SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Four Sacramento State players finished in double figures and the host Hornets used a 17-0 run to break the game wide open at the start of the fourth quarter, cruising to a 66-39 victory over San Jose State on Sunday afternoon at The Nest.
The victory was the team's third in their last four games as Sacramento State improved to 7-4 overall on the season, posting the largest margin of victory in the series since the 2003-04 campaign.
Thanks to that final quarter run, Sacramento State out-scored SJSU, 21-5, in the fourth quarter, coming up just one point shy of their fewest points allowed in a single period this year (four against both Cal State Fullerton and Wagner). The 39 points also marked the third time that the Hornets have held an opponent to 40 points or fewer and were the second fewest allowed by the team this season, trailing only the 34 points given up to Wagner on Dec. 1 in a 73-34 victory.
The Spartans, who were paced by 11 points from Sydni Summers, suffered their third consecutive defeat, falling to 6-6 overall for the year.
Reigning Big Sky Conference Player of the Week Jaydia Martin finished in double figures for the fifth consecutive contest, as the senior finished with a game-high 17 points on 7-of-14 from the field and added a season-high tying seven rebounds, three assists, and a pair of steals to her final stat line.
Sophomore Madison Butcher came off the bench to finish with her third double-digit scoring performance of the year, pouring in 14 points thanks, in part, to a trio of three pointers. Junior guard Benthe Versteeg added 13 points on 5-of-7 from the floor and added four assists, while freshman Sofia Alonso chipped in 12 points, a career-high tying five rebounds, four assists, and three steals.
Sacramento State, which led for all but three minutes on Sunday, finished the day shooting 44 percent from the floor while the defense limited SJSU to just 33 percent from the floor, including just 17 percent (2-of-12) in the fourth quarter.
After a first quarter where neither team would lead by more than four points, the Hornets began to slowly inch away, scoring six of the first seven points in the second to lead by eight and then using a 9-0 burst in the span of 78 seconds to turn a two-point lead into an 11-point halftime advantage, 30-19.
It took a little time for Sacramento State to find its feet after the break as San Jose State took advantage. The Spartans opened the third quarter with a 6-0 run to climb back to within five points and they made it a six-point game with another basket following a
Fatoumata Jaiteh three-pointer with 7:06 remaining.
From that point on, it was all Hornets. Versteeg answered with a three-pointer on her team's next possession to open a run of six straight points and the two teams traded baskets the rest of the way as Sacramento State held on to its 11-point advantage after three periods.
The fourth quarter, however, would not be as close. Alonso opened the final quarter with a three-pointer and the Hornets scored the first 17 points of the period over the first five minutes before the Spartans were able to stop the bleeding with a free throw at the 4:59 mark. San Jose State was 0-for-5 from the field with four turnovers in that stretch.
Overall, Sacramento State took advantage of 22 Spartan turnovers, converting those into 26 points for the good, while matching San Jose State on the glass with 32 rebounds each. The Hornets also finished with 12 steals on the day, which are tied for the second-most in a game this year behind only the 14 swipes against Lincoln University on Nov. 10.
Sacramento State closes out its non-conference schedule on the road later in the week, heading to Albuquerque, N.M., to play in the Lobo Invitational hosted by the University of New Mexico. The Hornets open against the host Lobos on Thursday (Dec. 19) at 6 p.m. PT, before facing Abilene Christian for a second time this year on Friday (Dec. 20) at 1 p.m. PT.
Both games will be streamed live on the Mountain West Network.
Gallery: (12-15-2024) WBB vs. SJSU (Dec. 15, 2024)
