SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Unbeaten at 2-0 on the young season, the Sacramento State women's basketball team hopes to make it three-straight victories to tip-off the 2024-25 campaign on Sunday (Nov. 10), hosting Lincoln University at The Nest at 2 p.m.
GAME #3
WHAT: Lincoln University at Sacramento State (2-0, 0-0 Big Sky)
WHEN: Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024
TIME: 2 p.m. PT
WHERE: Sacramento, Calif.
ARENA: The Nest
WATCH: ESPN+
LIVE STATS: HornetStats.com
TICKETS: HornetSports.com
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.
• Lincoln University is led by Head Coach Aimee Longoria, who is in her third season at the helm of the program. She previously served on the coaching staff at Concordia University in Texas, as well as stops at the high school and AAU level.
ABOUT THE OAKS
• Lincoln University is coming off a 2023-24 season where it finished with a program-record 12 wins (12-13 overall) and secured the program's first-ever Southwestern States Intercollegiate Conference regular season title with a perfect 7-0 record
• This season, the Oaks has suffered losses to Cal Poly Humboldt (77-49), Simpson University (77-61), and San Jose State (81-37), while posting a win over Pacific Union (82-57) in their last outing
• Junior post Teulia Tuaisosopo finished with 23 points in the win over Pacific Union, leading a group of four players in double figures
• Senior guard Jaslyn Woods finished with 17 pts and eight rebounds in that same victory and added an 11-point, 11-rebound double-double against Simpson University
SERIES NOTABLES
• Sunday marks the first-ever meeting between the two schools in women's basketball
• The Oaks are one of a possible seven first-time opponents for the Hornets in 2024-25: Jessup, UC San Diego, Lincoln University, Abilene Christian (twice), Kansas City, Omaha, and a possible meeting with Wagner at the FIU Thanksgiving Tournament
LAST TIME OUT
• Junior Benthe Versteeg and sophomore Madison Butcher each finished with a game-high 16 points and the Hornets remained unbeaten on the season with a 71-60 victory over UC San Diego
• Butcher hit four of her five baskets from beyond the arc in the win, while Versteeg added four rebounds and three steals to go along with her game-high seven assists
• Fatoumata Jaiteh added a game-high nine rebounds to go with seven points and a game-high four steals
• Sacramento State used a 10-2 run to erase an early seven-point deficit, the took control in the second quarter, outscoring the Tritons, 21-10, and ending the period on a 16-5 run to build a 10-point lead at the break
• During that run, Sacramento State's defense limited UCSD to just five free throws and without a field goal for the final six minutes of the half
• The Hornets led by as many as 14 points in the third quarter, then held off a stuff UC San Diego rally that had the Tritons within three points
• Sacramento State then limited UCSD to just one field goal over the final five minutes of the game, draining 10-of-14 from the line in the fourth quarter (and 20-of-28 in the second half combined) en route to the win
HORNET FAST BREAKS
• Sacramento State is 2-0 to start a campaign for the first time since the 2013-14 season when the Hornets posted wins over CSUN and San Diego State
• A victory on Sunday against Lincoln University would be the program's first-ever 3-0 start to a season at the Division I level and the first since the 1976-77 team did so
• According to available records, no Hornet squad has begun a season 4-0
• Butcher's 16 points against UC San Diego on Thursday were a career high, surpassing her previous mark of 11 against Eastern Washington on Jan. 7, 2023
• She has started the year with double-digit points in each of the team's first two games — the only Hornet to do so — and only the third and fourth times overall in her career
• Versteeg's 16 points were a season high — and the most since she scored 19 against Northern Arizona in the quarterfinals of last year's Big Sky Tournament — while marking her 19th career double-digit scoring performance
• For the game, Sacramento State finished a robust 25-for-35 at the line against UC San Diego, attempting 30-or-more free throws for the first time since finishing 20-of-30 from the stripe against Montana State on March 5, 2021
• The 35 attempts were the most since the Hornets were 27-for-35 (.771) against Montana on Feb. 29, 2020, while the 25 makes were the most since finishing 25-for-29 against Eastern Washington on Jan. 7, 2023
• All told, the Hornets and Tritons were whistled for a combined 59 fouls — 33 of those against UCSD
• It marked the first time that a Sacramento State opponent had been charged with 30-or-more fouls since Northern Arizona picked up 30 on Dec. 29, 2011
• Part of that parade to the line, freshman Sofia Alonso finished a perfect 4-for-4 on the night against the Tritons and is now 10-for-10 on the year from the stripe
• It is the longest streak of consecutive made free throws since Summah Hanson was 16-for-16 from Dec. 2 to Jan. 11 of last season
• Meanwhile, Versteeg finished with a game-high eight makes in 12 attempts against UC San Diego — the most makes since she had eight against Portland State on Feb. 3 of last season and the most attempts by a Hornet since Kahlaijah Dean finished 10-of-12 from the line against EWU on Jan. 7, 2023
• Versteeg's seven assists were a season high and marked the 29th time she has finished with at least five in a game in her career — 24 of those performances coming last season when she led the Big Sky in assists and set the school's single-season record with 208
• Freshman Jemma Amoore posted her first career collegiate points with a three-pointer, while junior Kennadi Archibald got into the scoring column for the first time at the Division I level with a basket against UCSD
