SACRAMENTO — The Sacramento State women's basketball team tips-off a run of three-straight games at home to end the calendar year on Thursday (Dec. 16) at 11 a.m., hosting Cal Poly in the final game before the start of Big Sky Conference play. Thursday's contest is the first game of a doubleheader with the Hornets' men's team, which plays host to Bethesda University at 2 p.m.
THIS WEEK…
GAME NOTES: Sacramento State | Cal Poly | Big Sky Conference
GAME #9
WHAT: Cal Poly (3-6) at Sacramento State (1-7)
WHEN: Thursday, Dec. 21, 2023
TIME: 11 a.m. PT
WHERE: Sacramento, Calif.
ARENA: The Nest
WATCH: ESPN+
LIVE STATS: HornetStats.com
TICKETS: HornetSports.com
CALIFORNIA DREAMIN'
• Sacramento State will not leave the state of California for the remainder of the calendar year until it rings in the New Year with a trip to Minnesota to take on St. Thomas to kick-off the Big Sky-Summit League Challenge
• The Hornets were 17-4 in games played in the "Golden State" last year, posting an 11-2 record at home and winning four of their last five -- the only loss in that stretch coming against UCLA in the NCAA Tournament
IN THE RANKINGS
• Neither Sacramento State, nor Cal Poly, are ranked nationally entering this week's games
• The Hornets finished 2022-23 ranked No. 22 in the final College Insider Mid-Major poll
RUNNING A GAUNTLET
• Entering this weekend's game against Cal Poly, the Hornets previous seven opponents have posted a 50-32 (.610) combined record -- a mark that grows to 53-38 (.582) when you include the Mustangs' results thus far.
• Washington's perfect 11-0 record tops the list, while Santa Clara trails the Huskies by just two with nine wins on the year
• Including Cal Poly, six of Sacramento State's nine opponents thus far have records at .500 or better on the year, five of those with winning records
• As of Dec. 18, Washington is ranked No. 23 in the nation in both this week's Associated Press and coaches poll, while three more opponents are listed in the latest College Insider Mid-Major poll's (Dec. 19) receiving votes: Santa Clara (31), Northern Arizona (15), and Eastern Washington (2)
THE COACHES
• Sacramento State's Aaron Kallhoff is in his first season at the helm of the Hornets. He has served five previous seasons as a head coach at the junior college level and spent 10 years as an assistant at five Division I programs: Arkansas State, TCU, LSU, Penn State, and BYU. He earned his first career Division I victory as a head coach on Dec. 2 against CSUN.
• Cal Poly's Shanelle Stires is in her second season at the helm of the Mustangs' program, posting an 13-24 (.351) record in her two seasons. She also won 94 games as head coach at Cal State East Bay for six seasons.
ABOUT THE MUSTANGS
• Cal Poly enters the week with a 3-6 overall record after falling to Montana, 67-65, in a nailbiter at home in its only contest last week
• The Mustangs are 1-1 against Big Sky Conference schools this year, adding a 65-55 win over Idaho on Nov. 8 to their loss against the Grizzlies
• Cal Poly has alternated wins and losses over its last five games, posting victories over SeattleU (68-43) and Fresno State (84-59) in that stretch, and has faced three top-25 schools this year: No. 24 Washington State (L, 78-61), No. 6 Stanford (L, 85-44), and No. 6 USC (L, 85-44)
• Thursday marks the Mustangs' 10th game of the year and their eighth away from home (2-5 record)
• Junior guard Annika Shah is the team's leading scorer at 12.2 points per game, shooting 40 percent from the field and 46 percent from three-point range
• Senior forward Natalia Ackerman is also in double figures at 10.7 ppg, paces the team in rebounding at 7.2 rpg, and is shooting .533 from the floor
• Grad transfer Ania McNicholas (Cornell) leads the team in assists (27) and steals (17)
• As a team, Cal Poly is averaging 59.4 points per game and shooting .410 from the field, while opponents are averaging 67.6 ppg and shooting .398 from the floor
SERIES NOTABLES
• Cal Poly holds a narrow, 14-13, edge in the series with Sacramento State dating back to 1977-78
• The Hornets have won three of the last four meetings with the Mustangs following a 70-62 win in San Luis Obispo on Nov. 25 last year
• Thursday marks the first meeting in Sacramento since Nov. 11, 2018, won by the Hornets, 88-85
• Sacramento State is 7-3 at home against Cal Poly, winning the last two meetings in 2016 and 2018
• Last year's win snapped a six-game skid against the Mustangs in San Luis Obispo
• The Hornets opened the series with five straight wins at home
• Sacramento State's last three wins in the series have come by eight points or fewer
CONFERENCE CALL
• Sacramento State is a combined 88-104 against the current Big West Conference alignment, having faced 10 of the 11 members
• Thursday's game against Cal Poly will be the fourth against Big West opponents this year -- all coming within the friendly confines of The Nest
• Sacramento State fell to Cal State Fullerton, 61-51, on Nov. 12 and UC Davis, 79-57, on Nov. 21, while defeating CSUN, 58-48, on Dec. 2
• The Hornets were an impressive 6-1 against the league last season, dropping their opener against UC Irvine before rattling off six straight wins over UC Santa Barbara, UC Davis, Cal Poly, CSU Bakersfield, CSUN, and Cal State Fullerton
• Sacramento State's 32 wins over UC Davis are the most against any other current Big West school, followed by the 21 wins over CSUN and 13 more against Cal Poly
LET'S PLAY TWO!
