SACRAMENTO -- The Sacramento State women's basketball team looks to wrap up its longest stretch of road games this season with a victory on Saturday (Feb. 4), heading to Moscow, Idaho, looking to sweep the regular season series from the University of Idaho. Tip off is scheduled for 2 p.m.
GAME #22
WHAT: Sacramento State (15-6, 6-4 Big Sky) at Idaho (9-13, 5-6 Big Sky)
WHEN: Saturday, Feb. 4, 2023
TIME: 2 p.m. PT
WHERE: Moscow, Idaho
VENUE: ICCU Arena
WATCH: ESPN+
LIVE STATS: GoVandals.com
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IN THE RANKINGS: After two weeks ranked among the top 25 in the College Insider mid-Major poll, Sacramento State slipped back into the ranks of those receiving votes for the third consecutive week (https://collegeinsider.com/womens-mid-major-top-25), picking up 16 votes... The Hornets made their debut in the top 25 back on Jan. 3 at No. 24, then jumped two spots to No. 22 in the Jan. 10 ranking... Those two rankings followed five consecutive weeks among those receiving votes beginning on Dec. 1... The No. 22 ranking on Jan. 10 was the highest for the program in the poll since they stood No. 22 on Feb. 11, 2014 -- a season that saw them among the top 25 for eight consecutive weeks following an 8-1 start that year, reaching as high as No. 13 in early January.
NATABOU MAKES MID-MAJOR AWARD MIDSEASON CUT: Initially named as one of 25 players to the preseason watch list for the 2023 Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Award presented by Her Hoop Stats back on Oct. 19, junior center Isnelle Natabou got word that she has made the midseason top-15 cut on Jan. 18. The first Big Sky Conference student-athlete ever to be named to the list for this particular award, Natabou is one of only four from the West Coast named to the list along with Gonzaga's duo of Brynna Maxwell and Yvonne Ejim as well as Portland's Alex Fowler. Read the complete release on HornetSports.com.
NATABOU NAMED TO BIG SKY'S PRESEASON TEAM: In addition to her national honor, Natabou was also named to the seven-member preseason all-conference team, joining Montana State's Darian White (who was selected the MVP), Idaho's Beyonce Bea, Montana's Carmen Gfeller, Northern Colorado's Hannah Simental, Montana State's Kola Bad Bear, and Weber State's Daryn Hickock. The native of the Czech Republic became only the third Hornet to earn preseason all-league honors in the process, joining former standouts Kennedy Nicholas (2019-20) and Brianna Burgos (2016-17).
BUT WAIT... THERE'S MORE!: The accolades continued to roll in for Natabou, who was also named the Big Sky's Preseason Player of the Year according to ESPN.com, which made its picks for all 32 Division I conferences on Oct. 25.
ABOUT THE VANDALS: Idaho enters Saturday's game having won three straight contests after dropping six consecutive games that began with a loss to Sacramento State back on Jan. 5... The Vandals are 9-13 overall and 5-6 in league play following a 77-70 win over Portland State on Thursday... This marks only the seventh home game of the year for Idaho, which is 4-2 at ICCU Arena... Senior Beyonce Bea leads the team in scoring (21.6 ppg), rebounding (8.5 rpg), and field goal percentage (.470), while shooting 82 percent from the line (132-for-162)... Junior guard Sydney Gandy is the only other Vandal in double figures (10.7 ppg), while freshman Rosa Smith, who torched the Hornets for a career-high 30 points in the first meeting between the two teams, averages 8.9 ppg and leads Idaho with 59 assists.
SERIES NOTES: Idaho leads the all-time series with Sacramento State by a 16-6 count, but the Hornets have won two of the last three meetings following a 71-56 win at The Nest earlier this year... Sacramento State has swept the regular season series from the Vandals only once in the history of the series, taking both meetings in the 2014-15 season... The Hornets are just 1-10 all time in Moscow, Idaho, last winning on the road against the Vandals on Jan. 15, 2015 by the score of 107-89... Since then, Sacramento State has lost its last seven trips to Idaho's home floor... The 15-point win earlier this year is tied for the second-highest in the history of the series by Sacramento State, matching the 79-64 win over the Vandals in the first meeting in 2018 and trailing only the 18-point win in the first meeting in 2015.
MILESTONE APPROACHING: Sacramento State needs only seven more victories to reach 300 in its Division I history.
