SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Sophomore Lina Falk finished with a career-high 18 points and led a group of four Hornets in double figures on Sunday afternoon as the Sacramento State women's basketball team posted its third consecutive victory to open the season thanks to an 88-55 win over Lincoln University at The Nest.
With the win, this year's Hornet team becomes the first in the program's Division I era to open a campaign with a 3-0 record and is the first since the 1976-77 squad began that season with three straight victories.
Falk finished 8-of-10 from the field, adding a pair of three-pointers, grabbing four rebounds, and dishing out three assists. The total surpassed her previous career high of 17 points set against Idaho State in the opening round of last year's Big Sky Conference Tournament and matched in this year's season opener against Jessup University.
Junior Kennadi Archibald finished with a career-high 12 points on 5-of-7 from the field, while freshman Brooklyn Taylor collected her first career double-double in the victory, adding 11 points and 10 rebounds — both career high's — while shooting 4-of-6 from the floor and 3-of-4 from the line.
Freshman Sofia Alonso wrapped up the double-digit parade with 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting and continued her run at the line with a perfect 2-for-2 effort, extended her streak to 12 consecutive free throws made to start the year.
In all, 10 of the 12 players who saw minutes on Sunday finished with at least two points.
Sacramento State led wire-to-wire on Sunday, with the score tied for only 1:28 while leading by as many as 41 points on three different occasions in the fourth quarter. A 10-0 run over a three-minute span midway through the opening quarter broke up a tie game and send the Hornets on their way.
The Oaks never got closer than six points with 2:38 remaining in the first as a 15-0 run — sparked by seven straight points from Alonso — put Sacramento State ahead by 21 and the Hornets never looked back.
Lincoln was led by Jaslyn Woods, who finished with 22 points on 6-of-13 shooting, adding three rebounds and three steals to her total. Cherika Rafan was also in double figures, finishing with 13 points on a quartet of three-pointers.
Sacramento State shot just under 55 percent from the field for the game, including a 60 percent clip in the second quarter and made 63 percent from the floor in the third quarter. At the other end, the Oaks were limited to just 35 percent for the contest, including 29 percent in the first half.
With a three-game homestand to start the season now behind it, Sacramento State hits the road for the first time in 2024, traveling to Orange County to take on Cal State Fullerton on Thursday (Nov. 14) at 7 p.m.
