SACRAMENTO -- With final exams behind them, the Sacramento State women's basketball looks to ace another test on the road this week, taking on a second straight Big West Conference opponent in CSUN on Monday (Dec. 19) at 4 p.m. in Northridge, Calif.
GAME #10
WHAT: Sacramento State (7-2) at CSUN (1-7)
WHEN: Monday, Dec. 19, 2022
TIME: 4 p.m.
WHERE: Northridge, Calif.
VENUE: The Matadome
WATCH: ESPN+
LIVE STATS: GoMatadors.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, nor CSUN, are ranked nationally. However, the Hornets are listed among those receiving votes in the College Insider Mid-Major poll for the third consecutive week, picking up 18 votes for the second straight poll on Dec. 13.
LOOKING AHEAD: Following Monday's afternoon clash with the Matadors, the Hornets make the short trip to Orange County to take on Cal State Fullerton on Wednesday (Dec. 21) at 3 p.m. in a doubleheader with the men's team, which faces the Titans at 6:00 p.m. The game marks the end of non-conference play for Sacramento State, which opens its Big Sky Conference schedule on New Year's Eve at Portland State.
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.
NATABOU PICKS UP SECOND BIG SKY WEEKLY HONOR: For the third time in the last four weeks, the Big Sky Conference player of the week in women's basketball resides in Sacramento as Hornet junior Isnelle Natabou picked up weekly honors from the league office for the second time this season and the fourth time in her career on Dec. 13. It is the second such award for Natabou in the last three weeks after she shared the honor back on Nov. 29, and the third time in the last four weeks that a Sacramento State player has been named player of the week following Kahlaijah Dean's award back on Nov. 22. The nation's leader in field goal percentage entering the week, Natabou averaged a double-double in head-to-head clashes with San Diego State and CSU Bakersfield, putting up 21.0 points and grabbing 12.0 rebounds per game in the two contests, shooting .679 (19-for-28) from the field and hitting all four of her attempts from the field. Read the complete details at HornetSports.com.
ABOUT THE MATADORS: CSUN enters the week with a 1-7 overall record, earning its first victory of the 2022-23 season with a 97-90 shootout win at Seattle U on Dec. 10... The win snapped a 13-game losing streak for the Matadors dating back to a 62-57 win at Long Beach State on Feb. 17 of last season... CSUN has yet to win at home, posting an 0-3 record with losses to Santa Clara, San Jose State, and San Francisco... Graduate forward Tess Amundsen leads the Matadors in scoring at 12.8 ppg, followed by graduate guard Jordyn Jackson at 11.3 ppg... Sophomore forward Michelle Duchemin leads the team in rebounding (5.9 rpg) and is shooting .449 from the field on the year.
SERIES NOTES: Sacramento State leads the all-time series with CSUN by a 19-17 count, but the Matadors have won nine of the last 10 meetings with the Hornets dating back to 1998 -- a run that followed 16 consecutive wins in the series by Sacramento State from 1989-97... Monday's match-up will be the first between the two teams since the 2014-15 season when the Matadors posted an 81-66 win on Nov. 16 of that year... The Hornets' last win in the series camce on Nov. 8, 2013, at home by the score of 92-73... Sacramento State is just 6-9 on the road in Northridge, losing its last five trips to the San Fernando Valley dating back to a 51-42 victory on Feb. 22, 1997.
EARLY SEASON SUCCESS: Entering the home stretch of non-conference play, Sacramento State's early season success in 2022-23 has the Hornets off to one of their best starts in the Division I era. The seven non-conference victories are the most since the 2013-14 squad finished 8-2 in non-conference play en route to an 18-win season, while a sweep of the team's remaining two non-conference clashes against CSUN and Cal State Fullerton, would give the program its most non-conference triumphs in its Division I history with nine.
START ME UP: Despite having its six-game winning streak snapped with last week's loss at San Diego State, the Hornets are still off to its second-best start in the program's Division I history with seven wins in their first nine contests, trailing only the 7-1 eight-game start -- one that eventually ballooned into an 11-1 start -- to open the 2013-14 campaign.
STINGY IN THE SECOND: The Hornets' defense did well to clamp down against CSU Bakersfield in last week's victory, holding the Roadrunners to just five points on just 2-of-13 from the floor en route to a 35-19 halftime advantage. The five points allowed were the fewest in a quarter this season and the fewest by the Sacramento State defense since Northern Arizona scored just four points in the opening quarter on Feb. 3 last season. Opponents have scored 118 points against the Hornets in the second quarter through nine games this year -- the fewest in any quarter this year -- averaging just 13.1 ppg in the second 10 minutes.
OFF AND RUNNING: Through nine games, Sacramento State has put opponents in a hole quickly, shooting 51 percent (62-for-121) from the field in the first quarter and 48 percent (57-for-120) in the second en route to halftime advantages in eight of its nine contests. The Hornets are shooting a combined .494 from the field in the first half compared to "just" .423 after the break.
THE GIVING SEASON: Sacramento State has handed out more assists than the opposition in every game this season, while the seven assists by CSU Bakersfield on Dec. 10 marked the fourth time this year that an opponent has been held to fewer than 10 in a game.
I DOUBLE DOUBLE-DOUBLE DARE YOU: Keep on eye on your box scores. If Isnelle Natabou has a double-double, you may be in trouble. Thanks to her 19-point, 14-rebound effort in the win over CSU Bakersfield, Natabou collected her fourth-straight double-double and her sixth of the season overall -- ranking No. 6 in the NCAA in that category as of Dec. 14. Over her last four games, Natabou is averaging 18.8 ppg and 12.3 rpg while shooting .762 (32-for-42) from the floor and a perfect 11-for-11 from the line during that stretch. In her six double-double performances this year, the Czech Republic native is averaging 17.8 ppg, 13.8 rpg, and shooting 45-for-62 (.726) from the floor.
