SACRAMENTO -- Riding its longest winning streak in nearly nine years, the Sacramento State women's basketball team puts its run of six consecutive victories on the line on the road on Wednesday (Nov. 7), traveling to "America's Finest City" to face San Diego State at 11 a.m. at Viejas Arena.
GAME #8
WHAT: Sacramento State (6-1) at San Diego State (7-2)
WHEN: Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2022
TIME: 11 a.m.
WHERE: San Diego, Calif.
STADIUM: Viejas Arena
WATCH: Mountain West Network
LIVE STATS: GoAztecs.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 San Diego State, are ranked nationally... The Hornets, however, are listed among those receiving votes in the College Insider Mid-Major poll for the second consecutive week, doubling last week's total to 18 votes in this week's poll.
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.
ABOUT THE AZTECS: San Diego State enters the week with a 7-2 record with its only losses coming at the hands of then-No. 2 Stanford (86-48) and San Francisco (65-56)... Six of the team's eight games this season have been played at home where it is a perfect 6-0... Sophomore guard Asia Avinger, who has missed five of the team's nine contests, but has played the last two, leads the squad in scoring at 11.5 ppg -- one of three in double figures along with senior guard Mercedes Staples (11.2 ppg) and senior guard Sophia Ramos (10.1 ppg)... Junior forward Kim Villalobos leads the team on the glass at 5.4 rpg, while senior forward Yummy Morris is shooting 54 percent from the field to pace the squad... San Diego State ranks among the top 25 in the nation defensively in field goal percentage defense (No. 20 - .339), scoring defense (No. 14 - 51.7), and steals per game (No. 21 - 12.2 spg), while ranking No. 37 in turnovers forced per game at 21.22 per contest.
SERIES NOTES: Wednesday marks only the sixth all-time meeting between Sacramento State and San Diego State with the Aztecs winning four of the previous five clashes... The two teams haven't met since SDSU posted a 99-91 win over the Hornets back on Nov. 14, 2014... Sacramento State's only win in the series came a year earlier, finishing off a 93-89 win at home... The Hornets are a combined 0-3 on the road against San Diego State, also falling in 2001 (72-51) and 2008 (75-47).
WE'RE GOING STREAKING!: Following Saturday's win over Fresno State, the Hornets have won a season-best six consecutive games -- their longest streak since winning seven straight from Jan. 3-24 back in 2015.
IF YOU START ME UP: Sacramento State's 6-1 start to the year is its best 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 252-187 in the first 20 minutes through seven games, the Hornets have yet to trail at halftime this season. With its' 40-30 lead at the break on Saturday against Fresno State, the Hornets have built double-digit leads at the half four times in their first seven games.
OFF AND RUNNING: Through seven games, Sacramento State has put opponents in a hole quickly, shooting 53 percent (49-for-93) from the field in the first quarter and 52 percent (48-for-93) in the second en route to those halftime advantages, including a .427 (38-for-89) clip from beyond the arc in the opening half.
MISSED IT BY THAT MUCH: Although there would have been an overtime to play, Sacramento State is a UC Irvine buzzer-beater away from possibly being a perfect 7-0 on the season -- which would have been the first such start since game-by-game records are available dating back to 1971-72. Combined, Hornet opponents are 33-22 (.600) overall on the year -- including a one-loss Anteater squad, two-loss teams in UC Santa Barbara (5-2) and UTEP (6-2), and a seven-win Santa Clara squad that has won six of eight since falling to Sacramento State back on Nov. 14.
HELP ME, HELP YOU: The 14 assists on 25 makes against Fresno State were tied for the second-most helpers in a game this season, trailing only the 17 assists at Santa Clara on Nov. 14. The Hornets have posted more assists than the opposition in six of the team's seven games, finishing 5-1 in those contests.
BLOCKING IT OUT: Boasting the Big Sky Conference's second-best scoring defense at 54.1 ppg allowed, the Hornets have also done work in the defensive glass, holding opponents to a league-best 29.7 rebounds per game -- the only school holding teams to fewer than 30.0 rpg entering the week.
