POCATELLO, Idaho — Sophomore Irune Orio finished with a team-high 12 points while freshman Summah Hanson collected her second straight double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds on Saturday afternoon, but a pair of third-quarter runs helped host Idaho State break-open a three-point game en route to a 62-48 victory at Reed Gym.
Orio added four rebounds and a pair of three-pointers to her stat line en route to posting her third double-digit scoring performance of the year and her second in the last three games after scoring 13 points against Oral Roberts a week ago.
Meanwhile, Hanson continued her stellar freshman campaign with her seventh double-double overall this year, reaching double figures for the 11th time in 15 games while posting her highest rebounding total since grabbing 16 boards at Fresno State on Dec. 16.
Sophomore Benthe Versteeg overcame a rough shooting day to finish with eight points, seven assists, and four steals, collecting her ninth game with at least six assists on the year while adding on to her team-high steals total, which now stands at 24. Sophomore Kaylie Edge chipped in with a career-high eight points while adding a trio of rebounds.
Sacramento State battled back from an early first-quarter deficit to tie the game at 11 before the Bengals answered with a 7-0 run to close the period and take an early lead. The Hornets continued to claw their way up, whittling the gap down to just three and trailing by only four at the halftime break before Idaho State pulled away.
After trading baskets to start the second half, which included five straight points by Hanson to make it a three-point contest once again, the Bengals' Piper Carlson converted an "and one" off a turnover to spark a 9-0 run and teammate Maria Dias answered back-to-back triples from Orio and Solape Amusan with a three-pointer of her own, jumpstarting a 9-1 burst to end the quarter and give ISU the 50-36 lead.
Free throws dominated the early part of the fourth quarter, but the Hornets could not get closer than 12 points the rest of the way as a 10-2 spurt midway through the period gave Idaho State its largest lead of the day at 62-42 with just over three minutes to play.
Sacramento State returns home for a pair next week at The Nest, hosting Northern Colorado on Thursday (Jan. 18) at 6:30 p.m., before hosting Northern Arizona on Saturday (Jan. 20) at 11 a.m. for Kids Day. All kids ages 12 and under get in free for the game against the Lumberjacks, which will feature a post-game autograph session with the players.