NOT IF, BUT WIN: Everything else is gravy in the win column for Sacramento State, which earned its 15th victory of the season against Weber State on Jan. 21, already surpassing last season's win total with nine regular season games remaining. It is the most wins in a single season since the 2014-15 squad won 18 games, and stands just four wins away from the school record of 19 wins shared by the 1990-91 (19-7) and 2012-13 (19-12) teams.
SAFE AT HOME: The Hornets are starting to make winning at home a habit as their victory over Weber State improved them to 7-1 at The Nest this season -- including a seven-game winning streak. It is the longest home winning streak since Sacramento State opened the 2013-14 campaign with an 8-0 record en route to an 11-1 start overall, while the seven home wins are the most since the 2014-15 squad finished 11-3 within the friendly confines.
ROAD WARRIORS: The win at Northern Colorado on Jan. 12 was the Hornets' sixth win in true road contests this season, standing just one shy of last year's total (7-7) which were the most since the 2015-16 team also won seven games away from The Nest. The six road wins are tied with Montana State for second in the Big Sky (as of Feb. 2), trailing only Northern Arizona (7-5) for the most in the league following last week's games.
NATABOU INTO 10TH: Thanks to her nine-rebound performance on Thursday at Eastern Washington, junior Isnelle Natabou etched her name into the Sacramento State record book, surpassing both Maranne Johnson (2014-18) and Summer Menke (2018-22) for eighth on the school's Division I era career list with 543, standing just three back of Atty Boyer (2005-09) for seventh. Overall, Natabou ranks 27 shy of the school's all-time top 10 list, where Linda Simmons (1977-81) stands 10th with 570.
IZZY DOES IT ON THE GLASS: With the fourth-highest since-season rebound total in program history already under her belt, Natabou looks to add her name to the list a second time in 2022-23, as her 215 boards thus far put her just 43 shy of Celine Kabwasa and her 253 rebounds in 1988-89 for 10th on the single-season chart. If she accomplishes the feat, she would join only Kylie Kuhns (2009-13) as the only two Hornets with multiple listings on the single-season top 10 list. Kuhns holds the record with 360 rebounds in 2011-12, stands third with 342 rebounds in 2012-13, and is sixth with 321 rebounds in 2010-11.
NO SUCH THING AS A FREE LUNCH: But there are such things as free points, and senior Kahlaijah Dean is taking full advantage. Ranking third in the Big Sky with 112 makes from the line and seventh with an .836 free throw percentage, Dean finished a perfect 8-for-8 at the line at Eastern Washington on Thursday -- her fourth "perfect" game with at least six attempts this year -- and has moved into the Sacramento State single-season record books in the process. Dean's 112 makes ties her with Shelby Boudreaux (1995-96) for 10th on the all-time season list, while matching Boudreaux's total for eighth in the program's Division I era.
CHARITY CASE: Dean's 8-for-8 showing at the line at Eastern Washington joined her 8-for-8 performance at Cal State Fullerton earlier in the year -- both of which are tied for the 10th-best single-game shooting night from the free throw line in the program's Division I history. The record is held by Boudreaux, who went 14-for-14 at the line against Shippensburg on Jan. 5, 1996.
BUILDING BLOCKS: Thanks to her block at Montana, Natabou has held on to eighth place on the school's all-time blocked shots list with 62, swatting 36 last season and adding 26 more this year. Her total passed Hannah Friend (2017-19) for the spot and trails Sephora Scoubes (1999-01) by five for seventh. Natabou isn't the only one climbing the list as sophomore Katie Peneueta and her 50 career blocks -- 29 of those this season -- are just six shy of Atty Boyer (2005-09) and her 56 blocks for 10th.
SHOOTER!: Someone get a hand in the face of the Hornets. Sacramento State enters the weekend as one of the most efficient shooting teams in the Big Sky, leading the league in both field goal (.455) and three-point (.367) percentage, while ranking third in free throw (.776) percentage. The Hornets lead second-place Montana by 28 points in the field goal category, has a nine-point lead in three-point shooting over Portland State, and stands behind Northern Colorado (.788) and Montana State (.780) the line.
NOTHING BUT NET: In addition to the above rankings, the Hornets also stand among the top 30 in the NCAA in all three shooting categories, ranking 19th in three-point, 29th in field goal, and 24th in free throw percentage as of Feb. 2.
