Sacramento State will begin the week against Montana (21-4, 13-0) on Thursday, Feb. 26, at 7:05 p.m. The Hornets will complete the weekend vs. Montana State on Saturday, Feb. 28, at 7:05 p.m. The team will honor four players (Cindy Besio, Sydney Gatson, Danielle Iceman and Diane Peterson) for Senior Night, prior to the start of Saturday’s game.

Sacramento State’s contest against Montana on Thursday and Montana State on Saturday will be broadcast live on www.hornetsports.com by clicking on the “Live Audio” link and scrolling down to the women’s basketball schedule.

In the Hornets’ last meeting against the Lady Griz, senior Sydney Gatson tallied a season-high 14 points while freshman Jessica Voisard grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds but Montana shot 54.4 percent from the field as the Lady Griz defeated Sacramento State, 76-50, at Dahlberg Arena on Jan. 31. Julie Deming led Montana with a game-high 23 points after going 9-of-12 from the field.

In the last contest against the Bobcats, freshman Stephanie Cherry tallied a career-high 13 points but Montana State shot 49.1 percent from the field (27-for-55) as the Bobcats defeated Sacramento State, 71-39, at Worthington Arena on Jan. 29. Katie Burrows led the Bobcats with a game-high 15 points after going 5-of-7 from the field and 5-of-5 from the charity stripe. She also finished with a contest-high 10 rebounds, three assists and four steals.

A LOOK AT THE LATEST ACTION

On Feb. 19, sophomore Katelyn Ciampi finished with a team-high 11 points while junior Tyeisha Brown added 10 as Sacramento State fell to Weber State, 78-47, at the Dee Events Center.

Ciampi led the Hornets in scoring for the fifth time this season after shooting 5-of-9 from the floor and 1-for-1 from the free-throw line. The native of Martinez, Calif., also led the squad with seven rebounds and three assists. Ciampi is second behind Brown (seven) for the team lead in high-point games.

Brown finished 4-of-10 from the field including a 2-for-3 effort from behind the three-point line. Senior Danielle Iceman contributed nine points to the Hornet offense while junior Kristine Knowlton added a team-high two blocked shots and two steals.

As a team, the Hornets finished 18-of-52 (.346) from the floor compared to Weber State’s 21-of-52 (.404) performance. The Hornets were outrebounded by the Wildcats 41-to-31. WSU also dominated the free throw line by converting 25-of-37 (.676) compared to 7-of-9 (.778) by the Hornets.

On Feb. 21, Brown tallied a team-high 11 points but the Hornets could not overcome a second-half run by the Bengals as Sacramento State fell to Idaho State, 78-48, at Reed Gym.

Brown, who finished 5-of-12 from the floor, led the Hornets in scoring for the seventh time while also recording her 10th double-digit scoring effort of the season. Brown has now scored in double figures twice against two teams in the Big Sky (Idaho State, Weber State). The native of Vallejo, Calif., currently leads the squad with 204 points (8.5 ppg) and 48 steals.

As a team, the Hornets finished 18-of-65 (.277) from the floor while Idaho State shot 29-for-70 (.414). The Bengals outrebounded the Hornets (49-42) while also converting 11-of-17 (.647) free throws compared to Sacramento State’s 10-of-15 (.667) effort.

A LOOK AT THIS WEEK''S OPPONENTS

Montana is 21-4 overall and 10-0 in the Big Sky after defeating Montana State (Feb. 20) at home last week.

Against Montana State, Montana had four players score in double figures while also shooting 51.5 percent from the floor (including a 7-of-12 effort from behind the arc) en route to an 88-52 win over the Bobcats at Worthington Arena. Montana outrebounded MSU (50-33) while also holding the Bobcats to 32.8 percent shooting (21-64).

Katie Burrows led the Lady Griz with 16 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the floor (4-of-4 from the three-point line). Juliann Keller (14 points, 12 rebounds), Crystal Baird (14) and Jody McLeod (11) rounded out UM’s players with at least 10 points.

Montana State is 10-13 overall and 2-8 in the Big Sky after falling to Montana on Feb. 20.

Against Montana, Sheila Hutchison tallied a game-high 17 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the floor and 4-of-8 conversions from behind the arc. Katie Burrows (12 points, 10 rebounds), and Whitney Connolly (10) also finished in double figures for the Bobcats.

HEAD COACH DAN MUSCATELL

Dan Muscatell became the sixth Sacramento State women’s basketball head coach in the program’s 38-year history, after spending the past four seasons as an assistant at Oregon (1999-03). He earned his first win with the Hornets on Jan. 14 with a 56-50 win at Portland State.

While at Oregon, Muscatell was involved in all aspects of the program, including the coordination of recruiting efforts and the coaching of offense and defense. He also worked with both the perimeter and post players.

