BOYER'S LAYUP WITH 12 SECONDS REMAINING LIFTS WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TO 64-62 TRIUMPH OVER NORTHERN COLORADO

2/1/2008

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Junior Atty Boyer’s layup with 12 seconds remaining propelled Sacramento State to a 64-62 victory over Northern Colorado on Thursday, January 31 at the Hornets Nest.

With the win, the Hornet’s improve to 5-15 overall, 3-5 in the Big Sky Conference, while the Bears fall to 10-10 overall, 4-3 in the Big Sky.

Sacramento State started out of the gates hot, scoring 12 of the games first 14 points to take a 12-2 lead with 15:00 remaining in the half. A Sacramento native, Boyer, scored six points during the run, while fellow Sacramentan Jasmine Cannady, a freshman guard, added four. Northern Colorado responded in short order, going on an 11-2 run to cut the deficit to just one point at 14-13 with 9:22 to go.

The tone of the game changed with 5:46 to go in the half, with the Hornets holding on to a 22-19 lead. Freshman Sami Field-Polisso (Mountain View, Calif.) missed a contested layup and caught an inadvertent elbow on her attempt to rebound her own miss. Field-Polisso fell to the ground, having acquired a gash over her eye, stopping play for several minutes.

Field-Polisso was ok, as she returned with 14 seconds remaining in the half, after receiving medical attention that included several sterry strips to close up the gash and stop the bleeding, but Northern Colorado would go on a 12-6 run to take a three point lead in the 5:32 of action Field-Polisso missed. The Hornets would add a late free throw to cut, which cut Northern Colorado’s halftime advantage down to two at 31-29.

Boyer led the Hornets at the half with 12 points and 8 rebounds, while Northern Colorado was led by center Danielle Hagen, who also scored 12 points, but added nine first half boards.

Coming out of the locker room, the team’s jostled back and forth, with the Hornets retaking the lead with 16:09 remaining at 37-35, only to see the Bears stay within four points over the next 7:15 before taking the lead on a three-pointer by Chelsie Luhring with 8:54 left at 47-45.

The game would be tied three times over the next 3:11, before the Bears would go on an 11-6 run, holding a five point lead with 2:44 to play after a layup by Courtney Stoermer at 62-57.

Northern Colorado would not score again, as Field-Polisso knocked down a 23-footer to cut the margin to 2 with 2:35 remaining, before Boyer tied the score at 62-62 with a driving layup with 1:10 remaining.

After a missed field goal on the Bear side of the floor, and a missed front end of a one-and-one by the Hornets, Northern Colorado took possession with 38 seconds remaining, but threw the ball away on a post entry with 28 seconds left on the clock. Field-Polisso burned the ball up the floor before calling a timeout, where the Hornets set up what was to be the game-winning play. The Hornets got the ball to their floor general, Field-Polisso, who declined a screen from Boyer and dribbled to just inside the arc, where she found Boyer cutting toward the basket. Boyer’s layup with 12 seconds remaining gave the Hornets a 64-62 lead. Following a timeout, Northern Colorado attempted to drive the length of the floor, but Jamie Schroeder was stripped at the top of the key by freshman Emily Christensen (El Dorado Hills, Calif.), her only steal of the game, to seal the victory on the Hornet side of the ledger.

“We really got up and challenged them defensively, especially in the last five minutes of the game,” head coach Dan Muscatell said following the win. “I was really proud of our fight during the entire game, but we really turned the temperature up during those final five minutes.”

Boyer led the Hornet charge with 24 points and 12 rebounds, which marked her third career double-double. Boyer was 10-of-16 from the field, and 4-of-5 from the foul stripe in a team-high 37 minutes. Field-Polisso scored 11 points, and added 7 assists, while sophomore Charday Hunt (Oregon City, Ore.) added 10 points. After posting her first career double-double last Saturday, Christensen finished with eight points and seven rebounds, scoring all four of her field goals in the second half of play.

Hagen led the Bears with 25 points and 13 rebounds, marking her fourth double-double of the season. Luhring added 15 points and eight rebounds, while Stoermer scored 10 points, playing all 40 minutes. Schroeder scored eight points and seven rebounds, but had to sit down for a good portion of the second half after picking up her fourth foul with 9:15 remaining in the game.

The Hornets shot 47.2 percent from the field in the contest (25-of-53), which marked their second best shooting percentage as a team on the season. Northern Colorado shot 50 percent from the field (27-of-54), but connected on just 2-of-13 from behind the three-point arc (15.4 percent), and 6-of-11 from the foul line (54.5 percent).

Sacramento State returns to action next Thursday, February 7, as they begin a two-game road trip against Eastern Washington. Tipoff against the Eagles is set for 7:05 p.m.