SACRAMENTO -- Riding a season-best three-game winning streak, the Sacramento State women's basketball team gives thanks on the Central Coast this weekend, heading to San Luis Obispo, Calif., to take part in the four-team Holiday Beach Classic hosted by Cal Poly on Friday (Nov. 25) and Saturday (Nov. 26) at the Mott Athletic Center. The Hornets face the host Mustangs to open play before taking on UTEP a day later to close out the tournament. Both games are scheduled to tip-off at Noon.
THIS WEEK…
GAME #5
WHAT: Sacramento State (3-1) at Cal Poly (2-3)
WHEN: Friday, Nov. 25, 2022
TIME: Noon
WHERE: San Luis Obispo, Calif.
STADIUM: Mott Athletic Center
WATCH: ESPN+
LIVE STATS: GoPoly.com
GAME #6
WHAT: Sacramento State (3-1) vs. UTEP (4-0)
WHEN: Saturday, Nov. 26, 2022
TIME: Noon
WHERE: San Luis Obispo, Calif.
STADIUM: Mott Athletic Center
WATCH: No Live Stream
LIVE STATS: GoPoly.com
"HI, MOM!": Fans who are unable to make the trip to San Luis Obispo can catch Friday's game against Cal Poly on the ESPN+ platform. Saturday's game will not be streamed, but live stats will be available. Links to follow along are posted on the women's basketball schedule page at HornetSports.com.
BE A FOLLOWER: Fans can keep up with the latest in Sacramento State athletics by following us on Facebook (/SacramentoStateAthletics), Twitter (@HornetSports), and Instagram (@sacstateathletics). You can also follow the Hornets' women's basketball program on all three platforms at the handle @SacStateWBB.
IN THE RANKINGS: Neither Sacramento State, Cal Poly, nor UTEP, are ranked nationally entering this weekend's tournament.
HORNETS PICKED FIFTH TO START 2022-23: Sacramento State was picked to finish fifth in the Big Sky Conference standings according to a vote of both the league's head coaches and the media released by the conference office on Oct. 26. The Hornets, who finished seventh a season ago, received 146 points and a first-place vote in the media poll, while picking up 46 points in the coaches' poll. Montana State, which finished tied for second in the regular season and won the Big Sky Tournament title, was picked atop both polls, earning nine of the 10 first-place votes from the coaches, and 24 first-place votes from the media that cover the league.
BIG SKY HIGH: The Hornets' fifth-place prediction is the highest for the program since Sacramento State was picked to finish third in both the coaches and media polls prior to the 2015-16 campaign, after winning 18 games and advancing to the third round of the WNIT the season prior. The Hornets actually finished tied for second in the 2015-16 coaches poll with former member North Dakota, but the Fighting Hawks received one first-place vote to win the "tiebreaker."
NATABOU ON MID-MAJOR AWARD WATCH LIST: One season after showing she's one of the best in the West, junior post Isnelle Natabou is garnering national attention heading into the 2022-23 campaign, named as one of 25 players to the watch list for the 2023 Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Award presented by Her Hoop Stats on Oct. 19. The first Big Sky Conference student-athlete ever to be named to the list for this particular award, Natabou is joined by 24 of her peers on the initial watch list and is only one of four from the West Coast named to the list along with Gonzaga's Brynna Maxwell, Portland's Alex Fowler, and San Francisco's Ioanna Kimili. For more details, read the complete release on HornetSports.com.
NATABOU NAMED TO BIG SKY'S PRESEASON HONOR ROLL: In addition to her national honor, Natabou was also named to the seven-member preseason all-conference team, joining Montana State's Darian White (who also was selected the MVP), Idaho's Beyonce Bea, Montana's Carmen Gfeller, Northern Colorado's Hannah Simental, Montana State's Kola Bad Bear, and Weber State's Daryn Hickock. The native of the Czech Republic became only the third Hornet to earn preseason all-league honors in the process, joining former standouts Kennedy Nicholas (2019-20) and Brianna Burgos (2016-17).
BUT WAIT... THERE'S MORE!: The accolades continued to roll in for Natabou, who was also named the Big Sky's Preseason Player of the Year according to ESPN.com, which made its picks for all 32 Division I conferences on Oct. 25.
