BOZEMAN, Mont. — A pair of huge second-half runs by visiting Sacramento State nearly erased a 19-point Montana State lead on Thursday night, but the Hornets' rally came up just shy in Bozeman, Mont., as they fell in a battle with the Bobcats, 60-54, at Brick Breeden Fieldhouse.
Sacramento State shot just under 40 percent for the game, but it was the Hornets' defense that shined during the team's comeback attempt, holding the Bobcats to 30 percent shooting for the game, including just 1-of-12 (.083) in the final quarter and 6-of-29 (.207) in the second half.
Meanwhile, Sacramento State's offense was clicking after the break, finishing 11-of-19 (.579) from the field in the fourth and shooting 50 percent (15-of-30) overall after the break to help power the rally.
Freshman Ayanna Jackson posted her first career double-double with 11 points on 5-of-7 from the field and a career-high 10 rebounds, while classmate Lina Falk scored 10 of her team- and career-high 12 points in the first half to help lead a balanced scoring effort for Sacramento State, which had five players finish with at least nine points for the game.
Sophomore Irune Orio added nine points and eight rebounds, while sophomore Benthe Versteeg added nine points, six rebounds, and eight assists. Freshman Summah Hanson chipped in nine points and seven rebounds before fouling out in the final period.
Trailing by eight after one and by as many as 15 in the second quarter before the two teams settled on a 34-20 score at the break, it was the Hornets (1-17, 0-7) who made the adjustments and came out firing to start the third quarter.
Jackson turned a MSU turnover into a basket inside to spark an 11-0 run to open the third as Hanson and Orio drained three-pointers to turn the 14-point deficit back to just three points at 34-31 with 5:59 to play. The defense limited the Bobcats to 0-for-4 from the field and forced three turnovers during the run, eventually holding Montana State (10-10, 4-3) to under 30 percent shooting from the field for the quarter.
That woke up the Bobcats, who quickly returned the favor by finishing the quarter on a 14-0 run of their own and scored the first two points of the fourth period to make it a 16-0 run, extending the lead to 19 at 50-31 with just 29 seconds gone in the final quarter.
However, Sacramento State was undaunted, scoring the next seven consecutive points and extending its run to 13-3, bringing the Hornets back to within 10 midway through the quarter while holding Montana State to without a field goal until Malea Egan scored inside at the 3:39 mark to stop the bleeding.
Sacramento State continued to chip away, scoring 10 of the next 14 points to make it a five-point contest with 20 seconds remaining, but would get no closer.
Marah Dykstra finished with a team-high 12 points to go with 14 rebounds, while Madison Hall and Isobel Bunyan added 11 points apiece. Montana State held a 48-40 rebounding advantage led by Dykstra's performance, including a 21-9 advantage on the offensive glass.
Sacramento State closes its trip to Montana on Saturday (Jan. 27), taking on the University of Montana in Missoula. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m. PT.
