BOISE, Idaho -- The Sacramento State 1-2 punch of guard Kahlaijah Dean and post Isnelle Natabou each finished with double-doubles and the defense limited Idaho to just 38 percent shooting on the night as the No. 3-seeded Hornets defeated the No. 6-seeded Vandals, 73-58, in the quarterfinals of the Big Sky Conference Tournament on Monday.

In winning their seventh consecutive game, the Hornets continued to improve on their school record for victories, moving to 23-7 overall and sweeping all three meetings with Idaho this year. Led by 16 points from Beyonce Bea, the Vandals finished the season 13-17 overall.

The Big Sky regular season tri-champions are into the semifinals of the conference tournament for the first time since 2015 and will face No. 7-seeded Portland State — which upset No. 2-seeded and reigning tournament champion Montana State — in Wednesday's second semifinal at 1:30 p.m. PT

It is the fourth trip to the semifinals for Sacramento State, which made three previous appearances in the span of four seasons in 2012, 2013, and 2015. A win over the Vikings would give the Hornets their first-ever trip to the Big Sky Tournament championship game.

Monday marked the second consecutive game that Sacramento State has had two players finish with a double-double after Dean (16 points, 10 assists) and Jordan Olivares (18 points, 11 rebounds) completed the task against Portland State in the regular season finale a week ago, helping the Hornets clinch their share of the regular season title.

Dean, the Big Sky Conference MVP and Newcomer of the Year, finished with 22 points and 13 rebounds — all 13 on the defensive end —  for her sixth double-double of the season, narrowly missing out on a triple-double by ending the night with eight assists. It was her 14th game with 20-or-more points this season, her 21st consecutive game in double figures, and her 29th in 30 games overall.

Natabou, the first-team All-Big Sky selection, logged her team-best 12th double-double of the year in the process, scoring 22 points and grabbing 10 rebounds on 10-of-18 from the floor. It was her eighth 20-point performance of the season and her 26th double-digit scoring contest. Of her 10 rebounds, nine came on the offensive end, setting a new program single-game record in Big Sky Tournament play, tying her season high set against Northern Arizona earlier in the year, and falling just one short of her career high of 10 set at Portland State last season.

Sophomore Katie Peneueta was the third double-digit scorer for Sacramento State, ending the night with 11 points thanks to a trio of three-pointers. Senior Kaylin Randhawa finished with eight points, two rebounds, and a pair of blocked shots, senior Solape Amusan added six more points, and senior Jordan Olivares ended the night with four points and nine rebounds.
 

Never trailing in the game, the Hornets shot 47% (29-62) from the field, 40% (10-25) from the 3-point line, and held big advantages in points off turnovers (11-2) and second chance points (14-3). Both the field goal percentage and 3-point percentage were the best marks for Sacramento State at the Big Sky Tournament. The Hornets outscored Idaho in every quarter except for the third, and had a huge fourth (25-14) to pull away.

After the Vandals sliced the Hornets lead to two points early in the fourth quarter, the Hornets immediately responded with a 12-4 run to reclaim a double digit advantage at 60-50 with six minutes to play. Sacramento State led by at least seven points the rest of the way, opening up a lead as large as 16 points with three minutes left. Four Hornets scored during the game-sealing run, including Natabou (5), Katie Peneueta (3), Dean (2) and Randhawa (2).

Sacramento State used a 9-0 run to take control early in the game and jump out to a 17-8 lead at the 2:36 mark of the first quarter. The Hornets continued to inch away in the second, using a 10-5 run to build its first double-digit lead of the balllgame and led by as many as 13 points with 90 seconds to play in the first half en route to a 10-point lead at the break.

The Vandals remained at arms length for most of the third quarter before Idaho found a groove in the final two minutes, turning a 10-point Sacramento State advantage into just a four-point lead at the end of three, then making it a two-point game with the first bucket of the fourth quarter.

However, the Hornets were undeterred, maintaining their composure and slowly pull away. Randhawa drew a foul and made a pair while Natabou turned an Idaho miss into a three-point play at the other end, rebuilding the lead to seven just 45 seconds in. The Vandals never got closer than seven points the rest of the way as an 11-2 run, punctuated by a corner three-pointer from Randhawa, to go up 16 points and never look back.

IN THE BONUS: The Hornets' .468 field goal percentage for the game was a school record in the tournament (previously .467 against Southern Utah in 2014)… Dean's 13 defensive rebounds were also a school tournament record, breaking the previous mark by Summer Menke in 2021 against Montana… The 10 makes from three-point range marked the fifth consecutive game that the Hornets have sunk double-digits from beyond the arc… The 15-point victory is the largest margin of victory in a conference tournament game since a 16-point win over Montana State in the 2015 quarterfinals… The four blocked shots made this year's Hornets the sixth team in school history to record 100 blocks in a season (now at 103)… The wire-to-wire win was the team's eight of the season and the first since a win at Weber State on Jan. 21.