DEAN EARNS BIG SKY WEEKLY HONORS: Thanks to her 27-point outbust against UC Santa Barbara on Nov. 19, senior Kahlaijah Dean was named the Big Sky Conference Player of the Week on Tuesday (Nov. 22) prior to the Hornets' clash with UC Davis. It's the first career honor for Dean in the green and gold, who hit a pair of highlight buzzer-beaters to end the first quarter and first half, then nailed the eventual game-winner with less than two seconds remaining in overtime in a 70-68 win over UCSB.
ABOUT THE MUSTANGS: Cal Poly enters its own tournament with a 2-3 overall record, posting wins over Simpson University and Fresno State while falling to the likes of UCLA, No. 2 Stanford, and No. 1 South Carolina... Senior forward Julia Nielacna leads the Mustangs in scoring at 9.0 ppg, shooting .571 from the field, while junior forward Natalia Ackerman paces Cal Poly on the boards, averaging 5.2 rpg.
SERIES NOTES: Cal Poly holds a narrow, 14-12, advantage in the series according to records dating back to 1977, but the two teams haven't played since a 62-43 Mustang victory back in 2019 in San Luis Obispo... Sacramento State won back-to-back games in 2016 (97-96) and 2018 (88-85) to snap a seven-game skid in the series... The Hornets are just 3-11 in games played in San Luis Obispo, losing their last six trips to the Central Coast dating back to an 87-62 victory on Feb. 8, 1996.
ABOUT THE MINERS: UTEP enters this weekend's event with an unblemished 4-0 record, posting wins over New Orleans, Kansas City, Texas Southern, and Texas State... The Miners take on San Jose State on the opening day of the tournament before facing Sacramento State... Three of UTEP's four games have been at home... Three Miner regulars are averaging double figures, led by junior guard N'Yah Boyd's 13.7 ppg... Junior guard Jazion Jackson and freshman guard Soleil Montrose are averaging 11.0 ppg... Sophomore forward Adhel Tac leads UTEP on the boards, averaging 7.3 rpg.
SERIES NOTES: The Hornets and the Miners have met only once, with UTEP posting a 67-49 victory over Sacramento State at the Surf-n-Slam Tournament hosted by San Diego State on Dec. 30, 2008.
AS THE WORLD TOURNEYS: Since the program's first Division I season in 1991-92, Sacramento State has participated in 36 regular season tournaments, posting a record of 22-57 in those events... The Hornets... This weekend marks the second straight season that Sacramento State will participate in a regular season tournament after splitting games against Illinois State (W, 65-63) and UC Irvine (L, 58-51) at last year's UC Irvine Invitational... The Hornets have split their games in each of their last three regular season tournaments... This will be Sacramento State's second trip to the Holiday Beach Classic after falling to Pepperdine (113-97) and defeating Illinois (109-107) at this tournament in 2018-19.
WE'RE GOING STREAKING!: Following Tuesday's win over UC Davis, the Hornets have won a season-best three consecutive games -- their longest streak since winning four straight in Big Sky Conference play from Feb. 3-12 last season against Northern Arizona, Portland State, Northern Colorado, and Southern Utah.
IF YOU START ME UP: Sacramento State's 3-1 start to the year is its best since the 2018-19 Hornets opened their campaign with the same record thanks to wins over Cal Poly, Illinois, and Antelope Valley. A win over Cal Poly on Friday would be the program's best start since the 2013-14 squad opened the year with 11 wins in its first 12 games -- a run that included nine consecutive victories at one point.
NOT HALF BAD: Having outscored opponents by a 145-106 in the first 20 minutes through four games, the Hornets have not trailed at halftime this season.
DING DONG THE STREAK IS DEAD: The Hornets put an end to a five-game losing streak against their Causeway rival UC Davis with their victory at the Golden 1 Center on Tuesday night, winning for the first time in the series since a 92-77 triumph in Davis in 2015. In holding the Aggies to only 45 points on Tuesday, it was the fewest points by UC Davis in the series since a 53-45 Sacramento State win at home in 2008 and avenged a 75-46 setback to the Aggies at Golden 1 Center last season -- a 50-point swing in favor of the Hornets.
