WOMEN'S BASKETBALL SEES STREAK ENDED BY MONTANA STATE, 84-73

2/18/2010

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - The Montana State Bobcats held the Sacramento State women's basketball team to just 27 second half points in route to defeating the Hornets by a score of 84-73 to end Sacramento State's seven game winning streak.

With the loss the Hornets fall to 11-13 overall, 6-5 inside of Big Sky Conference play, while the Bobcats improve to 14-12, 7-6 in the Big Sky.

The first half saw the two teams battle back-and-forth to the tune of four ties and 11 lead changes. Sacramento State held its largest lead of the half early, a 19-13 advantage with 13:52 following a three-pointer by senior Erika Edwards (Redmond, Wash.). Montana State would come back to take a five point lead, 34-29, with 6:11 left on a three-pointer by Lyndi Seidensticker, before the Hornets would fight back to hold a one point halftime edge, 46-45.

Both teams show the ball well in the first half, as Montana State was 19-of-33 from the field (57.6 percent), 6-of-11 from beyond the three-point arc (54.5 percent) and 1-of-1 from the foul line. In comparison, the Hornets were 19-of-39 field (48.7 percent), 4-of-10 from beyond the three-point arc (40.0 percent), and 4-of-9 from the free throw line (44.4 percent). Hornet senior Charday Hunt (Portland, Ore.) led all scorers at the half with 18 points, which came on 8-of-13 shooting from the field and 2-of-4 shooting from the free-throw line. Seidensticker paced the Bobcats off the bench, scoring 11 points including a 3-of-3 performance from three-point territory.

Montana State came out of the gates scoring the first six points of the halftime to retake their largest lead of the first half at 51-46 with 18:25 remaining in regulation. The lead would grow to seven points, 62-55 with 13:03 to go before the Hornets tied it with an 8-1 run, which included a fast break three-pointer by Hunt, a deep three from Edwards and a layup by senior Ashley Garcia (Antioch, Calif.) which accounted for her lone points of the evening.

Sacramento State would end up taking a 71-67 lead with 7:38 remaining on a layup by freshman Mallorie Franco (Fortuna, Calif.), but Montana State would then go on a run to put the game away. Over the last 7:26, the Bobcats would outscore the Hornets 17-2, with the lone Hornet field goal coming with 3:31 remaining, giving Montana State an 84-73 victory. Over the 7:26 stretch of play, Sacramento State was 1-of-14 from the field and committed five turnovers, while the Bobcats were 6-of-8 from the field, 1-of-2 from three, and 4-of-9 from the foul line.

Hunt led all scorers with 26 points, beforing fouling out 2:10 remaining in the contest. The senior was 11-of-23 from the field, 1-of-5 from beyond the three-point arc and 3-of-6 from the foul line. Junior Emily Christensen (El Dorado Hills, Calif.) chipped in 14 points and six rebounds, while Edwards finished with 12 points and a game-high 11 rebounds, marking her third double-double in the last four games. Freshman Kylie Kuhns (Salem, Ore.) scored nine points and grabbed nine rebounds in 23 minutes off the Hornet bench.

Montana State finished the contest shooting 53.1 percent from the field (34-of-64) and knocked down eight three-pointers. Four Bobcats broke double-figures, led by Erica Perry who scored 18 points and dished out seven assists. Sarah Strand collected 17 points and eight rebounds, while Katie Bussey contributed 16. Seidensticker finished with 14 points, including four three-pointers, off the Bobcat bench.

The Bobcats outrebounded the Hornets 47-42, although the Hornets outrebounded them on the offensive end 18-9. Sacramento State did not do much with their second chances however, posting just 12 second chance points. The Hornets did score 23 points off of 22 Montana State turnovers, which included three steals for Garcia. The Hornets played just seven players for the first time this season.

Sacramento State will look to rebound on Saturday, Feb. 20 as they host the Montana Lady Griz. Tipoff is scheduled for 1:05 p.m. from the Hornets Nest, with the Hornets' three seniors (Erika Edwards, Charday Hunt and Ashley Garcia) being recognized prior to the start of the contest.