Sophomore Sarah Craig tallied a team-high 11 points while junior Samania Black grabbed a career-high nine rebounds to help a late Hornet rally but the Sacramento State women’s basketball team fell in overtime to Texas-Pan American, 49-47, Wednesday evening at the Hornets Nest. The game marked the end of non-conference play for the Hornets.Sacramento State dropped to 0-13 on the year while Texas-Pan American improved to 7-7.
Craig led the Hornets in scoring for the second time this season after shooting 3-of-7 from the floor, including a 2-for-2 effort from the three-point line, and 3-for-4 from the free-throw line. The native of Calgary, Alberta, tallied a season-best 19 points on Dec. 6 against UTPA earlier this season at the Commerce Bank Wildcat Classic in Manhattan, Kan.
Black, a native of Inglewood, Calif., eclipsed her previous high in rebounds (4) with her nine rebound effort. She also tallied a game-high three steals in the contest. Junior Tyeisha Brown ended her consecutive double-figure scoring streak at two but recorded the Hornets’ first four points in the overtime period. The Vallejo, Calif., native also blocked a career-best two shots. Junior Kristine Knowlton also contributed season highs in points (8), rebounds (6) and assists (3) for the Hornets.
Ashley Roberts led UTPA with 18 points on 7-of-22 shooting including a 3-for-12 performance from behind the arc. Molly Schamel added a contest-high 12 rebounds and Amanda Carlow dished out a game-high six assists for the Lady Broncos.
As a team, the Hornets finished 17-of-52 (.327) from the floor compared to UTPA’s 16-for-68 (.235) performance. The Hornets also out-rebounded the Lady Broncos by a margin of 49-to-47. UTPA did win at the free-throw line by converting 11-of-18 (.611) compared to 10-of-18 (.556) by the Hornets. It marked the third-consecutive contest 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 advantage at the 17:36 mark before UTPA captured its first lead (6-4) with 14:51 remaining. The Lady Broncos led by as many as nine (17-8) at the 3:36 mark before leaving the floor with a 22-15 halftime advantage. Both teams shot poorly from the floor as Sacramento State finished 9-of-34 (.265) while the Lady Broncos shot 7-for-24 (.292).
In the second half, UTPA increased their lead to 25-15 at the 17:30 mark before the Hornets used an 11-0 run to take a 26-25 lead with 13:59 remaining. After two lead changes and four ties, Craig nailed a three-point shot with 1:22 remaining to eventuallysend the contest into overtime (41-41).
In the extra frame, Sacramento State held a 47-44 advantage (2:45) until Schamel made two free-throws and scored on a lay-up to give the Lady Broncos the lead for good at 48-47 with 34 seconds remaining. Mary DeCock made one more free-throw before Black’s half-court shot bounced off of the front of the rim to end the game.
Sacramento State will begin Big Sky Conference play on the road next week as the Hornets face Portland State on Thursday, Jan. 15, at 7:05 p.m. in the Stott Center.