OGDEN, Utah -- Three Hornets finished in double figures to help pace a balanced scoring effort and Sacramento State came away with a big road victory, 66-52, over host Weber State on Thursday night at the Dee Events Center in Ogden, Utah.
The win was the second straight for the Hornets, who improved to 18-7 overall and 9-5 in Big Sky Conference play while sweeping the regular season series from the Wildcats for the first time since 2019-20. Sacramento State's 18 wins are now tied for third on the program's all-time list, trailing the school record of 19 victories set in 1990-91 (19-7) and matched in 2012-13 (19-12), while the nine conference wins are one shy of the 10 league triumphs last year.
Thursday's victory also moved the Hornets to 8-5 on the road this season, posting the most victories away from the friendly confines of The Nest since the 2009-10 Sacramento State squad finished 8-7 on the road. The eight road wins are just two shy of the mark of 10 set in 1982-83.
Led by 11 points from Laura Taylor, Weber State fell to 5-21 overall and 1-13 in league play, limited to just 38 percent shooting from the field overall.
Eight different Hornets found the scoring column on the night led by senior Kahlaijah Dean's 19 points to go along with seven rebounds and a pair of assists. Dean's performance marked her 16th consecutive double-digit scoring game and her 24th in 25 games this season.
Now with 523 points to her name, Dean ranks eighth on the program's single-season scoring list and sixth on the Division I era chart, standing just two back of Hannah Friend and her 525 points in 2017-18 for seventh and fifth on those respective lists.
She was joined in double figures by junior post Isnelle Natabou, who finished with 17 points on 7-of-10 from the floor and seven rebounds, as well as senior Kaylin Randhawa, who chipped in 12 points for her fourth consecutive double-digit scoring performance. Senior Jordan Olivares led the way on the glass, snatching a career-high 10 rebounds to go with six points, four assists, and two steals, breaking her previous career high of eight rebounds set and matched against Montana (Jan. 26) and Northern Arizona (Feb. 9) earlier this year.
The seven rebounds by Natabou give her 574 for her career, passing Shelby Boudreaux (1992-96) for sixth on the program's Division I era all-time list and passing Boudreaux and Linda Simmons (1977-81) for ninth on the all-time chart.
Sacramento State never trailed in the contest, leading by as many as 17 points late in the fourth quarter and shooting 48 percent from the field. Neither team led by more than five points in the opening quarter as Dean buried a three-pointer to break an 11-11 tie and Natabou scored inside for a 16-11 lead after one.
The Hornets inched out to a six-point advantage early in the second quarter before the defense took over, limiting Weber State to just two points over the final seven minutes while Sacramento State out-scored the Wildcats 10-2 over that span, stretching their lead to 29-18 at the break.
Weber State never got closer than eight points the rest of the way as the Hornets led by as many as 14 points in the third and ballooned that advantage to 17 thanks to a pair of free throws by Randhawa in the closing seconds.
Thursday marked the seventh time this season — and the second time in the last four contests — that Sacramento State has not trailed in a game, leading for all but the 70 seconds when the game was tied.
The Hornets' final road game of the season will be contested on Saturday (Feb. 18) at 1 p.m. PT as they travel to Pocatello, Idaho, to take on Idaho State. The Bengals handed Portland State a 59-43 defeat on Thursday night at home.
IN THE BONUS: In addition to moving up the career lists for rebounds, Natabou is now just seven rebounds shy of Celine Kabwasa and her 253 rebounds in 1988-89 for 10th on the single-season list… Natabou's block on Thursday was the 65th of her career, just two shy of Sephora Scoubes (1999-01) for seventh on the all-time list… Katie Peneueta finished with three swats on Thursday, giving her 35 for the season and 56 for her career — the latter matching Atty Boyer (2005-09) for 10th on the list… Dean's two free throws give her 121 for the year, moving her into seventh on the all-time single-season chart and fifth in the program's Division I era for a single-season… The Hornets' 94 blocked shots this season are tied for eighth on the program's all-time list with the 2017-18 squad, standing just four back of the 2001-02 team for seventh and five shy of the 2002-03 team for sixth… Six more blocks this year and the 2022-23 team would become only the sixth in school history to reach 100 blocks in a season and the first since the 2018-19 team had 144 for the year.
