LOGAN, Utah – Sacramento State outrebounded a much taller Utah State team 54-52 with 35 offensive rebounds and the Hornets hit 10 3-pointers and forced 27 turnovers in a 95-86 season-opening victory over the Aggies in Logan.

The Hornets led all of NCAA Div. I with 20 offensive rebounds per game last season and brought in 35 offensive boards on Saturday, outrebounding a Utah State team that used four players that stand 6-2 or taller, including two 6-4 posts. Sacramento State scored 35 second-chance points in the game and 27 points off of 27 forced turnovers, totaling 20 steals.

Sacramento State beat Utah State for the second consecutive season after a 102-92 win in The Nest last year. In that game the Aggies shot a program-record 71% from the field, but on Saturday the home team was held to a relatively low 52% field goal percentage while the Hornets had a 10-3 advantage in made threes and hit 17 free throws, six more than the Aggies.

Sophomore Maranne Johnson equaled her career high with a team-leading 20 points, knocking down four 3-pointers and also leading the team with six rebounds and three assists. Junior Gretchen Harrigan had 15 points and five rebounds (all offensive), senior Adella Randle-El scored 14 points, and junior Brianna Burgos had 11 points shooting 8-of-9 from the free throw line.

In a game with four ties and seven lead changes it was Utah State that jumped to an early lead, making each of its first six shots of the game while the Hornets started 0-for-7 from the field. The Aggies led 10-2 early in the first quarter but that was their largest lead of the game.

The Hornets drew even at 22-22 late in the first quarter before the Aggies went back ahead by eight points at 30-22. Sacramento State used a 21-11 run to take its first lead of the game at 44-42 at the 2:36 mark and still had a two-point lead at the half, 47-45.

The Aggies came out firing again to start the second half, repeating their 6-for-6 start from the field and building back to a 66-59 advantage. With Utah State ahead 70-67 with 1:37 left in the third quarter Sacramento State ended the quarter on a 9-2 run that extended into the fourth quarter to a 13-2 run and an 80-72 lead.

Sacramento State led by at least six points for the final eight minutes of the game, taking a game-high 95-83 lead before the Aggies hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer.

Sacramento State outrebounded an opponent just four times all last season and had been outrebounded 53-33 by Cal State East Bay in its lone exhibition game last Sunday. Of the 14 players the Hornets used on Saturday, 13 had at least one rebound and 10 had multiple rebounds in a complete team effort on the glass.

The 95 points scored by the Hornets were the most in a season opener in program history. Sacramento State shot 35% for the game, using its offensive boards and forced turnovers to attempt 98 shots, just six shy of the team's Big Sky record of 104 field goal attempts, while the Aggies had only 69 field goal attempts. The Hornets also had a 25-20 edge in free throw attempts and shot 10-of-36 from 3-point range after a slow start.

For Utah State freshman Katie Toole scored a game-high 22 points while freshman Victoria Price had 13 points. The Aggies committed 23 fouls in the game and had just seven players see significant minutes as the Hornets wore them down with their depth and energy.

Sacramento State won its first road game of the year for the first time since the 1992-93 season. The Hornets play two more road games next week at New Mexico State on Thursday and at New Mexico next Saturday.