NORTHRIDGE, Calif. -- Sophomore Katie Peneueta tied a career high with six three pointers and three Sacramento State players finished in double figures on Monday evening, helping lift the Hornets to a 63-61 victory at CSUN at the Premier America Credit Union Arena in Northridge, Calif.
In the first meeting between the two programs since the 2014-15 season, Monday's win was the second straight for the Hornets, who won for the eighth time in their last nine contests to improve to 8-2 overall on the season. The eight non-conference wins are tied for the most in Sacramento State's Division I history, matching the 8-2 non-conference mark of the 2013-14 squad.
Led by 16 points each from Jordyn Jackson and Tess Amundsen, the Matadors fell to 1-8 overall on the year.
Reigning Big Sky Conference Player of the Week, junior Isnelle Natabou, led all scorers with 20 points on 7-of-12 from the field and 6-of-8 from the line, finishing with five rebounds and a block. Her bid for five consecutive double-doubles fell short, but she tallied her third game with at least 20 points on the season and extended her double-digit scoring streak to 16 straight contests dating back to last year.
Peneueta's 18 points were a season high, while her prolific display from beyond the arc matched her career best set at Northern Arizona on Feb. 3 of last season. She also added four rebounds, a block, and a career high-tying three steals.
Senior Kahlaijah Dean rounded out the trio of double-digit scorers with a balanced stat line that saw her finish with 16 points, seven rebounds, six assists, and two steals. Senior Kaylin Randhawa capped the group of Hornet scorers with nine points on the night.
In a game that features six ties and eight lead changes, it was the third quarter that proved decisive as Sacramento State outscored CSUN, 19-14, in the period after the two teams battled to a 28-all tie at the break. A Natabou lay-up and a Peneueta three points erased a brief two-point Matador advantage and gave the Hornets a lead they would not relinquish, but CSUN would hang around.
A 13-4 run late in the third, punctuated by Peneueta's third three-pointer of the quarter ballooned Sacramento State's lead to nine points and the Hornets would lead by five heading into the final quarter. The Matadors whittled the deficit down to just three points on three occasions, the last coming at 7:17 of the period, before seven straight points by Sacramento State built its largest lead of the game at 10 points at 58-48 with 5:27 to play.
CSUN continued to chip away, scoring the next six points to close to within four as the race turned into a free throw shooting contest over the final two minutes. After a Dean jumper in the paint made it a four-point, 61-57, lead with :36 to play, Amundsen hit two from the line and Jackson added two more around a single free throw by the Hornets to make it a one-point contest with nine seconds remaining.
Dean hit 1-of-2 from the line with just over six seconds to play, but Amundsen's last gasp three-pointer fell short as the horn sounded.
Sacramento State shot 42 percent from the field for the game to CSUN's 44 percent, but drained nine three-pointers to just one (in five attempts) for the Matadors. The host side also held a slim 29-28 advantage on the glass.
The Hornets close out the non-conference portion of their schedule on Wednesday (Dec. 21) at 3 p.m., traveling to Orange County to take on Cal State Fullerton at Titan Gym. The game will be the first of a doubleheader with the Sacramento State men's team, which takes on the Titans at 6 p.m.
IN THE BONUS: Monday's win over CSUN marked only the second for the Hornets in the last 11 meetings with the Matadors… It was Sacramento State's first win in the series since a 92-73 triumph on Nov. 8, 2013… The win also snapped a five-game losing streak in Northridge for the Hornets dating back to 1997… Holding CSUN to just 29 rebounds, Sacramento State has now held opponents to fewer than 30 rebounds in seven of their 10 games this season… Peneueta is now 11-for-22 (.500) from the three-point line in her last two games… Monday's decision marked the third Hornet win decided by two points or fewer this year… Monday marked the first time that Sacramento State has been tied at the half as the Hornets have led in eight of their other nine contests this year.
