WOMEN'S BASKETBALL SUFFERS ONE-POINT DEFEAT AT HANDS OF UC IRVINE
12/3/2008
SACRAMENTO, Calif. - The Sacramento State women's basketball team fell in heartbreaking fashion to the UC Irvine Anteaters by a score of 54-53 at the Hornets Nest on Wednesday, Dec. 3.
With the loss, the Hornets fall to 1-6, having dropped their last three decisions by a total of six points. The Anteaters improved to 3-2 on the season with the victory.
The Hornet backcourt started strong, as the sophomore Sami Field-Polisso (Mountain View, Calif.) drained a three to start the contest, and sophomore Jasmine Cannady (Sacramento, Calif.) and junior Charday Hunt (Portland, Ore.) each added a basket to give the home team a 7-2 lead. The starting front court then got into the act as senior Atty Boyer (Sacramento, Calif.) and junior Erika Edwards (Redmond, Wash.) each entered the scoring as the Hornets took their largest lead of the game at 16-10 with 13:06 on a three-point play by Edwards.
The Anteaters outscored the Hornets 17-11 over the final 13:06 to tie the score at 27-27 entering intermission.
The teams remained deadlocked at 37-37 with 13:57 remaining in regulation before UC Irvine went on a run, outscoring the Hornets 12-5 over the next 6:49 to take a seven point lead on an inside basket by Kelly Cochran, who led the team with 15 points on the game.
The Hornets would cut the lead to one point with 3:10 remaining on a pair of free throws by Boyer, and again with :48 seconds remaining on a layup by Boyer. The margin remained one at 54-53 with one second remaining, as after Field-Polisso missed a potential game-tying layup, Hunt grabbed the offensive rebound and was tied up for a held ball, with the Hornets maintaining possession. The Hornets attempted an inbound lob to Boyer, who appeared open, but the ball was stolen out of the air by Kiara Belen to seal the Anteater victory.
Boyer led the Hornet charge with 18 points and 12 rebounds, her ninth career double-double and second of the season. Cannady scored 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the field, but missed the majority of the second half due to illness. Hunt added 10 points and grabbed eight rebounds, while Edwards grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds, her fourth double-figure rebounding game of the season.
Besides Cochran's 15 points off the bench, the Anteaters were led by Mary Has with 12 points, while Kirian Ishizaki added 10 points and six assists.
The Hornets have their longest span of the season without a game, as they will wait 10 days before hosting rival UC Davis on Saturday, Dec. 13 at 2:05 p.m.