WHO SHOT OUT THE LIGHTS?: That's better. After being held to a season-low .393 from the field against UTEP, the Hornets responded by shooting 46 percent in the win over Fresno State -- the sixth time in seven games this season they have eclipsed the 40 percent mark. Sacramento State, which leads the Big Sky and ranks No. 17 in the NCAA at .483 on the year, has hit better than 40 percent from the field in 10 of its last 12 contests dating back to last year -- including a season-high of .537 at Santa Clara back on Nov. 14.
THIS IS PERFECT! PERFECT, PERFECT, PERFECT!: They say that nobody's perfect, but junior Isnelle Natabou was just that on Saturday against the Bulldogs, 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. 1! SHE'S NO. 1!: Thanks to her performance against Fresno State, Natabou has jumped to the top of the NCAA's leaderboard, pacing the nation in field goal percentage at .714 (45-for-63) from the floor. The native of the Czech Republic has shot better than 60 percent from the field in a game in five of the team's seven 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.
PAY A-"TEN"-SHUN: Natabou has made her last 10 consecutive baskets dating back to a third-quarter miss against UTEP and is shooting 13-for-14 (.929) from the field and 7-of-7 from the line in her last two games, averaging 16.5 ppg and 12.5 rpg in that stretch.
BAKER'S DOZEN: Natabou's 16 points against Fresno State gave her double-digit points in her last 13 consecutive games dating back to last season, averaging 16.2 ppg in that stretch while shooting .713 (87-for-122) from the field.
DOUBLE-DOUBLE DANGEROUS: Keep on eye on your box scores. If Isnelle Natabou has a double-double, you may be in trouble. Sixteen points and 11 rebounds later, Natabou collected her second-straight double-double and her fourth of the season overall against Fresno State -- ranking No. 18 in the NCAA in that category. In her four double-double performances this year, Natabou is averaging 16.3 points and 14.8 rebounds per game while shooting .765 (25-for-34) from the field.
PASSING THE CRASH TEST: Another 14 rebounds in the win over UTEP is nothing new for Natabou, who owns three of the top five single-game rebounding performances in the Big Sky this season, along with her 20 against UC Irvine (more on that later) and the 14 against UC Davis. Natabou ranks among the top 25 in the nation in rebounds per game (13th) and defensive rebounds (19th), and stands atop the Big Sky in both rebounding average and offensive rebounds (3.6 rpg), while standing second in defensive rebounds (7.6 rpg).
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 seven performances in the green and gold, the Bakersfield, Calif., native has brought her total up to 1,553 career points, ranking No. 33 among active scorers across the country and posting a total that would rank fourth on Sacramento State's all-time scoring list.
THREE IS MORE THAN TWO: Trust us... Katie Peneueta has certainly done the math. In 29 career games with the Hornets, the Vancouver, Wash., native has made a living from long distance, sinking 73 of her 78 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.
"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 two shots in all but one game this season. Her two swats against Fresno State brought her season total to 14 -- just seven shy of her 22-game total of 21 blocks last year -- while she enters the week leading the Big Sky Conference in both total blocks and blocks per game (2.00).
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 20 of their 33 total blocks on the year in their last three contests, averaging 6.67 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. 39 in the nation in the latter.
BUTCHER BOMBING AWAY: Freshman Madison Butcher has made an immediate impact on the Hornets' roster in her debut Division I season, scoring a basket in every game this year while shooting 50 percent from the field and 47 percent from three-point range. She is 7-of-14 from the field -- including a quartet of three-pointers -- in her last two games, including finishing with a career-high 10 points and six rebounds in the win over UTEP on Nov. 26.
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 (36.3 mpg -- including all 45 minutes against UC Santa Barbara on Nov. 19), Kahlaijah Dean (36.0 mpg), and Isnelle Natabou (36.0 mpg -- including all 40 minutes against UTEP on Nov. 26). The trio ranks third and tied for fourth, respectively, in the league in minutes.
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.
