Sacramento State is now 1-13 on the year and 1-0 in the Big Sky while Portland State fell to 3-11, 0-1.

Brown led all scorers after finishing 10-of-17 from the floor including a 3-for-4 effort from the free-throw line. For Brown a native of Vallejo, Calif., it was her sixth double-digit scoring effort of the season. She also added a season-best eight rebounds, four steals while also tying a career-high with two blocked shots. Sophomores Sarah Craig (nine points) and Katelyn Ciampi (eight points), and senior Diane Peterson (eight points) also contributed to the Hornets’ scoring effort. Freshman Jessica Voisard added a game-high 10 rebounds.

Heidi Stuart and Heather Arns each finished with 10 points to lead the Vikings. Jenna Washington grabbed a team-high seven rebounds and Ashley Brown tallied a contest-high seven assists to also contribute.

In the first half, Sacramento State and Portland State went through two lead changes and four ties before the Vikings led by six (14-8) at the 11:49 mark. The Hornets tied the game for a fifth time (14-14) before using a 12-2 run to secure their largest lead of the half (26-16) with 5:56 remaining. The Vikings answered with a quick 4-0 run in the final 2:34 to make it a 31-25 contest at the half. Sacramento State shot 53.8 percent (14-for-26) from the floor while holding the Vikings to 42.3 percent (11-of-26).

In the second half, Sacramento State slowly pushed its lead to a contest-high 12 points (46-34) with 10:59 remaining. Portland State cut the margin to 47-41 at the 5:58 mark before the Hornets pushed the lead back to 53-41(3:49) with a 6-0 run. The Vikings made a final push with 9-0 run to make it 53-50 with 1:30 remaining but the Hornets converted three free throws to put the contest away.

As a team, the Hornets shot 23-for-48 (.479) from the field and 7-of-14 (.500) from the free-throw line. Portland State finished 22-of-55 (.444) including a 4-for-9 mark from the charity stripe. Sacramento State out-rebounded Portland State by a 33-31 margin.

The Hornets’ win ended a 14-game losing streak which included a 75-64 loss to Northern Arizona in the final game of the 2003 season. The squad’s last two Big Sky wins have also occurred on the road. Last season, Sacramento State ended a 27-game road losing streak and a 35-game losing streak against Big Sky Conference competition with a 62-60 win at Montana State on March 1, 2003.

Sacramento State will next travel to Reese Court to face Eastern Washington on Saturday, Jan. 17, at 7:05 p.m. The Hornets have not won back-to-back Big Sky Conference games since the 1999-00 season.

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