SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Sacramento State women's basketball team officially tips-off the 2024-25 campaign on Monday night (Nov. 4) at 6:30 p.m., welcoming local rival Jessup University into The Nest for the Hornets' regular season opener. The contest tips-off a run that will see Sacramento State play three times in a seven-day span at home, also hosting UC San Diego on Nov. 7 and Stanton University on Nov. 10 in that stretch.
GAME #1
WHAT: Jessup University (0-0, 0-0 GSAC) at Sacramento State (0-0, 0-0 Big Sky)
WHEN: Monday, Nov. 4, 2024
TIME: 6:30 p.m. PT
WHERE: Sacramento, Calif.
ARENA: The Nest
WATCH: ESPN+
LIVE STATS: HornetStats.com
TICKETS: HornetSports.com
GAME NOTES: Sacramento State | Jessup University
THE COACHES
• Sacramento State's Aaron Kallhoff is entering his second year at the helm of the Hornets' program. Prior to taking the job at Sacramento State, he served five years as a head coach at the junior college level and spent 10 years as an assistant at five Division I programs: Arkansas State, TCU, LSU, Penn State, and BYU
• Jessup University's Corey Laster is in his fourth season in charge of the Warriors' program, posting a 50-38 record in his previous three years on the Rocklin campus. He is in his 18th year overall as a head coach, winning 218 career games
HORNETS AT A GLANCE
• Sacramento State returns five letter winners and two starters off of last season's squad, while welcoming nine new faces to the roster -- five of those via transfer
• Three of those transfers are from Division I programs -- all of whom will be very familiar to the Hornets. Sacramento State welcomes back Katie Peneueta, who spent 2023-24 at NC State and helped the Wolfpack to an NCAA "Final Four" appearance, while Jaydia Martin and Fatoumata Jaiteh come to Northern California from Big Sky rivals Eastern Washington and Northern Arizona
• Record-setting junior guard Benthe Versteeg is the leading returning scorer after averaging 11.6 points and 3.6 rebounds per game while setting the school single-season record with 208 assists (6.71 assists per game)
• Sophomore Lina Falk started 19 of the team's 31 games -- including each of the last 14 -- and reached double figures five times, including a career-high 17 against Idaho State in the Big Sky Tournament
ABOUT THE WARRIORS
• Jessup returns 13 letter winners and four starters off of last season's squad that finished 22-8 overall and 9-5 in the Golden State Athletic Conference, falling in the opening round of the NAIA National Tournament to Oregon Tech, 79-72
• Monday's contest will be an exhibition for the Warriors, while the game will count against Sacramento State's record
• The Warriors are in their second year of provisional membership at the NCAA Division II level from the NAIA and will begin competition in the PacWest Conference, with eyes set on full membership beginning with the 2026-27 season
• Jessup returns three of its top four scorers off of last season's squad that accounted for more than a 40 percent of the team's scoring
• Senior guard Andrea Jovicevic led the team in scoring at 15.3 points per game while grabbing 5.9 rebounds per game and shooting .509 from the field
SERIES NOTABLES
• Despite being separated by just over 20 miles (as Google Maps flies), Sacramento State and Jessup -- located in Rocklin, Calif. -- have never met in an official game
• The two programs, however, have played exhibition games in 2005, 2007, 2018, and 2023
EXHIBITIONISTS
• Sacramento State opened the campaign with a 71-58 victory over Cal State East Bay in the team's exhibition opener
• Newcomer Jaydia Martin finished with a team-high 20 points to pace a group of four Hornets in double figures, adding a pair of assists and three steals in 28 minutes
• Fellow newcomer Fatoumata Jaiteh added 14 points and three rebounds, sophomore Lina Falk chipped in 11 more to go with four rebounds, while junior Benthe Versteeg finished with 10 points, five rebounds, nine assists, and five steals
• An 11-3 run late in the first quarter gave Sacramento State a two-point lead after one and held a 12-point advantage at the break following a buzzer-beater by Madison Butcher
• Cal State East Bay shot 70 percent in the third quarter and led by one with just under five minutes to go in the period, but the Hornets scored seven of the next eight points and used a 12-2 burst over a six-minute span in the fourth to lead by as many as 16 points while holding the Pioneers to without a field goal until the 3:11 mark
LID-LIFTERS
• According to available records dating back to the 1973-74 season, the Hornets are 16-35 all time in regular season openers and 7-26 in the program's Division I era (since 1991-92)
• Monday's game against the Warriors marks on the second time in the last three seasons that Sacramento State will open the season at home, but only the third time in the last 11 lid-lifters
• Only 16 of the 51 combined season openers have come at home with the Hornets posting a 7-9 record in those contests
