Sacramento State had three players score in double figures but fell short on a late rally as the Hornet women’s basketball team dropped a 55-48 contest to Saint Mary’s, Monday evening at the Hornets Nest. The Hornets dropped to 0-12 on the year while the Gaels improved to 8-6.
Junior Tyeisha Brown led the Hornets in scoring for the second consecutive game after finishing 4-of-14 from the field and 6-of-6 from the free throw line. The Vallejo, Calif., native also finished with a career-best seven steals in the contest. The mark places her second in the program’s single-game record book. Brown entered the contest ranked ninth in the Big Sky Conference with 1.82 steals per game. Sophomore Katelyn Ciampi (12) and junior Samania Black (11) also cracked double-figures in scoring to lead the squad. Freshman Jessica Voisard also grabbed a team-high seven rebounds.
Triola Jackson finished with a team-best 11 points on 4-of-10 shooting from the field to lead the Gaels. Eghosa Obaiza also snagged a game-high eight rebounds to help contribute to the squad.
As a team, the Hornets finished 17-of-57 (.298) from the floor compared to a 19-for-50 (.380) performance by Saint Mary’s. The Hornets and Gaels were even in the rebounding department 38-to-38. Sacramento State did win at the free-throw line by converting 14-of-19 (.737) compared to 13-of-18 (.722) by the Hornets. It marked the third consecutive game in which the Hornets have held their opponent to less than 40.0 percent shooting from the field.
In the first half, Sacramento State jumped out to an early 4-0 lead before Saint Mary’s took its first advantage of the contest (6-4) at the 14:12 mark. The Gaels led by an 11-4 margin with 12:43 remaining until the Hornets cut the deficit to 17-14 at the 6:35 mark. SMC answered with a 13-3 run to take a 30-20 halftime lead. Ciampi and Jackson each finished with eight first half points to pace their respective squad.
In the second half, the Hornets outscored the Gaels 20-11 in the first 13 minutes of the period to cut the deficit to 43-40. SMC answered back with a 9-2 run to make it 52-42 with 3:01 remaining. Sacramento State trimmed the lead to 52-48 at the 1:12 mark but the Hornets did not find the basket again as the Gaels ended the contest with three free throws.
Sacramento State will end its non-conference schedule on Wednesday, Jan. 7, at 7:05 p.m. when the Hornets host Texas-Pan American at the Hornets Nest. The game will mark the second meeting between the two schools as the Broncos used a late run to defeat the Hornets 60-50 on Dec. 6 at the Commerce Bank Wildcat Classic in Manhattan, Kan.
