CANNADY HITS GAME-WINNER WITH :03 REMAINING IN OVERTIME AS HORNETS WIN THRILLER OVER MONTANA STATE

1/8/2009

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Sophomore Jasmine Cannady (Sacramento, Calif.) hit a driving layup with three seconds remaining in overtime, propelling the Sacramento State women's basketball to their first conference victory, an 88-86 decision over Montana State.

With the win, the Hornets improve to 3-13, 1-2 in Big Sky Conference play, while the Bobcats fall to 6-8, 0-2 in the Big Sky.

The overtime win outshined a furious second half comeback by the Bobcats, who were trailing 55-36 with 14:20 remaining in regulation. It took the Bobcats the full amount of alloted time to comeback, as Katie Bussey hit a three with seven seconds left to tie the score at 76-76, sending the game into overtime.

In the extra period, the score was tied at 79-79 with 3:19 remaining when the Hornets went on an 8-2 run, which included a layup and two free throws by senior Atty Boyer (Sacramento, Calif.), and two made free throws apiece from junior Erika Edwards (Redmond, Wash.) and junior Charday Hunt (Portland, Ore.), giving the Hornets an 86-81 lead. But Montana State fought right back, as Anne Phippard made a three to pull the Bobcats to within two, and then following an offensive foul by Hunt, Montana State's Erica Perry hit a jumper from the foul line to tie the score at 86-86 with 1:01 remaining.

After getting a stop on defense, the Bobcats had a chance to take the final shot of regulation, but Jenny Heringer threw the ball out of bounds with :19 seconds remaining to give the Hornets a final chance. Cannaday got the ball near the top of the circle and dashed through the paint, scooping a left-handed layup to give the Hornets the lead with just three ticks on the clock, at 88-86. The inbounds feed for the Bobcats came to Perry, who's running 31-footer at the horn fell short and Sacramento State picked up its first conference win of the season.

"We played unbelievably well on both ends of the floor to build the 19 point lead in the second half," head coach Dan Muscatell said. "A lack of aggression on defense, coupled with some positioning errors, allowed them to creep back in the game, and to their credit they knocked down a tough shot to force overtime. I don't think our kids panicked at all, however, and that paid off in the overtime session, especially at the foul line."

The Hornets, who made a school record 14 three-pointers in the contest, led at the half 44-32, after shooting 9-of-13 from beyond the three-point arc in the first half. Sacramento State finished the game 14-of-24 from three-point distance (58.3 percent), and made one more three-pointer than traditional field goals inside of the arc. They were 8-of-10 from the foul line in overtime, and made more free throws (20) than the Bobcats attempted (13).

Hunt lead the Hornet charge with a career-high 27 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field, including 4-of-6 from beyond the three-point arc and 9-of-10 from the foul line. Edwards and Boyer both posted double-doubles, with Edwards scoring 17 points, including three makes from beyond the arc, and grabbing 11 rebounds, while Boyer chipped in 14 points, 11 rebounds, and a career-high four assists. Sophomore Sami Field-Polisso (Mountain View, Calif.) scored 15 points on five three-pointers to round out four Hornets in double figures. Cannady ended the game off the bench with nine points and a career-high five assists in 24 minutes.

The Bobcats ended the game shooting 46.7 percent from the field, besting the Hornets shooting percentage (46.6 percent) by a tenth of a point. Montana State made eight more field goals than the Hornets in 17 more attempts, but was just 6-of-16 from beyond the arc and 10-of-13 from the foul line. They were led by Nubia Garcia, who scored 25 points and grabbed eight rebounds, and Perry, who scored 19 points and added six assists, five rebounds, and four steals, playing 44 of the games 45 minutes. Sarah Strand (13), Katie Bussey (11), and Phippard (10) rounded out the Bobcats five players in double-figures.

Sacramento State returns to action on Saturday, Jan. 10 as they host the defending Big Sky Champion Montana Lady Griz. Tipoff is scheduled for 12:05 p.m. from the Hornets Nest.