• Sacramento State has lost each of their last five regular season openers against Nevada (2019), Idaho (2020), California (2021), UC Irvine (2022), and Washington (2023)
• The Hornets are 24-25 combined in home openers, having lost their last two against Big West Conference rivals UC Irvine (2022) and Cal State Fullerton (2023)
• Monday marks only the second time that Sacramento State opens a season against a non-Division I opponent since 1991-92, joining a victory over Bethany College from Scotts Valley, Calif., in 2006
TOP-HALF HORNETS
• A season after finishing eighth in the Big Sky Conference standings, the Hornets enter the 2024-25 campaign picked to finish fourth in the league according to a preseason vote of the conference's head coaches and sixth according to media that follow the Big Sky
• It is the highest preseason finish for Sacramento State in the coaches poll since the Hornets were selected tied for second with North Dakota and trailing Montana prior to the 2015-16 season
• Sacramento State is part of a packed middle of the pack in the preseason coaches poll that has the Hornets with 48 points, Northern Colorado with 47, Idaho State with 44, and Idaho with 36
• The same can be said in the media poll where the Bengals were picked fourth with 143 points, followed by the Bears (136), Sacramento State (135), and Eastern Washington (132, 1 first-place vote)
• The top three were the same in both the coaches and media polls as Montana State picked up seven of the 10 first-place votes from the coaches, followed by Montana State with three first-place votes, and Montana
VERSTEEG PICKS UP PRESEASON BIG SKY NOD
• Junior guard Benthe Versteeg was one of six student-athletes named to the Preseason All-Big Sky Team, joining Northern Arizona's Sophie Glancey (who was also selected MVP) and Leia Beattie, Montana State's Esmeralda Morales and Marah Dykstra, and Montana's Dani Bartsch
• Versteeg is only the fourth Hornet to earn preseason all-league honors, joining former standouts Brianna Burgos (2016-17), Kennedy Nicholas (2019-20), and Isnelle Natabou (2022-23)
"HELLO, MY NAME IS..."
• For the second consecutive season, Sacramento State welcomes nine new faces to the roster for 2024-25, adding four freshmen, three Division I transfers, a Division II newcomer, and another from the junior college ranks
• That total does NOT include a trio of returning medical redshirts (Madison Butcher, Sofia Alonso, and Paula Haw), who combined to appear in a total of five games in 2023-24
• The nine newcomers in each of the last two seasons are the most since the 2014-15 roster featured nine new faces: four freshmen and five junior college transfers
WORLDWIDE LEADER
• Of Sacramento State's 15-member roster for 2023-24, seven of those players hail from outside the United States
• The seven international players are the fourth most among Division I programs across the nation according to a preseason poll of schools
• The seven players trail only UTEP (10), Colorado (8), and Gonzaga (8)
• The Hornets' roster represents six different countries (United States, Germany, Spain, Australia, The Netherlands, and Hungary), which ranks fifth in the NCAA
• With the addition of Australians Jemma Amoore and Rubi Gray, along with Hungary's Noemi Arvai, Sacramento State has now had 18 international players in the program's Division I history -- 16 of those coming in the last seven years
• Australia leads the way with four former Hornets, followed by three from Germany, two from Spain France, and Canada, and one each from The Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, and Brazil
SO FRESH, SO CLEAN
• The nine newcomers to the roster are among the most in the nation according to a preseason survey of schools, ranking sixth among those that responded behind Clemson, Kentucky, and Central Michigan with 11, and Colorado and New Mexico with 10
• Among those same schools, Sacramento State's four freshmen are tied for second with Colorado and New Mexico, while Central Michigan has five
• However, the five transfers are the fewest among that group, trailing Clemson (9), Kentucky (8), Colorado (6), and New Mexico (6)
WHILE I SING MY COMEBACK SONG
• In addition to all the new faces, the Hornets are also bringing back a trio of medical redshirts for the 2024-25 campaign
• Third-year sophomore Madison Butcher, who played in 25 games as a true freshman before suffering a season-ending injury at Idaho State, returns after suffering a second season-ending injury mere minutes into preseason scrimmage prior to the 2023-24 campaign
• Second-year freshman Paula Haw is back in the lineup after injury forced her to the sidelines after seven games (and four starts) in 2023-24
• Second-year freshman Sofia Alonso is also back to full strength after injury kept her out of every game but last year's regular season opener at Washington
UNITED STATES OF SACRAMENTO
• In addition to the student-athletes from six different countries, this year's edition of the Hornets also hail from three different states
• Alongside four native Californians (Jeniece Harmon, Madison Butcher, Sophia Lee, and Brooklyn Taylor), Sacramento State also features natives of Washington (Katie Peneueta, Jaydia Martin, and Fatoumata Jaiteh) and Texas (Kennadi Archibald)
