SACRAMENTO -- A journey that began last summer culminated in quite a celebration on Monday night at The Nest as the Sacramento State women's basketball team clinched a share of its first-ever Big Sky Conference title with an 80-54 victory over visiting Portland State.
Sending seniors Kahlaijah Dean, Jordan Olivares, and Kaylin Randhawa out with a victory in the team's regular season finale, the Hornets won their sixth consecutive contest, improving to 22-7 overall and 13-5 in league play, tied atop the Big Sky standings with Montana State and Northern Arizona and posting the most conference wins since the 2014-15 squad also finished 13-5 in the Big Sky.
Sacramento State will be the three-seed in the Big Sky Tournament, however, after all the tiebreakers resolved themselves and will face No. 6-seeded Idaho on Monday (March 6) at 1:30 p.m. PT.
Monday's win was also the 300th in the program's Division I history as Sacramento State posted its third winning streak of at least six games this year after winning six-in-a-row from Nov. 14-Dec. 3 and seven straight from Dec. 10-Jan. 12. The six consecutive Big Sky wins are tied for second on the program's single-season list, trailing only the seven straight conference victories from Jan. 13-24, 2015.
The Vikings, meanwhile, finished their regular season with a 13-15 overall record and an 8-10 mark in Big Sky play, clinching the No. 7 seed and an opening-day match-up with No. 8 Idaho State on Saturday (March 4) at 1:30 p.m. PT.
Junior post Isnelle Natabou finished with a game-high 23 points to go with six rebounds on 11-of-16 from the field, ending the night as one of four Hornets in double figures. It was the seventh 20-point performance of the year for Natabou and her second straight after she finished with 20 points in a win over Montana on Saturday night.
Olivares added a season-high 18 points on 6-of-9 from the floor and 4-of-5 from beyond the arc, adding a career-high 11 rebounds for her first career double-double. She also set a season-high with six field goals and set a new career standard with her four triples.
Meanwhile, Dean added 16 points, five rebounds, and tied her Sacramento State career high with 10 assists for her fifth double-double of the season and her 20th consecutive double-digit scoring performance. The 10 assists give her 150 for the year, matching Fantasia Hilliard's 2011-12 total for ninth on the all-time single-season list.
Randhawa wrapped up the double-digit quartet, adding 11 points on 5-of-8 from the floor to reach double-digits for the 15th time and her highest output since scoring 12 at Weber State on Feb. 16.
Portland State opened quickly, leading by as many as five points after making the first two buckets of the game, but the Hornets quickly shook off the "Senior Night" jitters and finished the first quarter by scoring nine of the final 12 points of the period for a 16-13 lead after one.
Sacramento State would not trail from that point on. After trading baskets to start the second quarter, the Hornets pulled away thanks to a 13-4 run over a three-minute span midway through the period, going up by 12 points with 5:39 to play in the opening half and never looking back.
The lead grew to as many as 15 late in the second quarter en route to a 42-29 advantage at the break and a 7-0 run to start the third put Sacramento State up 20 just two and a half minutes in, cruising from there. The Hornets led by as many as 28 points late in the fourth before a pair of free throws produced the final score.
Staying white-hot from the field, Sacramento State shot 54 percent from the floor and 48 percent from beyond the arc for the game — the fifth time in the last six games, and the 10th time overall this year, that the Hornets have shot better than 50 percent from the floor.
IN THE BONUS: The win on Monday was the 11th of the season at The Nest (11-2), the most since the 2014-15 squad finished 11-3… The Hornets hit 80 points for the second time in the last three games and the fourth time overall this year… Natabou's 11 makes marked the fourth time this year that the junior has made 10-or-more from the field this season… Sacramento State finished with 21 assists on 31 makes — the second-highest assist total in a game this year (25 vs. Northern Colorado on Feb. 11)… The 13 three-pointers made in the game marked the fourth consecutive contest that the Hornets have finished with double-digit makes from beyond the arc.