MIND THE GAP: The 22-point margin of victory over the Aggies marked the largest against an NCAA Division I opponent in head coach Mark Campbell's tenure at the helm of the Sacramento State program and was the largest since a 23-point win over Sonoma State on Nov. 16 of last year.
DEFENSE MECHANISM: A big part of the Hornets' wire-to-wire win over the Aggies came from their defense, which held UC Davis to just 28 percent shooting overall -- including a 24 percent clip in the first half -- and just 1-of-14 (.071) from three-point range. The .278 field goal percentage by the Aggies is the lowest by a Sacramento State opponent this season and the lowest against a Division I opponent since Eastern Washington shot .270 on March 5, 2005, while the .071 from beyond the arc was the best since Weber State hit 1-of-18 (.056) from distance on Feb. 6, 2020.
WHO SHOT OUT THE LIGHTS?: Sacramento State continues to shine from the field, hitting just over 51 percent from the field in the win over UC Davis on Tuesday -- marking the eighth time in the team's last nine contests dating back to last year that the Hornets have shot better than 40 percent from the floor as a team. It was the best single-game shooting performance since they shot .604 from the field at Northern Arizona on Feb. 3 of last season.
LET IT FLY: Following Tuesday night's torching of the nets at the Golden 1 Center, Sacramento State enters this weekend's tournament among the top 10 in the NCAA in both field goal (T-9th) and three-point percentage (6th) -- one of only two schools to rank in the top in the 10 in the country in both categories (as of Nov. 21) along with Arizona, which stands tied for third in three-point percentage (.435) and fifth in field goal percentage (.518).
BENTHE THERE, DONE THAT: Redshirt freshman Benthe Versteeg had to wait an entire year to finally get on the court for the Hornets, but on Saturday, the native of the Netherlands made the wait worth it. Versteeg poured in a career-high 13 points on 5-of-10 from the floor for her first career double-digit scoring performance, adding three rebounds, three assists, and two blocks in 32 minutes.
I DOUBLE DEAN DARE YOU: Senior Kahlaijah Dean followed up a pair of 27-point performances last week against Santa Clara and UC Santa Barbara with her first double-double in the green and gold against UC Davis, finishing with 12 points and a career-high 11 rebounds in the win over the Aggies. She finished 5-of-10 from the floor and shared team-high honors with four assists, collecting the sixth double-double of her collegiate career when you add in five from her four years at Oakland University.
SHE SLICES, SHE DICES, SHE DISHES, SHE SCORES: Does she julienne? We don't know, but when she's not putting the ball in the basket, Kahlaijah Dean is doing her best trying to help her teammates do so, averaging 6.0 assists per game -- standing third in the league and No. 23 in nation. She is one of only two players in the nation averaging at least 20.0 ppg and 6.0 assists, joined in that select group by Iowa's Caitlin Clark, who is tied for fifth in the NCAA at 26.8 ppg and No. 12 at 6.8 apg.
THE DEAN OF SCORING: Dean brings with her a pedigree of knowing where the basket is, reaching the 1,000 career point milestone as only a junior at Oakland University and finishing her four years with the Golden Grizzlies with 1,425 points to her name. Following her first four performances in the green and gold, the Bakersfield, Calif., native has brought her total up to 1,505 career points, ranking tied for No. 31 among active scorers across the country and posting a total that would rank fourth on Sacramento State's all-time scoring list.
IZZY DOES IT: To go along with Dean's performance on Tuesday night, junior Isnelle Natabou collected her second double-double of the young season behind a dominant first quarter, scoring 11 of her 13 points in the opening 10 minutes while pulling down a game-high 14 rebounds. It was her 17th career double-double with the Hornets, who posted two players with double-doubles in the same game for the first time since Natabou (15 points, 14 rebounds) and Summer Menke (11 points, 10 rebounds) did so at Southern Utah on Feb. 12 last year.
ALMOST AUTOMATIC: Get her close and Isnelle Natabou rarely misses. The junior from the Czech Republic is a combined 27-for-40 on the year, ranking No. 12 in the NCAA in field goal percentage at .675 through the team's first four games. It's right where Natabou left off in 2021-22, when she shot .643 (182-283) from the field in her first year with the Hornets, ranking second on the school's all-time single-season list (Sue Digitale shot .651 in 1976-77).
