WOMEN'S BASKETBALL DROPS THREE-POINT DECISION TO NORTHERN ARIZONA, 61-58

1/18/2009

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - The Sacramento State women's basketball team dropped a tough 61-58 decision to the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks on Sunday, Jan. 18 at the Hornets Nest.

With the loss, the Hornets fall to 3-15, 1-4 in Big Sky Conference play, while the Lumberjacks improve to 5-13, 2-3 inside of the Big Sky.

The Hornets had an early lead at 9-8 with 15:24 to go, before Northern Arizona went on the longest run of the game, a 16-4 run over the next 6:40 to take a 24-13 lead with 8:44 to go in the half. Sacramento State continued to chip away at the lead from that point, however, and cut the score down to 31-27 at intermission.

The second half of play saw the Hornets continue to stick around, but not complete a full comeback, as Northern Arizona never led by more than nine points in the half. Sacramento State was able to cut Lumberjack lead to one point with 2:46 left, 54-53, on a three-pointer by junior Charday Hunt (Portland, Ore.), but the Lumberjacks were able to come back and stretch the led to six points, 61-55, before Hunt was fouled shooting a three with one second remain. She hit all three free throws, but the Hornets were unable to steal the inbound feed, and the Lumberjacks escaped with the victory.

Hunt lead the Hornets with 17 points, while senior Atty Boyer (Sacramento, Calif.) added 16 points and a career-high five steals before fouling out in 25 minutes. Junior Erika Edwards (Redmond, Wash.) led all players with 10 rebounds, while sophomore Emily Christensen (El Dorado Hills, Calif.) added eight rebounds off the bench. Sophomore Jasmine Cannady (Sacramento, Calif.) scored nine points in 14 minutes also off the Hornet bench.

"The effort we had on the floor today was terrific, but we just didn't convert on the opportunities that we've been making lately," head coach Dan Muscatell said. "Atty (Boyer) kept us in the game offensively in the first half and Charday (Hunt) came around in the second half, after struggling to find her shot in the first half. Give NAU credit for making shots down the stretch after we had cut the lead down to one."

Sade Cunningham led the Lumberjacks with 20 points, seven rebounds, six steals and four assists, while Lauren Hoisington scored 17 points and grabbed six rebounds off the bench in 27 minutes.

Sacramento State, who entered the game averaging 9.9 three-pointers per game inside of conference play, hit just 4-of-18 from beyond the three-point arc, while the Lumberjacks were 0-of-9.

The Hornets return to action on the road next week as they take on Weber State (Jan. 22) and Idaho State (Jan. 24).