WELCOME!: Freshman Irune Orio made her collegiate debut at Eastern Washington on Thursday night, draining a three-pointer for her first career points and playing seven minutes for the Hornets.
WELCOME... BACK!: After missing the previous four games due to illness, sophomore Katie Peneueta made her return to the lineup Thursday at Eastern Washington, grabbing seven rebounds and sinking a two-pointer in 32 minutes.
ALMOST AUTOMATIC: One of the steadiest shot-makers in the nation continues to rank among the top 10 in the country in an ever-changing national ranking for field goal percentage as Natabou enters the weekend at No. 6 in the NCAA. Natabou's .636 from the field trails only Liberty's Mya Berkman (.713), Indiana's Mackenzie Holmes (.692), Iowa's Monika Czinano (.672), Kansas' Taiyanna Jackson (.649), and Ohio State's Taylor Thierry (.649).
THIS GIRL IS ON FIRE: Kahlaijah Dean is still out there doing Kahlaijah Dean things, notching her 12th straight double-digit scoring performance with her 18-point night at at Eastern Washington after being held to a season-low nine points against CSU Bakersfield on Dec. 10. In that stretch, Dean has been a machine, averaging 24.4 ppg, 4.7 rpg, and 4.0 apg, while shooting .454 (94-for-207) from the floor -- including a run shooting .512 (22-for-43) from beyond the arc in the last six games after hitting just eight in the six games prior to that -- and .893 (75-for-84) from the line during that stretch.
HAPPY DEAN-UARY: The senior from Bakersfield, Calif., wrapped up her most impressive month as a Hornet in January, averaging 26.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 4.1 assists per game, while shooting 49 percent overall and 45 percent from distance in eight contests. It was a big jump for Dean, who was consistent over the first two months of the season, averaging 18.7 ppg and 18.8 ppg in November and December, respectively.
TOP GUN: Despite being held to three points under her average on Thursday at Eastern Washington, senior Kahlaijah Dean held on to the top spot on the Big Sky Conference's scoring list, averaging 21.7 ppg and ranking No. 9 in the nation in that category. Her 455 points stand No. 11 overall in the NCAA and are closing in on a pair of school single-season lists: standing just 49 shy of Terri Lugert (1990-91) for 10th on the school's all-time single-season list and seven behind Kylie Kuhns (2010-11) on the Division I chart.
SHE'S A WALKING BUCKET: It's truly a sight to see. Dean's 28 points at Montana State on Jan. 28 marked her 11th game overall -- and her seventh in the last nine outings -- with at least 20 points this year, while her 31 points against both Eastern Washington (Jan. 7) and Weber State (Jan. 21) were the most by a Hornet since Lianna Tillman finished with 35 at Idaho on Feb. 24 last season en route to Big Sky MVP honors.
THE DEAN OF SCORING: Dean brings with her a pedigree of knowing where the basket is, reaching the 1,000 career point milestone as only a junior at Oakland University and finishing her four years with the Golden Grizzlies with 1,425 points. Following her first 21 games in the green and gold, the Bakersfield, Calif., native has brought her total up to 1,880 career points, ranking No. 22 among active scorers across the country as of Feb. 2 and posting a total that would rank second on Sacramento State's all-time scoring list, trailing only the 2,064 points by Kristy Ryan from 1990-94.
DEEP SIX: Katie Peneueta did it at CSUN, Kahlaijah Dean accomplished the feat against Weber State, but Solape Amusan did them both one better by doing it in back-to-back games last week in the "Treasure State." Amusan sank six three-pointers in each of the contests against the Montana schools -- tying her for fourth on the Big Sky's single-game list this season and making her one of only two players in the league (along with Northern Arizona's Emily Rodabaugh) to sink at least six in a single game twice this year.
PUTTING THE "KAY" IN 1K: A picture is worth 1,000 words, but senior guard Kaylin Randhawa is now worth more than a 1,000 points in her career following her performance in the win over Eastern Washington on Jan. 7. The Turlock, Calif., native finished with 17 points, pushing her past the 1,000-point plateau in her collegiate career, which includes 524 points in three years at Pacific, 345 points last year at Utah State, and 191 points this season with the Hornets.
QUARTER MASTER: Give Kahlaijah Dean 10 minutes and she's going to do some damage. Give her four of those and watch out. The senior from Bakersfield, Calif., scored 12 points in the third quarter on Jan. 28 at Montana State, her 16th double-digit quarter this season out of 21 by a Hornet this year (Natabou has done it three times, Kaylin Randhawa did so against Montana, and Amusan scored 12 in the first against Montana State). All told, Dean has accomplished the feat seven times in the third, four times in the first, three times in the fourth, and twice in the second.