• The Hornet men's and women's teams will take the floor for a home doubleheader on Thursday -- the first since Dec. 10 of last season when the women defeated CSU Bakersfield (67-46) and the men edged Long Beach State (76-74)
• Thursday marks the third straight season that the two programs will host a doubleheader, with both teams posting a 2-1 record
• The women are 6-4 in their half of the last 10 doubleheaders, while the men have gone 5-5 in that same span, sweeping the doubleheader a total of four times
• Sacramento State has swept a home doubleheader nine times since 1999-00
BREATH OF FRESH AIR
• Sacramento State has started at least one true freshman in all eight games this season and has listed at least two true freshman in the starting five in seven of the first eight
• The Hornets have started three true freshmen twice at Washington in the season opener on Nov. 6 and, again, against Cal State Fullerton on Nov. 12
• Sacramento State listed a starting five comprised completely of underclassmen in each of the first four games
• Junior Seilala Lautaimi became the first upperclassman to crack the starting lineup against UC Davis on Nov. 21 and earned the start against Santa Clara on Nov. 29, before senior Solape Amusan made her first start against CSUN on Dec. 2
LOOKING FOR THE RIGHT COMBINATION
• Through the first eight games this season, Sacramento State has put eight different starting lineups on the floor thus far
• All told, 11 of the 13 Hornets who have seen time on the court this season have earned a start, with Hanson and Versteeg the only two players to start all eight games
SEEING DOUBLE-DOUBLE
• Following her 15-point, 16-rebound effort at Fresno State, Hanson is one of 16 players in the Big Sky to post a double-double in a game this year and one of only four to have multiple double-doubles
• Hanson's five double-doubles are the most in the Big Sky and tied for 18th in the NCAA entering this week against Cal Poly
• Hanson is one of only two freshmen (Iowa State's Addy Brown the other) -- and one of 10 underclassmen overall -- in the nation with at least five double-doubles entering the week (as of Dec. 18)
• She was one of only 19 non-Power 5 student-athletes (out of 50 as of Dec. 11) to post at least five double-doubles
SHE CAN DO BOTH
• Hanson posted her second straight double-double at Fresno State and is averaging 17.5 ppg, 13.5 rpg, and shooting .419 (13-for-31) from the field in that span
• In her five double-double games this season, Hanson is averaging 18.8 ppg and 12.0 rpg, shooting .426 (32-for-75) from the field, hitting half (12-for-24) her three-point attempts, and sinking 18-of-21 (.857) from the line
QUEEN OF THE BOARD ROOM
• Hanson enters the week leading the Big Sky Conference in rebounding (9.6 rpg) and defensive rebounds (62), while standing second in total rebounds (77)
• She ranks No. 11 in the NCAA in defensive rebounds (7.8 rpg) and No. 36 overall
• Hanson has led the team in rebounding in seven of the team's eight games
• Her 16 rebounds at Fresno State were the most since Isnelle Natabou grabbed 18 boards against Weber State on Jan. 21 of last season
SHE'S KIND OF A BIG (SKY) DEAL
• Hanson enters this week's competition ranked No. 4 in the Big Sky in scoring (15.6 ppg) and leads the league in rebounding (9.6 rpg)
• Hanson is one of only four players from around the league to rank in the top 10 in both categories, joining Northern Colorado's Delaynie Byrne (2nd & 4th), Montana State's Katelynn Limardo (10th and 8th), and Montana's Carmen Gfeller (t6th and 10th)
• Among that group, Hanson is the only freshman as the others are in, at least, their third season of college basketball
• She also ranks in the top five in the league in eight other categories
DOUBLE-DOUBLE, HANSON STYLE
• After scoring eight points and grabbing six rebounds in her debut at Washington, Hanson rattled off three consecutive double-doubles against Nevada, Cal State Fullerton, and San Diego State, only to have her run ended against UC Davis on Nov. 21
• During her double-double run, the Brisbane, Australia, native averaged 19.7 points and 11.0 rebounds per game, while shooting .432 (19-for-44) from the floor, .500 (9-for-18) from three, and .800 (12-for-15) from the line
• She also added 2.3 assists and 2.3 blocks per game in that stretch
• Hanson is the first Hornet to post three-straight double-doubles since Isnelle Natabou did so against UTEP (17-14), Fresno State (16-11), San Diego State (23-10), and CSU Bakersfield (19-14) from Nov. 26-Dec. 10 last year
SOLO ACT