The Everett, Wash., native was responsible for bringing in one of the nation’s top recruiting classes in 2001, a six-member class that was ranked 17th in the nation by All-Star Girls Report. Muscatell also coached or recruited current WNBA players Edneisha Curry (Phoenix Mercury), Jenny Mowe (L.A. Sparks), Angelina Wolvert (Cleveland Rockers) and Shaquala Williams (L.A. Sparks).

During his four years at Oregon, the Ducks were ranked in the top 25 during three of those seasons, including two top-10 finishes in 2000 and 2001. The program also combined to post a record of 74-49 while capturing two NCAA Tournament berths (2000 and 2001), a National Invitational Tournament (NIT) title (2002) and a Pac-10 crown (2000).

INURIES BEGINNING TO TAKE THEIR TOLL

Before their game against Eastern Washington on Feb. 12, the Hornets had to deal with the loss of senior Sydney Gatson to a knee injury. After its game against the Eagles, Sacramento State has had more injuries to deal with.

Freshman Jessica Voisard suffered her second concussion of the year in the Hornets’ game against EWU. The Mission Viejo, Calif., native missed two games earlier in the conference season after being diagnosed with a concussion during a collision at Eastern Washington on Jan. 17. Voisard will most likely sit out the remainder of the season as a precautionary measure. The forward began to make an impact in the Big Sky rankings as the seventh-best rebounder in all games (6.6 rpg) as well as placing second in blocks (1.83 bpg) and tied for fourth (7.8 rpg) in rebounding during conference play.

Junior Alyson Thurman sat out the final nine minutes of the EWU game with an injured left shoulder after battling for a rebound. She did, however, return to start in the Portland State game and recorded a season-high 12 points.

FOUR HORNETS PLAY THEIR FINAL HOME GAMES

Seniors Cindy Besio, Sydney Gatson, Danielle Iceman and Diane Peterson will play in the final home games of their Hornet career on Saturday, Feb. 28, against Montana State

Besio, a native of Cloverdale, Calif., joined the Hornets this season as a walk-on after competing for two years at the College of Marin. The point guard has appeared in four games this season and recorded the first assist of her Hornet career against Eastern Washington on Feb. 12.

Gatson, a native of Suisun, Calif., suffered an injury to her right knee against NAU on Feb. 7 and has not returned to the floor since. A five-year member of the program, Gatson ranks among the top 15 in several Hornet career categories. She ranks 10th in assists (201), three-pointers made (33), three-pointers attempted (121) and free-throws attempted (247) and 11th in free-throws made (161). Gatson also registered 636 points, 221 field goals, 107 steals, and 315 rebounds.

Iceman, a native of Redding, Calif., ranks seventh in program history with 207 career free-throws made and eighth in career free-throws attempted (300). A three-year member of the program, Iceman has been one of the Hornets’ top low-post threats since transferring from Shasta Junior College. She led the squad in scoring (10.6 ppg) as a sophomore and finished second as a junior (9.5 ppg).

Peterson, a native of San Rafael, Calif., ranks seventh in program history with 68 career makes and 280 career attempts from behind the three-point line. A transfer from College of Marin, Peterson also set the program record in Big Sky play and tied the overall mark with 12 assists against Idaho State on Feb. 22, 2003. In her first season with the program, the shooting guard placed second in attempts (171) and seventh in made baskets (43) from behind the arc in 2003-03.

HORNETS IN THE BIG SKY RANKINGS

Despite only one win thus far, the Sacramento State women’s basketball team still ranks among the conference’s leaders in several team and individual categories.

As a team, the Hornets are third in steals (8.75 spg), fifth in blocked shots (3.54 bpg) and sixth in scoring defense (67.6 ppg).

Individually, junior Kristine Knowlton is third in the Big Sky with an average of 1.38 blocked shots per-game. Junior Tyeisha Brown ranks fifth in the conference with an average of 2.00 steals per-game. Freshman Jessica Voisard still currently ranks seventh in the conference with an average of 6.6 rebounds per-game.

HORNET NOTABLES

After sitting on the bench for the entire season, senior Cindy Besio has appeared in each of the Hornets’ past four games...with a team-high eight rebounds against Idaho State on Feb. 19, sophomore Katelyn Ciampi increased her team-high rebound total to four on the season. The Martinez, Calif., native has led the squad in rebounding in each of the past two games. Ciampi also tallied a career-best three blocked shots against Idaho State...freshman Stephanie Cherry leads the team with an 80.6 free-throw percentage (25-31)...Sacramento State will look to end an 18-game home losing streak and a 24-game home losing streak against Big Sky opponents this week...the Hornets have allowed opponents to shoot over 40.0 percent from the floor in six of their last seven games after holdings teams under that mark in seven of eight games from 12/20-1/24...despite leading the team with 25 three pointers, senior Diane Peterson has led Sacramento State in assists in a team-high nine games this season. She currently ranks second on the squad with 41 assists on the year...the Hornets have allowed opponents to score over 75 points in only seven games this season. Two of those games occurred last week.