WOMEN'S BASKETBALL DROPS TOUGH DECISION TO IDAHO STATE
1/26/2008
SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The Sacramento State women’s basketball team dropped a 90-73 decision to the Idaho State Bengals in Big Sky Conference play on Sat. Jan 26 at the Hornets Nest.
With the loss, the Hornets fall to 4-15 overall, 2-5 in Big Sky Conference play, while the Bengals improve to 13-6, 5-2 in the Big Sky.
As evidenced by the score, the Hornets and Bengals locked horns in an uptempo game that saw the two school’s combine for 23 makes from beyond the three-point arc. Idaho State started the game making their first four attempts from beyond the arc, taking a 16-13 lead with 14:58 remaining in the first stanza on the final three of that stretch sunk by Jenna Brown. That jumper started a 9-2 run to give the Bengals a seven point lead with 13:08 to play in the half.
In a game of runs, the Hornets struck next, going on a 9-4 run, capped by a layup from junior Becca Reams (Foresthill, Calif.), which pulled Sacramento State to within two at 24-22 with 11 minutes remaining. From there, the Bengals took their turn at a run, outscoring the Hornets 11-0 over the next 3:24 to take, at the time, their largest lead of the game at 35-22 with 7:36 remaining in the half. The Hornets then outscored Idaho State 20-12 over the remainder of the first half, to trail just five at 47-42 entering intermission.
Two players from each team cracked double-digits in the first stanza, with freshman Emily Christensen (El Dorado Hills, Calif.) leading the Hornet charge with 12 points, while junior Atty Boyer (Sacramento, Calif.) added 10. Idaho State was led by Andrea Lightfoot, who scored 17 first half points, including 3-of-5 shooting from downtown, while Natalie Doma scored 16 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the field.
The second half saw the Hornets and Idaho State claw back and forth over the first eight minutes, with Sacramento State cutting the Bengal lead to four on three separate occasions, but could not draw closer. After leading just 64-60 with 14:17 remaining, Idaho State embarked on a 10-0 run over the next 5:03 to put the Hornets away. The lead would grow to as large as 19 with 2:29 to play, before the final margin settled at 90-73 in favor of the visitors from Idaho State.
Idaho State, who shot 58.6 percent from the field (34-of-58) for the contest, was led by Doma, who scored 34 points, one shy of tying her career-high, and a team-high 9 rebounds, which marked just the third time this year she did not record a double-double. Lightfoot finished with 27 points and eight rebounds, while adding five assists in 39 minutes.
The Hornets were paced by Boyer, who finished with 15 points, while Christensen and sophomore Charday Hunt (Oregon City, Ore.) each added 12 apiece. Christensen, whose previous career-high in rebounding stood at four, collected her first career double-double with a game-high 11 rebounds. Reams and freshman Sami Field-Polisso (Mountain View, Calif.) each added nine points, while freshman Jasmine Cannady (Sacramento, Calif.) added seven points. Field-Polisso dished out a career-high seven assists, while turning the ball over just twice in 39 minutes of work.
The game was witnessed by a record crowd of 541 fans on “Pack the House Day” while over 100 kids aged 13 and under stayed after the game for a free clinic by the Hornet coaching staff and players, sponsored by Pepsi.
Sacramento State returns to action on Thu, Jan. 31 as they host Northern Colorado at 7:05 p.m. inside the Hornets Nest.
SACRAMENTO, Calif.
