hunt’s 20 points. Garcia finished with a career-high 19 points, which included a career-best three three-pointers. Koshiyama-Diaz scored 18 points, making her first four attempts from three-point distance, and tied her career-high with nine assists. Christensen added 13 points and seven assists, while Edwards closed out the five starters in double-figures with her third double-double of the season, scoring 12 points and adding 10 rebounds. Kuhns posted a near double-double off the Hornet bench, scoring nine points and grabbing 13 rebounds.
Sacramento State finished 31-of-77 from the field (40.3 percent), 13-of-32 from beyond the three-point arc (40.6 percent) and 20-of-25 from the foul line (80.0 percent).
“I thought we did a good job of maintaining our composure in that run that they made in the second half. Not giving up the lead shows some character and growth for our team,” head coach Jamie Craighead said following the win. “In the second half we came up with some big rebounds that we needed. It seems like this team has found a way to play together and come up with big plays when they need them.”
Pacific out shot the Hornets for the game, making 34-of-80 from the field (42.5 percent), while also knocking down 9-of-29 from beyond the three-point arc. The difference, however, came at the foul line, where Pacific made just 4-of-8, accounting for a 16 point difference between the two clubs at the foul line.
McKenzie led all scorers with 28 points to lead Pacific, knocking down six three-points. Christina Thompson, the Tigers leading scorer on the season, scored 17 points and grabbed nine rebounds off the bench, while Eliza Dy added 10 points and nine assists.
1,000 POINTS IN THREE SEASONS? NO PROBLEM
Senior Charday Hunt scored her 1,000th career point on a free throw with 2:55 remaining in the Hornets 77-66 victory over Northern Arizona on 1/24. She now has 1,094 career points, good for sixth place on the team’s all-time charts.
SCORING AT ALL COSTS
Head coach Jamie Craighead has implemented her full court, up-tempo offense, and it shows on the offensive side of the scoreboard, leading the Big Sky with a 78.1 ppg scoring average, which ranks 10th nationally. The Hornets are ranked 9th in the country in three-pointers made per game, knocking down 8.3 per game from beyond 19 feet 9 inches. The team also ranks 8th in the country in assists, averaging 17.4 per contest. The team ranks 13th in the country, averaging 11.5 steals per game.
LADY VOLS AND HORNETS MORE SIMILAR THAN YOU THINK?
The Pat Summitt led Tennessee Lady Vols have been one of the top women’s basketball programs in the nation since the sport came into the forefront in the collegiate ranks in the 1970’s. They are currently riding a seven-game winning streak, the same mark as the Sacramento State Hornets, which ranks as the 17th longest active streak nationally.
EDWARDS AND HUNT MARCH UP MULTIPLE CHARTS
Senior Erika Edwards has moved up to third in the school’s all-time three-pointers made list, as her 52 three’s this season give her 143 for her career. She ranks third in career rebounds, grabbing 721 during her four year career. Edwards also ranks third in school history in free throw percentage (80.4 percent). She needs just 29 rebounds to become the third ever Hornet to score 750 points and grab 750 rebounds in their career. She is already the team’s all-time leader in fouls, committing 336 over her four year career.
Senior Charday Hunt currently ranks in ten of the team’s all-time top ten lists. Three of the categories in which Hunt has entered the school’s all-time ranks occur at the free throw line. The Portland native ranks fourth in school history in free throw percentage (80.2 percent), fifth in free throws made (312) and fifth in free throws attempted (389). Hunt also ranks in the top 10 in three-point field goal percentage (8th, 35.3 percent), three-pointers made (5th, 108), points (6th, 1,094), scoring average (8th, 13.5), three-pointers attempted (8th, 306), field goals attempted (8th, 903), and field goals made (T-9th, 339).
INJURY REPORT
Junior Jasmine Cannady suffered an achilles injury that will force her to miss the remainder of the 2000-10 season. She had successful surgery on Jan. 28.
Junior Sami Field-Polisso will miss the entire 2009-10 season after suffering a knee injury that required surgery, which took place successfully on Nov. 24.
Freshman Alex White had successful foot surgery on Jan. 15. She is out for the season.
HORNETS ON THE INTERNET AIRWAVES
Media Relations Director Brian Berger will call all 13 home games on www.hornetsports.com, while Assistant Media Relations Director J.D. Fox will have the call for 11 road contests this season.
FOUR NEWCOMERS SIGNED FOR 2010-11 SEASON
Sacramento State head women’s basketball coach Jamie Craighead announced the signing of four student-athletes for the 2010-2011 season.
Guards Sadie Clements (Springville HS, Springville, Utah), Alle Moreno (St. Mary’s HS, Lodi, Calif.), and Se’nyce Parrish (Clovis West HS, Clovis, Calif.) will join post player Cydnie Mixon (Deer Valley HS, Antioch, Calif.) as newcomers to the Hornets basketball program next season.
Clements, a 5-foot-10 guard who can also play the three, averaged over 10 points per game last season for the Springville High School Red Devils and head coach Nancy Warner in Springville, Utah. She led her team to a 4A Region 7 championship, and a runner-up finish in the state 4A title game. Clements has been ranked as high as 98 on the ESPN HoopGurlz guard rankings, and is currently ranked 112 in the country. She has played AAU ball for the Utah Swoosh and head coach Adam Barrett.
Moreno is a 5-foot-4 native of Lodi, Calif., who plays for ESPN’s preseason No. 1 team in the nation, the St. Mary’s Rams of Stockton. She led her team from the point guard position to both the 2008-09 NorCal and California State Championships, while averaging 12.2 points, 4.2 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 3.0 steals per contest for head coach Tom Gonsalves. In last season’s state title game against Inglewood, Moreno scored 15 points, knocked down four three-pointers and took two key charges. Entering her senior season, Moreno has made 182 career three-pointers, and is ranked in the top 150 in the country for guards by ESPN HoopGurlz.
Parrish is a 5-foot-10 guard from Clovis West High School in Clovis, Calif., where she scored 7.5 points and dished out 2.3 assists per game as a junior for head coach Craig Campbell. Parrish led her team to a 27-2 record and the CIF Central Section Division I championship as a junior. She is also ranked in the top 150 for guards by ESPN HoopGurlz. Along with Moreno and Mixon, Parrish competed at the AAU level this past season for the Cal Stars Elite team coached by Kelly Sopak.
Mixon is post player from Antioch’s Deer Valley High School, where she has been a second team all-Bay Valley League selection the past two seasons for coach Lindsay Wisely. She averaged 7.8 points and 5.6 rebounds per game as a junior, leading the Wolverines to a 23-8 overall record and a perfect 15-0 mark in league play. Mixon is the daughter of Ricky Mixon, a standout for Cal State Fullerton in the early 80’s who was drafted in 1983 by the Los Angeles Lakers.