• Senior Solape Amusan tallied her third double-digit scoring performance in her last four games with her 11 points at Fresno State
• That comes after she scored only five points in her first four games combined
• The Minnesota native is averaging 10.8 ppg over her last four contests, shooting 40 percent (14-for-35) from the floor and draining half her attempts from distance (13-for-26)
• Her three double-digit scoring games are second on the team
THE GIVING SEASON
• As we are in the midst of the holiday season, sophomore Benthe Versteeg has been in a giving mood, leading the Big Sky in both assists (45) and assists per game (5.63)
• Her 10 assists against Santa Clara on Nov. 29 marked only the second double-digit assist total in the Big Sky thus far (as of Dec. 18), standing behind only Eastern Washington's Jamie Loera, who had 12 helpers at Utah State on Nov. 10
• Versteeg owns three of the top five single-game assist totals in the Big Sky as of Dec. 18
• The 10 helpers were just one shy of the school's single-game top 10 (seven players are tied for ninth with 11 assists, the last being Fantasia Hilliard at Montana in 2015)
• She also ranks third in the conference in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.45) and is among the top 100 in the NCAA in both assists (82nd) and assists per game (30th)
HOLD UP, WAIT A MINUTE
• Versteeg enters the week ranked No. 2 in the nation in minutes per game (38.17), standing behind only Duquesne's Megan McConnell (38.82)
• The sophomore has played all 40 minutes in a game twice this year: against UC Davis on Nov. 21 and against CSUN on Dec. 2
• Versteeg and has played at least 39 minutes in each of her last four games and has played 37-or-more minutes in seven of the team's eight contests this year
• Hanson, meanwhile, is third in the Big Sky at 35.1 mpg -- including a season-high 39:22 against Nevada
• After playing in only 20 minutes at Washington in the opener, Hanson has played 35-or-more minutes in each of her last five games and six of her last seven overall
WANNA BE STARTING SOMETHING
• The Hornets' starting five provided 42 of the team's 47 points against the Bulldogs, marking the fourth time that the starters have scored at least 40 points in a game and the third time in the last four games
• Twelve of the the team's 15 double-digit scoring performances have come from starters; Freshman Ayanna Jackson had 12 as a reserve against Cal State Fullerton, while Solape Amusan has been the spark off the bench twice with 11 against UC Davis and 18 more against Santa Clara
BONJOUR CELESTINE!
• Freshman Celestine Segretain became the latest Hornet to make her collegiate debut, playing in the final 90 seconds at Fresno State and grabbing a rebound
SUMMAH TIME!
• With her career-high 22-point outburst at Nevada on Nov. 9, Hanson became the first Hornet freshman to score 20 points in a game since Katie Peneueta had 20 at Northern Arizona on Feb. 3, 2022
• The 22 points were the most by a Sacramento State freshman since Tiara Scott scored 25 against Montana State on Feb. 18, 2017. Scott was 9-of-14 from the floor, including seven three-pointers
• Hanson's double-double against the Wolf Pack was the first by a Hornet freshman since Margaret Huntington had 10 points and 13 rebounds against UC Irvine on Dec. 14, 2013
• Hanson has either shared or led the team in scoring in five of the team's seven games while pacing the squad in rebounding six times
AUSSIE, AUSSIE, AUSSIE... OI! OI! OI!
• Head Coach Aaron Kallhoff announced that Australian guards Rubi Gray and Jemma Amoore have inked National Letters of Intent with the Hornets during the NCAA's early signing period
• Gray, a 5-9 guard from Devonport, Tasmania, and scholarship holder at Basketball Australia's prestigious Centre of Excellence, has represented her country at the U16 FIBA Women's Asian Championships in Jordan, the U17 FIBA World Cup in Hungary in 2022, and the U19 Women's Basketball World Cup in Spain in 2023, while also winning a number of titles as a team captain with the Devonport Warriors Basketball Club
• The basketball bloodlines run deep with Gray, whose father and uncle both played professionally in Australia
• Amoore, a 5-4 guard from Ballarat, Victoria, has played for her hometown Ballarat Miners' junior and senior clubs her entire career and she earned a spot on the Victorian state team for the U20 Australian Junior Championships back in February
• Amoore is the second of her family to attend college in the United States as her sister, Georgia, is a standout senior guard at Virginia Tech
