SACRAMENTO — The Sacramento State women's basketball team closes out the calendar with a pair of games to tip-off Big Sky Conference play this week, welcoming Idaho on Thursday (Dec. 28) and preseason league favorite Eastern Washington on Saturday (Dec. 30). Tip-off is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Thursday and 2 p.m. on Saturday against the Eagles.
THIS WEEK…
GAME NOTES: Sacramento State | Idaho | Eastern Washington | Big Sky Conference
GAME #10
WHAT: Idaho (5-5, 0-0) at Sacramento State (1-8, 0-0)
WHEN: Thursday, Dec. 28, 2023
TIME: 6:30 p.m. PT
WHERE: Sacramento, Calif.
ARENA: The Nest
WATCH: ESPN+
LIVE STATS: HornetStats.com
TICKETS: HornetSports.com
GAME #11
WHAT: Eastern Washington (8-3, 0-0) at Sacramento State (1-8, 0-0)
WHEN: Saturday, Dec. 30, 2023
TIME: 2 p.m. PT
WHERE: Sacramento, Calif.
ARENA: The Nest
WATCH: ESPN+
LIVE STATS: HornetStats.com
TICKETS: HornetSports.com
MARK YOUR CALENDARS
• Tip-off for the Hornets' conference game against Northern Arizona on Jan. 20 at The Nest has been moved up to 11 a.m. due to a change in travel plans for the Lumberjacks
IN THE RANKINGS
• Neither Sacramento State, Idaho, nor Eastern Washington are ranked nationally entering this week's games
• Eastern Washington is one of 22 schools ranked among those receiving votes in this week's College Insider Mid-Major Poll, picking up four votes (Dec. 26)
• The Hornets finished 2022-23 ranked No. 22 in the final College Insider Mid-Major poll
RUNNING A GAUNTLET
• Entering this weekend's conference openers against Idaho and Eastern Washington, the Hornets previous eight opponents have posted a 58-47 (.552) combined record -- a mark that grows to 71-55 (.563) when you include the Vandals' and Eagles' results thus far.
• Washington and Santa Clara both have won 11 games this year, while San Diego State is close behind with nine wins
• As of Dec. 26, Washington is among those receiving votes in this week's Associated Press and No. 24 in the coaches poll, while three more opponents (past or present) are listed in the latest College Insider Mid-Major poll's (Dec. 26): Santa Clara is ranked No. 22, Northern Arizona is receiving 15 votes, and Eastern Washington is receiving four votes.
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.
• Idaho head coach Carrie Eighmey is in her first season at the helm of the Vandal program after being hired in April of 2023. Eighmey was head coach at Nebraska-Kearney for the last eight years and Hastings College for three, amassing 233 wins in 11 years
• Eastern Washington head coach Joddie Gleason is in her third year at Eastern Washington, winning 28 games the last two seasons since taking over. She won 308 games at Cal Poly Humboldt (2004-16) and Butte Community College (1999-04).
ABOUT THE VANDALS
• Idaho enters the week with a 5-5 overall record, splitting its last two games before the holiday against Grand Canyon (L, 65-63) and Saint Martin's (W, 63-44)
• Thursday marks only the fourth road contest for the Vandals, who are 2-1 away from home
• Junior guard Kennedy Johnson leads the team in scoring at 10.6 ppg, shooting .484 from the field and .435 from three-point range
• Graduate guard Amalie Langer, a transfer from San Francisco, is also in double figures at 10.0 ppg
• Grad forward Hope Butera, a transfer from Florida International, leads the team on the boards at 7.8 rpg, while shooting .466 from the field and averaging 8.6 ppg
• Idaho is outrebounding opponents by more than six rebounds per game while averaging 63.0 ppg
SERIES NOTABLES
• Idaho leads the all-time series with Sacramento State by a 16-8 count according to records dating back to the 1992-93 season
• After losing seven straight in the series from 2018-20, the Hornets have won four of the last five, including the last three straight
• Sacramento State swept the regular season series last year with a 71-56 win at home and a 77-70 win in Moscow -- the latter snapping a seven-game skid on the road
• The Hornets also posted a 73-58 win in the quarterfinals of last year's Big Sky Tournament
• Five of Sacramento State's eight wins in the series have come at home, where the Hornets are 5-5
ABOUT THE EAGLES
• Eastern Washington enters the week with an 8-3 overall record and faces Portland State on Thursday night before heading to Northern California
• The Eagles have won two straight -- and four of their last five -- after taking down Presbyterian (92-51) and Wyoming (W, 62-43) in a tournament in Las Vegas before the holiday
• EWU is 3-2 on the road this season, having lost two of its last three
• Sophomore guard Aaliyah Alexander leads the team in scoring at 15.3 ppg, shooting .472 from the field and .432 from beyond the arc
• Grad guard Jamie Loera is also in double figures at 11.9 ppg, shooting .414 from the floor and .472 from three-point range while leading the team in assists with 53 and steals with 23
• Eight regulars are shooting better than 40 percent from the field, helping the Eagles shoot .446 from the floor as a team
• Eastern Washington is averaging 73.6 ppg as a team while holding opponents to just 56.9 ppg
SERIES NOTABLES
• Eastern Washington leads the all-time series with Sacramento State by a 37-23 count dating back to the 1986-87 campaign
• The Hornets and the Eagles split their regular season series last year, with each team winning on their home floor
• Sacramento State is 6-4 in its last 10 against EWU, including sweeping the regular season series from the Eagles in 2021-22
• The Hornets are 11-19 at home against Eastern Washington, winning three of the last four
LID-LIFTERS... BIG SKY STYLE
• Sacramento State is 8-19 in Big Sky Conference openers since joining the league in the 1996-97 season
• The Hornets are 4-9 at home and 4-10 on the road in league openers
• Sacramento State defeated Portland State, 65-56, in the Rose City last year to open the conference schedule -- snapping a six-game losing streak from 2016-21
• Thursday marks the first time that the Hornets will open league play at home since Dec. 28, 2019, against Montana State and have won four of their last five home league lid-lifters
• Six of the last seven conference openers for Sacramento State have been on the road
• The Hornets have opened against each league member at least once, but Thursday marks only the second time (all coming in the last four years) that they will face Idaho in a conference opener after the Vandals posted a 97-73 win on Dec. 4, 2020
• Each of the last five conference openers have been decided by double digits dating back to a 74-73 loss at Portland State on Dec. 30, 2017
• Sacramento State has faced Portland State the most of any other conference opponent (7 times), while the three wins over the Vikings are also the most in league openers
SWIPER, NO SWIPING!
