SACRAMENTO -- Sophomore Katie Peneueta's three-pointer with two seconds remaining tied the game in regulation and senior Kahlaijah Dean drained a runner in the lane with 1.7 seconds remaining in overtime to break a 68-all tie and lift Sacramento State to a 70-68 victory over UC Santa Barbara on Saturday night at The Nest.
The win was the second straight for the Hornets, who improved to 2-1 overall on the season and defeated the Gauchos for the first time since 1988. UC Santa Barbara, which led by as many as 11 points in the contest, suffered its first loss of the season, falling to 3-1 overall.
Dean led all scorers by tying her Sacramento State career high with 27 points, hitting 11-of-20 from the field including a pair of buzzer beaters to end the first and seconds quarters — the second coming from half court to end the first half. She added four baskets from long distance, grabbing three rebounds and dishing out five assists.
Senior Kaylin Randhawa finished with a Sacramento State career-high 17 points on five three-pointers and six baskets overall, while junior Isnelle Natabou added 10 points on 4-of-6 from the field and seven rebounds.
Trailing by eight to start the fourth quarter, the Hornets slowly began to chip away as Randhawa sandwiched a couple of three-pointers around a UCSB basket, then drained another three-pointer following a pair of free throws to cut the deficit to three points.
The rally kept coming as Natabou answered a Gaucho basket with another inside before Dean took over, pulling up for a jumper and slashing inside to tie the score at 57-all with 3:11 to play.
UC Santa Barbara threatened to close it out as Taylor Mole scored inside, but Anya Choice hit only 1-of-2 from the line with 10 seconds to play to leave the door cracked as Sacramento State called timeout.
With the ball now in the front court, Peneueta missed her first attempt, but Dean was able to draw a foul inside going up for the rebounds, giving the Hornets another chance. This time, Peneueta didn't miss out of a timeout, launching another three-pointer from the left elbow that hit nothing but net, tying the game and forcing overtime.
Redshirt freshman Benthe Versteeg opened the overtime scoring with a three-pointer — her first points of the night — and added a driving layup with 2:43 to play to make it a three-point contest. UC Santa Barbara kept coming, getting baskets from Mole and Alexis Tucker to tie the game at 66, but Randhawa had another answer, driving down the left side and floating one in for a 68-66 advantage.
Following a Gauchos timeout, Choice found room inside and sunk a spinning lay-up to tie the contest again, but the Hornets were undaunted as Dean brought the ball up court, drove right, and laid in the game-winner around a UC Santa Barbara defender.
The Gauchos had time for one last chance, but Versteeg knocked away the inbounds pass as time expired, handing Sacramento State the win.
The Hornets finished the night shooting 47 percent from the field and just under 45 percent (13-for-29) from three-point range — the latter the best for Sacramento State since shooting 60 percent from long range at Northern Colorado on Feb. 10 of last season. The Hornets have shot better than 47 percent from the field in all three of their contests this season.
UC Santa Barbara, led by 20 points from Tucker, shot just over 49 percent from the floor, but hit just 4-of-11 from distance. Leading scorer Ila Lane, who entered the night averaging 14.7 points and 10 rebounds per game, was limited to just eight points after going scoreless in the first half.
Sacramento State takes its winning streak "on the road" next week, opening a run of three games in five days at the Golden 1 Center in Downtown Sacramento against Causeway rival UC Davis. Tip-off is scheduled for 5 p.m. The Hornets then head to the Central Coast to participate in the Holiday Beach Classic hosted by Cal Poly on Nov. 25-26, taking on the host Mustangs and UTEP on back-to-back days.