AND I'M REEEEEE.... RE-BOUNDING: With 10 rebounds at Montana on Jan. 26, Natabou posted her 11th double-digit rebounding performance of the season and her second straight after grabbing 18 as part of a double-double in a win over Weber State. Of her 10 rebounds against the Grizzlies, five came on the offensive glass -- the eighth time this year that she has had as many, if not more, offensive rebounds than defensive rebounds. That included nine offensive boards against the Wildcats -- tied for the second-most in her career and the most since she had 10 offensive rebounds as part of a career-high 22-rebound night at Portland State on Jan. 15.
NO SLEEP TILL...: Foot on the pedal for the Hornets as Natabou and Dean became the latest players to go all 40 minutes in a game this season at Montana. It is the third time that two Sacramento State players have played all 40 minutes in a regulation game and the first since Benthe Versteeg and Katie Peneueta did so against Cal State Fullerton on Dec. 21. For Natabou, it was her team-high fifth 40-minute performance of the year -- and her second straight -- while Dean posted her second, joining Katie Peneueta's four games, and Benthe Versteeg's game-long performance at Cal State Fullerton.
MINUTE WOMEN: Speaking of minutes, there haven't been many players in the Big Sky -- let alone the entire country -- who have seen more time on the court this year than the Hornets' Natabou (36.2 mpg), Peneueta (35.6 mpg), and Dean (35.4 mpg). The trio ranks second, third, and fifth, respectively, in the league in minutes and entered the week ranked among the top 60 in the nation at 28th, 37th, and 43rd, respectively.
DOUBLE-DOUBLE DARLING: Natabou is one of 23 players in the NCAA averaging a double-double (as of Feb. 3), but one of only 10 to average at least 15.1 points and 10.2 rebounds entering the weekend along with DePaul's Aneesah Morrow (25.4 ppg-11.6 rpg), LSU's Angel Reese (23.4 ppg-15.5 rpg), South Florida's Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu (16.6 ppg-12.6 rpg), Virginia Tech's Elizabeth Kitley (18.0 ppg-11.0 rpg), Youngstown State's Lilly Ritz (17.0 ppg-10.7 rpg), UNLV's Desi-Rae Young (17.8 ppg-10.3 rpg), BYU's Lauren Gustin (15.6 ppg-16.5 rpg), Kansas' Taiyanna Jackson (15.0 ppg-12.5 rpg), and Northern Illinois' A'Jah Davis (15.0 ppg-11.4 rpg).
I DOUBLE DOUBLE-DOUBLE DARE YOU: Keep on eye on your box scores. If Isnelle Natabou has a double-double, you may be in trouble. Thanks to her 17-point, 18-rebound effort in the win over Weber State, Natabou collected her 10th of the season overall -- ranking No. 28 in the NCAA in that category as of Feb. 3. In her 10 double-double performances this year, the native of the Czech Republic is averaging 16.8 ppg, 13.6 rpg, and shooting 70-for-104 (.673) from the floor.
THREE IS MORE THAN TWO: Trust us... Katie Peneueta has certainly done the math. In 38 career games with the Hornets, the Vancouver, Wash., native has made a living from long distance, sinking 97 of her 106 career field goals from behind the three-point line. At the media timeout of the second quarter on Nov. 22 against UC Davis, Peneueta's previous 30 makes from the field had all been three-pointers until she posted up and found room inside for a lay-up at the four-minute mark of the period -- her first two-point basket since scoring inside at Northern Arizona with 21 seconds left in a 76-62 victory on Feb. 3 last year -- and she finished with a career-high three (out of four makes) two-pointers against Idaho on Jan. 5 as part of her third double-double this season.
THE PENEUETA IS MIGHTIER: One of four players in double figures against Idaho back on Jan. 5, sophomore Katie Peneueta collected her third double-double of the year, adding a career-high 11 rebounds, while hitting a perfect 4-of-4 from the floor. However, her most impressive performance may have been at the defensive end, where she finished with a career-high seven blocks -- six of those against the conference's leading scorer Beyonce Bea. The seven blocks are tied for third on the school's single-game list and were the most since Kennedy Nicholas had seven at Weber State on Feb. 20, 2019. The record is held by Heidi Carroll, who swatted 10 against San Francisco State on Feb. 21, 1983.