• Sacramento State's defense had active hands in last week's game against Cal Poly, finishing with a season-high 16 steals
• The 16 swipes were the most in nearly three years since the Hornets finished with the same number against Northern Colorado on Jan. 16, 2020
• Of those 16 steals, five ended up in the hands of sophomore Benthe Versteeg -- the most since Lianna Tillman had five against Sonoma State on Nov. 16, 2021
• Versteeg's five steals in the game are tied with seven other players for the most in a game in the Big Sky this season
• All told, eight of the 11 Hornets who entered the game finished with at least one steal against Cal Poly -- five of those with multiple steals
WELCOME TO THE CLUB!
• Freshmen Celestine Segretain and J'yana Salton picked up their first career collegiate points against Cal Poly -- both coming on free throws late in the contest
LOOKING FOR THE RIGHT COMBINATION
• Through the first nine games this season, Sacramento State has put eight different starting lineups on the floor thus far
• The Hornets used the same lineup for the first time this season in back-to-back games against Fresno State and Cal Poly: Benthe Versteeg, Irune Orio, Lina Falk, Solape Amusan, and Summah Hanson
• 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
WANNA BE STARTING SOMETHING
• The Hornets' starting five produced 43 of the team's 55 points against Cal Poly on Dec. 21, marking the third straight game that has seen the starters account for at least 40 points in a game and the fifth time overall
• Fourteen of the the team's 17 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
• Overall, Hornet starters have accounted for 71 percent of the team's points this year, scoring 324 of the 459 total points thus far
BREATH OF FRESH AIR
• Sacramento State has started at least one true freshman in all nine games this season and has listed at least two true freshman in the starting five in eight of the first nine
• 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
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 assists per game (5.7) and ranking second in total assists (51)
• 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 four of the top seven single-game assist totals in the Big Sky entering this week's Big Sky openers
• 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 tied for fifth in the conference in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.4) and is among the top 100 in the NCAA in both assists (86th) and assists per game (27th)
SHE'S A BUCKET
• Thanks to her 10-point performance against Cal Poly before the holiday, Hanson has now scored in double figures in each of her last four games and seven of the team's nine contests overall
• She is averaging 14.8 ppg, 9.8 rpg, and 1.8 apg over her last four, shooting .477 (21-for-44) from the field and .500 (7-for-14) from beyond the arc in that stretch
• Hanson has made her last eight straight from the line dating back to a second-quarter miss against Santa Clara on Nov. 29
• 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 (9.1 rpg), defensive rebounds (67), and total rebounds (82)
• She ranks No. 20 in the NCAA in defensive rebounds (7.4 rpg) and No. 48 in rebounds per game
• Hanson has led the team in rebounding in eight of the team's nine 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
WINDEX WOMEN
• Thursday's match-up between Hanson and Idaho's Hope Butera pit two of the league's top three rebounders thus far this season
• Hanson's 16 rebounds at Fresno State (Dec. 16) and Butera's 16 boards against Texas A&M-Commerce (Dec. 1) are tied for the most in a game by a Big Sky player this year
SHE'S KIND OF A BIG (SKY) DEAL
• Hanson enters this week's competition ranked No. 4 in the Big Sky in scoring (15.0 ppg) and leads the league in rebounding (9.1 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 & 3rd), Montana State's Katelynn Limardo (5th and 8th), and Northern Arizona's Sophia Glancey (8th and 9th)
• Among that group, Hanson is the only freshman as the others are in, at least, their sophomore seasons
• She also ranks in the top five in the league in 10 other categories (see page 4 of the linked PDF release)
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 five to have multiple double-doubles
• Hanson's five double-doubles are the most in the Big Sky and tied for 28th in the NCAA entering this week against Cal Poly
• Hanson is one of only three freshmen (Iowa State's Addy Brown and St. Peter's Fatmata Janneh the others) -- and one of 14 underclassmen overall -- in the nation with at least five double-doubles entering the week (as of Dec. 26)
• She was one of only 23 non-Power 5 student-athletes (out of 52 as of Dec. 26) to post at least five double-doubles
HOLD UP, WAIT A MINUTE
• Versteeg enters the week ranked No. 2 in the nation in minutes per game (38.20), standing behind only Duquesne's Megan McConnell (38.88)
• 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 four of her last five games and has played 37-or-more minutes in eight of the team's nine contests this year
• Hanson, meanwhile, is third in the Big Sky at 33.9 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 five of her last six games
