ST. PAUL, Minn. — Freshman forward Summah Hanson finished with a team-high 15 points and six rebounds to lead a balanced scoring effort for Sacramento State, but it wasn't enough for the visiting Hornets, who fell to host St. Thomas, 70-52, in the first-ever meeting between the two schools on Wednesday night.
With the loss, Sacramento State fell to 1-11 overall on the year while the Tommies improved to 9-6 overall, both competing as part of the inaugural Big Sky-Summit League Challenge.
Hanson hit 6-of-12 from the floor and drained all three of her free throws en route to her eighth double-digit scoring performance of the year and her first since scoring 10 points against Cal Poly on Dec. 21. Her 15 points were the most since she finished with the same number at Fresno State five days earlier on Dec. 16.
The freshman was the only Hornet in double figures, but Sacramento State got help from three others who finished with at least eight points on the night. Among that group was senior — and Woodbury, Minn., native — Solape Amusan, who tallied nine points to go with four rebounds in her homecoming, while sophomore Benthe Versteeg and redshirt freshman Sophia Lee added eight points apiece.
Versteeg also finished with a game-high six assists, marking her sixth game this season with at least that many.
The Hornets shot the ball well, hitting for 44 percent from the field for the game — their second-best total of the year behind only the 57 percent from the floor against Santa Clara on Nov. 29 — and were a season-best 13-of-14 from the line.
On the flip side, St. Thomas shot 45 percent from the field and went to the line 24 times in the game, making 19 of its attempts, as the two teams were whistled for a combined 46 fouls.
The two schools went back and fourth for the first half of the opening quarter with a three-pointer by Irune Orio closing the Hornets to within a single point at 9-8 with 5:02 to play in the period. The Tommies responded with seven straight points over a five-minute span to take control before Lee stopped the bleeding in dramatic fashion, beating the buzzer with an "and one" to make it a five-point game after the first 10 minutes.
A flurry of points midway through the second quarter had Sacramento State within a pair as the Hornets scored on three straight possessions — three-pointers by Amusan and Lee as well as a basket inside by Hanson — to make it 25-23 with just under four to play, but another run by the home team saw St. Thomas score 11 of the next 13 points to break the game open and hold a 36-27 lead at the break.
Overall, the Hornets shot 52 percent in the first half, powered by a 7-for-12 (.583) performance in the second period alone.
Hanson opened the third quarter with a three-point play to make it a six-point contest, but that would be as close as Sacramento State would get the rest of the way. The Tommies answered with an 8-2 run and held the Hornets to without a field goal for more than four minutes as they began to pull away.
Sacramento State closes out the Big Sky-Summit League Challenge with the second leg of the series at home on Saturday (Jan. 6), welcoming Oral Roberts to The Nest for a 2 p.m. tip-off. The Golden Eagles held on to defeat Northern Colorado, 81-80, in overtime at home on Wednesday.