• Archibald becomes the first Texan on a Hornet women's basketball roster since Kennedy Burks (Grand Prairie, Texas) played during the 2019-20 season
• Martin and Jaiteh are the latest Washingtonians to compete for Sacramento State as the "Evergreen State" is home to 17 former Hornets during the program's Division I era -- the most of any state outside of California
• In the program's Division I era, Hornets have called a total of 25 different states home
CALIFORNIA LOVE
• Including its exhibition against Cal State East Bay, Sacramento State will not leave the state of California for a game until after the Thanksgiving holiday when they travel to Miami for the FIU Thanksgiving Classic
• The Hornets will play 16 games in the "Golden State" and visit three states in non-conference play: Florida, Nebraska, and New Mexico, along with trips to Oregon, Idaho, Washington, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and Montana when Big Sky Conference play kicks in
CATCH US IF YOU CAN
• Of the aforementioned 16 home contests, the Hornets will play five of their first six games within the friendly confines of The Nest
• After that, however, it's catch-as-catch-can as Sacramento State will play only two home games -- vs. Kansas City on Dec. 4 and San Jose State on Dec. 15 -- from Nov. 20 through Jan. 11, including Big Sky opening games at Portland State (Jan. 4), Idaho (Jan. 9), and Eastern Washington (Jan. 11)
• The 32 days between home games against San Jose State (Dec. 15) and Northern Arizona (Jan. 16) -- during which the Hornets will play five games away from The Nest -- is the seventh-largest gap in the nation this year: Columbia (47 days, 6 games away from home), UC Irvine (46 days, 7 games), Texas A&M-Commerce (45 days, 6 games), Stephen F. Austin (40 days, 8 games), William & Mary (35 days, 4 games), and Utah State (34 days, 8 games)
AS THE WORLD TOURNEYS
• Sacramento State will compete in two multi-team tournaments -- the FIU Thanksgiving Classic in Miami, Fla., and the Lobo Invitational in Albuquerque, N.M. -- in addition to the second-annual Big Sky-Summit League Challenge in 2024-25
• That gives the Hornets three regular-season tournament appearances since the 1998-99 squad played at the Danka Classic in Reno, Nev., the Boise State Christmas Classic in Idaho, and the Saint Mary's Christmas Classic in Moraga, Calif.
BACK TO RUN THE SHOW
• The Big Sky assist queen returns to the floor for her third season in the green and gold as Benthe Versteeg looks to build upon her record-setting 2023-24 campaign
• Versteeg's 208 assists last year not only broke the Sacramento State single-season record that had stood since 2015, the mark ranked tied for eighth in the Big Sky annals
• Versteeg became the 11th player in Big Sky history to accumulate 200 assists in a season and only the second do accomplish the feat since 2012, joining Northern Arizona's Regan Schenck (231 in 2022-23)
• Versteeg's 6.71 assists per game is also the highest single-season mark in program history (Fantasia Hilliard averaged 6.50 apg in 2013-14)
• In the process, Versteeg is the first Hornet to lead the league in assists since Lianna Tillman (6.04 apg) in 2021-22
• She is also only the fifth Hornet overall to lead the league in assists, joining Tillman, Rexanne Rodriguez (5.65 apg) in 2000-01, Tika Koshiyama-Diaz (5.48 apg) in 2010-11, and Hilliard, who did it in three straight seasons: 2012-13 (5.9 apg), 2013-14 (6.5 apg), and 2014-15 (5.8 pg)
HOLD UP, WAIT A MINUTE
• Versteeg played all 40 minutes in a regulation game 10 times last season and played better than 39 minutes on eight other occasions
• Those performances helped her average 38.43 minutes per game in 2023-24 -- only Duquesne's Megan McConnell (38.50) averaged more
• Overall, Versteeg's 1,191 minutes played this year are tied for the most on the school's single-season list, matching Kahlaijah Dean's marathon mark set in 2022-23
• Versteeg's 10 "complete games" in 2023-24 are the most since Rexanne Rodriguez played at least 40 minutes in 21 of the team's 26 games -- and her teammate Michelle St. Clair did so in 19 of those 26 -- in 2000-01
FALK THIS WAY
• Sophomore Lina Falk finished her debut season as a mainstay in the Hornets starting five, making 19 starts overall -- including the final 14 games of the season
• During that stretch, she reached double figures five times, including a career-high 17 points against Idaho State in the opening round of the Big Sky Conference Tournament
• Nearly three-quarters of her points (117 of 160) came over that final 14-game span, raising her season average more than two points in that stretch while averaging 8.4 ppg and 4.5 rpg
• Falk also shot .423 (41-for-97) from the field overall
• She played better than 35 minutes in 11 of those 14 contests, including three 40-minute performances at Montana State (1/25), at Northern Colorado (2/17), and versus Montana (2/22)
GUESS WHO'S BACK... BACK AGAIN
• Katie's back. Tell a friend.
