Junior Tyeisha Brown tallied a team-high 12 points, eight rebounds, five assists and four steals but the Hornets could not overcome an early halftime deficit as the Sacramento State women’s basketball team fell to Idaho State, 65-53, in a Big Sky Conference game Thursday evening at the Hornets Nest.The Hornets dropped to 1-15 overall and 1-2 in the Big Sky while the Bengals improved to 10-5, 2-1.
Brown, who finished 5-of-12 from the floor, led the Hornets in scoring for the sixth time while also recording her seventh double-digit scoring effort of the season. Brown has also led the team in rebounding for the fourth time in the last five game. The native of Vallejo, Calif., currently leads the squad with 139 points (8.7 ppg) and 37 steals while also ranking second on the squad with 60 rebounds. Freshman Stephanie Cherry also added seven points off the bench for the Hornets.
Molly Hays led Idaho State with 23 points on 9-of-13 shooting while also leading the squad with two steals. Annie Anderson also added 19 points on 7-of-9 shooting along with a game-high nine rebounds.
As a team, the Hornets finished 21-of-53 (.396) from the floor compared to Idaho State’s 23-for-50 (.460) performance. The Bengals ended the Hornets’ consecutive game streak of holding their opponents below .400 percent from the field. The Hornets outrebounded the Bengals by a margin of 33-to-30. Idaho State did win at the free-throw line by converting 16-of-22 (.727) compared to 7-of-12 (.583) by the Hornets. Sacramento State also held ISU below its average of 8.9 three-point field goals per game by holding the Bengals to only 3-of-17 shooting from behind the arc.
In the first half, Idaho State jumped out to an early 4-0 lead before Sacramento State answered with a 5-0 run to make it 5-4 at the 16:57 mark. The Bengals outscored the Hornets, 19-7, during the next 5:28 to lead 23-13 with 11:10 remaining. ISU cruised the rest of the way to take its largest lead of the half, 45-25, going into the break. The Bengals shot 54.8 percent (17-31) from the floor while Hays recorded a game-high 17 points for ISU.
In the second half, Sacramento State outscored ISU, 14-8, to cut the lead to 53-41 at the 10:13 mark. The Hornets used a 7-3 run to make it a 56-48 contest with 6:48 remaining, before the Bengals answered with a 5-0 run to lead, 61-48, at the 4:35 mark. Sacramento State made its final push with a 5-0 run to trail, 61-53, but ISU scored the final four points of the contest.
Sacramento State will next host Weber State on Saturday, Jan. 24, at 7:05 p.m. at the Hornets Nest.