15 AND COUNTING: Natabou's 19 points against CSU Bakersfield gave her double-digit points in her last 15 consecutive games dating back to last season, averaging 16.8 ppg (252 total) in that stretch while shooting .707 (106-for-150) from the field.
BOXING OUT AND CLOSING IN: Following a year in which she grabbed the fourth-most rebounds in a single Hornet season, Natabou has her sights set on both the school's all-time and Division I top-10 lists for career rebounds during her second season in the green and gold. Entering the week with 430 boards to her name, Natabou stands 140 rebounds shy of the all-time top-10 list (Linda Simmons is 10th with 570 from 1977-81) and only 99 back of the Division I list (Emily Christensen is 10th with 529 from 2007-12).
BLOCKING IT OUT: Boasting the Big Sky Conference's second-best scoring defense at 58.3 ppg allowed, the Hornets have also done work in the defensive glass, holding opponents to a league-best 30.1 rebounds per game. The 28 rebounds by the Roadrunners are tied for the third fewest surrendered by Sacramento State this season and marked the sixth time in nine games that the Hornets have allowed fewer than 30 rebounds this season.
SHE'S BAAAAAACK: After enduring a stretch where she shot just 6-for-27 from beyond the arc in her previous four games, sophomore Katie Peneueta rediscovered her strokin a big way in the Hornets' win over CSU Bakersfield, finishing 5-of-11 from downtown en route to a season-high 15 points. The five makes from distance were a season high and the most since she finished 6-of-8 from beyond the arc on Feb. 3 of last year against Northern Arizona en route to a career-high 20 points against the Lumberjacks.
THREE IS MORE THAN TWO: Trust us... Peneueta has certainly done the math. In 30 career games with the Hornets, the Vancouver, Wash., native has made a living from long distance, sinking 78 of her 83 career field goals from behind the three-point line. At the media timeout of the second quarter on Nov. 22 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 period -- her first two-point basket since scoring inside at Northern Arizona with 21 seconds left in a 76-62 victory on Feb. 3 last year. She has now made her last 11 straight from three-point range entering the week.
"HARNESS. ENERGY. BLOCK. BAD.": Sophomore Katie Peneueta is feeling the flow at the defensive end of the court, swatting a career high-tying three blocks in the win over Cal Poly on Nov. 25 and blocking at least one shots in all but one game this season. Her lone block at San Diego State brought her season total to 15 -- just six shy of her 22-game total of 21 blocks last year -- while she enters the week sharing the Big Sky Conference lead with teammate Isnelle Natabou in both total blocks and blocks per game (1.67).
THE THEME FROM SWAT: The paint has not been a pleasant place to be for opposing shooters as of late as the Hornets have collected 29 of their 42 total blocks on the year in their last five contests, averaging 5.8 blocks per game as a team in that stretch. Sacramento State leads the Big Sky in both blocks and blocks per game and ranks No. 38 in the nation in the latter.
THIS IS PERFECT! PERFECT, PERFECT, PERFECT!: They say that nobody's perfect, but junior Isnelle Natabou was just that against Fresno State on Dec. 3, finishing 7-of-7 from the field and 2-of-2 from the free throw line en route to sharing team-high honors with 16 points in the win. The shooting performance is the best of the season by a Hornet, surpassing teammate Kahlaijah Dean's 5-for-5 showing against UTEP on Nov. 26, and is the best single-game showing in the program's Division I history, besting Margaret Huntington's 6-for-6 from the floor against Montana on Feb. 16, 2017.
SHE'S NO. 2! SHE'S NO. 2!: Doesn't have quite the ring of last week, but the feat is still impressive nonetheless. Ending the win over CSU Bakersfield a solid 9-for-12 from the field, Natabou enters the weekend ranked No. 2 on the NCAA field goal percentage leaderboard at .703 (64-for-91) and standing as one of only two players in the country along with Ohio State's Taylor Thierry to shoot better than 70 percent from the field as of Dec. 14. The native of the Czech Republic has shot better than 60 percent from the field in a game in seven of the team's nine contests, with her low coming against UC Davis when she was "just" 4-of-8 from the field en route to a 13-point, 14-rebound double-double against the Aggies.
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 nine performances in the green and gold, the Bakersfield, Calif., native has brought her total up to 1,587 career points, ranking No. 30 among active scorers across the country as of Dec. 14 and posting a total that would rank fourth on Sacramento State's all-time scoring list.
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' Isnelle Natabou (35.5 mpg -- including all 40 minutes against UTEP on Nov. 26), Kahlaijah Dean (35.4 mpg), Katie Peneueta (35.0 mpg -- including all 45 minutes against UC Santa Barbara on Nov. 19). The trio ranks fifth, sixth, and seventh, respectively, in the league in minutes.
PASSING THE CRASH TEST: Another 14 rebounds in the win over CSU Bakersfield is nothing new for Natabou, who owns four of the top six single-game rebounding performances in the Big Sky this season, along with her 20 against UC Irvine (more on that in a minute) and the 14 against both UC Davis and UTEP. Natabou ranks among the top 25 in the nation in all four major rebounding categories: rebounds per game (10th), offensive rebounds per game (17th), rebounds (21st), and defensive rebounds per game (25th).
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 last year and was her third career game with 20-or-more rebounds. Nationally, the 20-rebound performance is tied for the eighth-highest in the NCAA for a single-game -- and the most of any Big Sky player -- as of Dec. 5, and stands as one of only fourteen 20-rebound games in the NCAA entering the week.
MIND THE GAP: The 22-point margin of victory over Causeway rival UC Davis on Nov. 22 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.
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.