GIVING NO QUARTER: Natabou's 11-point first quarter marked the third time that the junior has scored double figures in a single period this season, and the fifth time overall by a Hornet when you include Dean's 14-point third quarter at Santa Clara and her 10-point second quarter against UC Santa Barbara.
ARE YOU BOARD?: Natabou clearly wasn't in the Hornets' opener against UC Irvine, as her 20 rebounds were the most since she had 22 against Idaho in an overtime win on Jan. 22 of last year and was her third career game with 20-or-more rebounds. Nationally, the 20-rebound performance is tied for the fourth-highest in the NCAA for a single-game -- and the most of any Big Sky player -- as of Nov. 21, and stands as one of only ten 20-rebound games in the NCAA entering the week.
PASSING THE CRASH TEST: Just three games after collecting those 20 rebounds, Natabou went up and grabbed 14 more in the win over UC Davis, giving her the top two single-game rebounding performances among Big Sky Conference players this season. Natabou ranks among the top 10 in the nation in rebounds per game (No. 8) and defensive rebounds per game (No. 10), while standing No. 29 in total rebounds (48).
A PERFECT 10 (OR MORE): Dean and Natabou are the only two Hornets who have reached double figures in all four of the team's games thus far this season, while Natabou has accomplished the feat in each of her last 10 games when you include the final six contests of the 2021-22 campaign.
THE HORNETS' 1-2 PUNCH: Dean, who stands third in the league in scoring at 20.0 ppg, and Natabou, who is seventh in the conference at 16.3 ppg, make Sacramento State the only school in the Big Sky with two players among the top 10 in scoring as of Nov. 21.
MINUTE WOMEN: There haven't been many players in the Big Sky -- let alone the entire country -- who have seen more time on the court to start the year than the Hornets' Katie Peneueta (39.01 mpg -- including all 45 minutes against UC Santa Barbara on Nov. 19), Kahlaijah Dean (37.39 mpg), and Isnelle Natabou (36.16 mpg). The trio ranks second, third, and fifth, respectively, in the league in minutes while Peneueta is sixth in the NCAA, followed by Dean at No. 24 in the country.
THREE IS MORE THAN TWO: Trust us... Katie Peneueta has certainly done the math. In 26 career games with the Hornets, the Vancouver, Wash., native has made a living from long distance, sinking 67 of her 72 career field goals from behind the three-point line. At the media timeout of the second quarter on Tuesday against UC Davis, Peneueta's last 30 makes from the field had all been three-pointers until she posted up and found room inside for a lay-up at the four-minute mark of the quarter -- her first two-point basket since scoring inside at Northern Arizona with 21 seconds left in a 76-62 Sacramento State victory on Feb. 3 last year.
THE PENEUETA IS MIGHTIER THAN THE SWORD: Peneueta enters the week ranked among the top five in the Big Sky in four different categories, leading the league in blocks per game (1.8), standing second in minutes (see above), third in three-point percentage (.550), and fourth in three-pointers per game (2.8).
EDGE JOINS THE CLUB: Freshman guard Kaylie Edge made her Division I debut in the waning moments of the Hornets' win over UC Davis, collecting the first points of her college career with a three-pointer from the corner with 36 seconds remaining to push the Sacramento State lead to 22 points.
RIDING WITH RANDHAWA: The senior transfer from Utah State made her presence known in a big way against UC Santa Barbara on Nov. 19, posting her Sacramento State career high with 17 points to go with three rebounds and a pair of assists. She hit 6-of-11 from the field -- including five from beyond the arc -- en route to her total, nine of which came in the fourth quarter as the Hornets rallied to tie the Gauchos at 60 and force overtime.
HORNETS GO GLOBAL WITH SIGNEES: Head Coach Mark Campbell racked up the frequent flier miles to sign four student-athletes during the recent NCAA signing period, welcoming post Paula Haw and guard Lina Falk from Germany, forward Summah Hanson from Australia, and guard Sofia Alonso from Spain.
