FULLERTON, Calif. -- Senior Kahlaijah Dean finished with a Sacramento State career-high 28 points, while Isnelle Natabou and Kaylin Randhawa also finished in double figures on Wednesday evening, as the Hornets collected their program-record ninth non-conference victory with a 67-55 triumph over Cal State Fullerton at Titan Gym.
With the victory, Sacramento State improved to 9-2 overall on the season — including 6-1 against Big West Conference opponents — breaking a tie with the 2013-14 Hornet squad that won eight non-conference contests en route to an 18-win season. It was the Hornets' third consecutive victory and their ninth in the last 10 games overall, improving to 4-1 on the road this year.
Led by 14 points from Una Jovanovic, the Titans fell to 5-4 overall and suffered its first loss of the season at home. Leading scorer Fujika Nimmo, who entered the night averaging better than 16 points per game, was limited to just seven.
Dean tallied her fourth 20-point performance of the season, eclipsing her previous Hornet high of 27 points set in back-to-back games against Santa Clara (Nov. 14) and UC Santa Barbara (Nov. 19). She hit nine buckets from the floor, added a pair of three-pointers, and finished 8-of-8 from the line — the latter tied for 10th on the school's Division I single-game free throw percentage list.
Her 28 points were the most by a Sacramento State player this season and the most by a Hornet since Lianna Tillman finished with 35 at Idaho on Feb. 24 last year.
After having her run of double-doubles snapped against CSUN on Monday, Natabou was up to her old tricks, collecting her seventh double-double of the year with 15 points on 6-of-10 from the field and 10 rebounds. Ranking among the top 10 in the nation in double-doubles entering Wednesday's contest, Natabou has now finished with double-digit points in all 11 games this year and each of her last 17 contests dating back to last season.
Randhawa wrapped up the trio of double-digit scorers for Sacramento State with 13 points, hitting double figures for the fifth time this season and finishing with her highest point total since netting a Hornet career-high 17 points in the overtime win against UC Santa Barbara.
Overall, the Hornets shot 46 percent from the field for the game while the defense held the Titans to under 40 percent for the contest, making Wednesday the fifth time an opponent has shot under that mark in a game this season. Sacramento State also did well to take care of the ball, committing a season-low eight turnovers on the night — the lowest since the Hornets had seven at Weber State on Jan. 29 of last season.
Sacramento State led for all but four minutes on Wednesday, turning a one-point deficit midway through the first quarter into a seven-point lead thanks to a quarter-closing 8-0 run, outpacing Fullerton, 13-6, at the end of the first 10 minutes. Randhawa's jumper gave the Hornets a lead they would not relinquish as Dean and Natabou added points during the run while the defense limited Cal State Fullerton to just three field goals and 25 percent shooting from the floor in the opening period.
The run would continue into the second quarter as Sacramento State's advantage ballooned to 11 points at 20-9 with 7:54 remaining as the Hornets scored seven straight following a quarter-opening three-pointer by the Titans to make it a 15-3 burst en route to a 31-21 halftime advantage.
Out of the locker room, Cal State Fullerton opened the third quarter by scoring eight of the first 11 points to cut the deficit to just five at 34-29 with 7:40 to play in the period, but the Hornets were quick to extinguish the Titans' run as Natabou scored on a hook shot inside to spark a 9-0 run and Sacramento State never looked back.
The Hornets led by as many as 15 points with the opening basket of the fourth quarter and hit 7-of-8 from the line in the final minute to keep Fullerton at arms length. Dean (10) and Randhawa (six) combined for 16 of the team's 17 points in the period as the team shot 50 percent from the field and hit 9-of-12 from the line in the final quarter.
Sacramento State breaks for the holidays before returning to the court to start Big Sky Conference play on New Year's Eve, heading to the Pacific Northwest to take on Portland State in its league opener at 2 p.m.
IN THE BONUS: Wednesday marked the first meeting between the two programs since the 2012-13 season… The win by the Hornets snapped a four-game skid in the series with the Titans dating back to a 79-75 win in Fullerton on Dec. 30, 1997... Wednesday's victory was only the second by Sacramento State in the history of the series… The Hornets led at the half for the ninth time in 11 games this season, posting an 8-1 record in those games… Dean's 10 fourth-quarter points marked the fifth time this year that the senior has scored 10-or-more points in a single quarter… Sacramento State is 6-2 this season when a player has a double-double… The Hornets are 9-0 when scoring 60-or-more points.