• After spending a season helping NC State to an appearance in the NCAA "Final Four," senior Katie Peneueta returns to Sacramento State for her final collegiate season in 2024-25
• Peneueta spent her first two seasons with the Hornets in 2021-22 and 2022-23, averaging 8.5 points and 5.3 rebounds per game while shooting .462 from the field, .458 from three-point range, and .795 from the line
• She is currently one of only two Division I players in the NCAA according to a preseason poll of schools across the nation to return to their original university after spending a year elsewhere along with Middle Tennessee State's Courtney Blakely, who spent last season at Arizona
THREE IS MORE THAN TWO
• Trust us... Peneueta has certainly done the math
• In 51 career games with the Hornets, the Vancouver, Wash., native has made a living from long distance, sinking 127 of her 139 made field goals from beyond the three-point line
• As a freshman, only four of her 60 makes were from closer than 22 feet, 1 3/4 inches while, as a sophomore, she doubled that output, making eight two-pointers out of her 79 total baskets
THE "PEN"-EUETA IS MIGHTIER
• Peneueta stands 15 three-point makes away from breaking into the school's all-time top 10, closing in on Sarah Stapp (1992-96)
• Her career .458 (127-for-277) three-point percentage is the best in school history entering the 2024-25 season
• Peneueta's 63 career blocks also rank ninth on the all-time list entering the year, needing four more swats to match Sephora Scoubes (1999-01) for eighth on the chart
• She also holds the top two single-season three-point marks in school history, shooing a school-record .463 (56-for-121) as a freshman in 2021-22 and a second-best mark of .455 (71-for-156) in her sophomore season
CHAMPIONSHIP PEDIGREE
• Peneueta, junior guard Benthe Versteeg, and Madison Butcher are the last remaining pieces from the Hornets' 2022-23 Big Sky regular season and tournament championship run that ended in a trip to UCLA for the program's first-ever NCAA Tournament berth
• Meanwhile, senior Jaydia Martin comes to Sacramento State after helping Eastern Washington to the 2023-24 Big Sky regular season and tournament crowns
• The name Fatoumata Jaiteh also has a nice "ring" to it as she helped Northern Arizona to a share of the 2023 Big West regular season crown along with the Hornets
IT'S IN THEIR BLOOD
• Freshman Guard Jemma Amoore enters her first year at the collegiate level while her sister, Georgia, is wrapping up her eligibility at Kentucky following an All-American four years at Virginia Tech
• Junior forward Kennadi Archibald's parents were also collegiate basketball standouts: her father, Beau, played at Washington State (1996-97) and UConn (1998-01), while her mother, Aleah, played at Texas Tech (1998-00) and professionally in Portugal
• Freshman Rubi Gray's father, David, played professionally in Australia for four different clubs, while her uncle, Mark, played at Miami and professionaly in Australia's NBL and NBL1
• Sophomore Sophia Lee's sister, Jordan, is entering her freshman year with the University of Texas women's basketball team, while their parents played collegiately in Canada: Roderick at the University of Ottawa and Georgia at Brock University
BENCH BOSSES
• Joining second-year head coach Aaron Kallhoff on the bench are associate head coach De'Audra Brown, assistant coaches Jodi Page and Asha Thomas, along with Women's Basketball Chief of Staff Elexus Trenkle
• A sideline veteran at both the junior college and Division I levels, Brown was elevated to her current position in March of 2024. She was named to the Women's Basketball Coaches Association's "30-under-30" coaches list in 2017 and has stops at Hawai'i, New Mexico State, Eastern Arizona College and Seward County Community College.
• Page is in her second year with the Hornets after spending a season at UNC Greensboro in 2022-23, along with stops at New Mexico State, Cal State Fullerton, Arizona State, and Eastern Washington, as well as 20 years coaching in her native Australia
• Thomas enters the second year of her first Division I post following a standout playing career at California, where she was an All-Pac-12 selection and helped the Golden Bears to three 20-win seasons and three NCAA Tournament berths
• Trenkle is in her second season at Sacramento State after serving as the men's basketball director of operations at Tarleton in 2022-23 and a graduate assistant for the Texans in 2021-22
