POCATELLO, Idaho -- Senior Kahlaijah Dean scored a team-high 29 points to lead a group of four Hornets in double figures and the Sacramento State women's basketball team tied the school record for wins in a season with its 19th of the year, closing out its final road trip of the campaign with a 75-62 Big Sky Conference victory at Idaho State on Saturday afternoon in Pocatello, Idaho.
The Hornets moved to 19-7 overall and 10-5 in league play, matching the 1990-91 (19-7) and 2012-13 (19-12) squads for the most wins in school history. The 10 conference triumphs also matched last season's total when Sacramento State finished 10-10 in league play, posting back-to-back double-digit win totals in the Big Sky since the Hornets went four straight years with 10-or-more Big Sky wins from 2012-16.
Led by 29 points from Callie Bourne, the Bengals fell to 11-15 overall and 6-9 in conference play, shooting just 38 percent overall from the field for the game.
Dean's 29-point performance was her 12th with at least 20 points in a game this season and her 17th consecutive double-digit scoring performance, hitting 9-of-18 from the field and 7-of-8 from the line. She added a Sacramento State career high-tying 10 assists to complete her fourth double-double of the year in only 34 minutes of play. Her 552 points this year now rank sixth on the school's all-time single-season list and fifth in the program's Division I era for a single campaign.
Senior Solape Amusan added 14 points on 5-of-6 from the floor and four three-pointers, while sophomore Katie Peneueta chipped in 13 points on a quartet of three-pointers and seven rebounds. Junior post Isnelle Natabou hit her first six shots on the day and finished with 12 points and seven rebounds.
Sacramento State trailed only twice — the last coming at the 7:20 mark of the first quarter — before a 9-0 run grew into an 18-3 burst over a five minute stretch, giving the Hornets a lead they would not relinquish.
A 16-point halftime lead quickly grew into a 24-point third quarter advantage as Sacramento State began the second half on a 12-4 run and cruised from there. Idaho State eventually clawed back to within 10 points late in the fourth quarter, but the contest was too far gone at that point to make up any more ground.
The Hornets shot 54 percent from the field for the game, including hitting 10-of-12 from the field in the first quarter for an 83 percent clip. Saturday marked the third time in the last four games that Sacramento State has shot at least 50 percent from the field and the eighth time overall in 2022-23.
The Hornets will play their final three games of the regular season within the friendly confines of The Nest over a span of five days next week, hosting Montana State on Thursday (Feb. 23), Montana on Saturday (Feb. 25), and Portland State on Monday (Feb. 27).
