SACRAMENTO -- Senior Kahlaijah Dean finished with a game-high 19 points to pace a group of three Hornets in double figures as visiting Sacramento State jumped out early and withstood a late Portland State rally en route to a 65-56 victory over the Vikings on Saturday afternoon at the Viking Pavilion in Portland, Ore.
The Hornets won their fourth consecutive game to improve to 10-2 overall, winning their conference opener for the first time since 2016. The win was the third-straight in the overall series against Portland State, winning for the third time in the last four trips to the Rose City, while also snapping a six-game skid in road conference openers.
Led by a team-high 13 points from Esmeralda Morales, the Vikings fell to 5-6 overall and 0-1 in league play.
The reigning Big Sky Player of the Week, Dean fell just shy of her fifth 20-point performance of the year, finishing with six baskets — including a trio of three-pointers — and five assists in 32 minutes. It was her third straight double-digit scoring game, finishing just above her season average after collecting a Sacramento State career-high 28 points at Cal State Fullerton to close out non-conference play last week.
Junior Isnelle Natabou added 17 points on 7-of-13 from the field and grabbed eight rebounds — six of those on the offensive end — while playing in all 40 minutes for the third time this season. Natabou's 17 points put her in double figures for the 18th consecutive game dating back to last season.
Sophomore Katie Peneueta added 10 points thanks to a trio of three-pointers, eight rebounds, and three assists, while Kaylin Randhawa (nine points), Benthe Versteeg (eight points), and Jordan Olivares (two points), also finished in the scoring column.
Sacramento State roared out of the gates, building a 13-point lead over the first six-plus minutes, but a burst by Portland State, which scored eight of the final 10 points in the period, made it a seven-point game at the end of one.
The Vikings made it a five-point deficit with the opening basket of the second quarter and trailed by that many with two minutes gone in the period before the Hornets doused that rally. Dean, Peneueta, and Randhawa all drained three-pointers and Natabou scored inside to cap an 11-0 run, giving Sacramento State its biggest lead of the game to that point with 5:57 to play.
Back-to-back baskets by Portland State stopped the bleeding, but not for long. The Hornets closed the first half with an 11-3 run thanks to makes by four different players, ending with a 20-point, 43-23, lead at the break. The 24 points by Sacramento State in the second quarter were the most in that period this year (22 points against UC Irvine and UC Santa Barbara) as the Hornets hit eight of their last 10 field goals — including 6-of-6 at one point — and held the Vikings scoreless for the final 2:47 of the half.
After hitting two free throws to start the third, an 11-2 run by Portland State made a dent in the Sacramento State lead and the Vikings scored the final six points of the third to cut the deficit to only 12 at the end of three.
Trading baskets to start the fourth, a three-pointer by Nakia Boston finally got Portland State to within single digits with 3:06 to play, but Peneueta came up clutch, draining a three-pointer from the corner to push the lead back to 10 and getting a block on a 2-on-1 just before that shot that would have made it a five-point game.
From there, Sacramento State hit 3-of-4 from the line and ran out the clock for the win.
The Hornets shot 43 percent from the field for the contest, including a 65 percent clip in the first half and 63 percent in the second quarter alone. Sacramento State limited Portland State to just 38 percent in the first half and just 29 percent in the first quarter, but the Vikings hit 50 percent after the break and 44 percent overall.
Led by Natabou and Peneueta's eight rebounds each, the Hornets out-rebounded Portland State by a 33-29 count, holding their fourth straight opponent to fewer than 30 rebounds in a game.
Sacramento State opens the home portion of its Big Sky schedule next weekend, welcoming Idaho and Eastern Washington to The Nest on Jan. 5 and Jan. 7, respectively — its first home games since a win over CSU Bakersfield on Dec. 10. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. against the Vandals and 2 p.m. against the Eagles.