NINE TIMES? NIIIIINE TIMES.: Wake up and smell the coffee, Hornet fans, it's already a record-setting season. Sacramento State clinched its ninth non-conference victory of the year on Dec. 21 at Cal State Fullerton, breaking a tie with the 2013-14 squad (8-2 in non-conference games) for the most in the history of the program. Of the Hornets' 11 non-conference opponents, seven finished with winning records and were a combined 64-50 (.561) in non-conference play. That kind of start bodes well for the Hornets, who won 18 games in 2013-14 -- ranking tied for the third on the school's single-season list.
BLOCKING IT OUT: Boasting the Big Sky's second-best scoring defense at 59.4 ppg allowed, the Hornets have also done work on the glass, holding opponents to a league-best 29.0 rebounds per game. Sacramento State allowed only 21 rebounds to Idaho on Jan. 5, which stood as the fewest allowed by the Hornets in their Division I history for exactly a week until they gave up only 19 rebounds to Northern Colorado on Jan. 12. In the game at Montana, the Grizzlies wwere held to just 28 rebounds, marking the 15th time in 21 games that Sacramento State has allowed fewer than 30 rebounds in a game this season.
PASSING THE CRASH TEST: Another double-digit rebounding perfomance for Isnelle Natabou is nothing new for the junior, who owns six of the top 11 single-game rebounding performances in the Big Sky this season. Natabou, whose 18 rebounds against Weber State are the second-most in the league this year (see below), enters the weekend ranked among the top 25 in the nation in three of the four major rebounding categories: offensive rebounds (9th), rebounds per game (22nd), and total rebounds (24th).
ARE YOU BOARD?: Natabou clearly wasn't in the Hornets' opener against UC Irvine, as her 20 rebounds were the most since she had 22 against Idaho in an overtime win on Jan. 22 last year and was her third career game with 20-or-more. Nationally, the 20-rebound performance is tied for the 21st-highest in the NCAA for a single-game -- and the most of any Big Sky player -- as of Feb. 2, and stands as one of forty two 20-rebound games in the NCAA.
MIND THE GAP: The 32-point win over Northern Colorado on Jan. 12 marked the largest margin of victory in head coach Mark Campbell's tenure, besting the 22-point win over UC Davis earlier this year. It was the program's biggest win since a 59-point drubbing of NAIA member Pacific Union on Dec. 19, 2019, and the largest against a Division I foe since sinking Northern Arizona by the same margin in a 111-79 win over the Lumberjacks on March 4, 2016. Thus far, nine of Sacramento State's 15 wins have been by double digits, while the 26-point win over Weber State on Jan. 21 marked the team's fifth of 20-or-more points.
WHAT IS THE "JOUEUR DE LA SEMAINE?": It's the player of the week. That sounds good, we'll have that. Thanks to Kahlaijah Dean's award on Jan. 24, a Hornet has now been named Big Sky Player of the Week six times in the last nine weeks (Isnelle Natabou took home honors on Nov. 29 and Dec. 13, while Dean won three times on Nov. 22, Dec. 27, and Jan. 10) -- the most of any school in the league. The six awards as a team this year are a school record, surpassing the 2012-13 squad for the most in a season since joining the Big Sky in 1996-97.
AND THE AWARD GOES TO...: Dean became the first Hornet women's basketball player to win Big Sky Player of the Week honors three times in the same season with her award on Jan. 10, while her four career awards makes her one of only 10 Sacramento State players in the program's Division I history to win multiple awards in a career, tying her with Kylie Kuhns (2009-13), Alle Moreno (2010-14), Fantasia Hilliard (2011-15), Maranne Johnson (2014-18), and current teammate Isnelle Natabou, for the most in program history.
BIG (SKY) TIME: Dean's four awards this year are the most by any Big Sky Conference student-athlete during a single campaign since Northern Colorado's Savannah Smith took home the honor five times in a span of seven weeks during the 2018-19 season.
HORNETS GO GLOBAL WITH SIGNEES: Head Coach Mark Campbell racked up the frequent flier miles to sign four student-athletes during the recent NCAA signing period, welcoming post Paula Haw and guard Lina Falk from Germany, forward Summah Hanson from Australia, and guard Sofia Alonso from Spain.
