ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Senior Jaydia Martin scored 14 of her team-high 17 points to help lead a second-half Hornet rally and two teammates also finished in double figures, but a strong final kick from host New Mexico was enough to help the Lobos pull away from Sacramento State late en route to a wire-to-wire 69-57 victory on Thursday night at The Pit.
The defeat sent the Hornets to 7-5 overall on the year as they will face Abilene Christian on Friday at 1 p.m. PT to close out the Lobo Invitational. Led by a game-high 25 points from Viane Cumber, New Mexico improved to 7-5 overall on the season.
Martin, who was just 1-of-7 from the field in the first 20 minutes caught fire after the break, collecting her sixth consecutive double-digit scoring performance, her seventh in her last eight games, and her eighth in the team's first 12 contests this year. She added four rebounds and two assists in 38 minutes.
Playing in her first game since suffering an injury against Kansas City on Dec. 4, senior Katie Peneueta came off the bench to play in 27 minutes, finishing with 16 points on 5-of-11 from the field (three of those coming from behind the arc), adding three rebounds and three steals.
Junior Benthe Versteeg completed the double-digit trio, ending the night with 12 points and a game-high eight assists while playing all 40 minutes, while sophomore Sophia Lee grabbed a team-high five rebounds — three of those on the offensive end.
A slow first half sped up quickly over the final five minutes of the third quarter as the Hornets nearly came all the way back from down 18 points. A three-point play from Martin and back-to-back three's from Peneueta and Madison Butcher halved the Lobo lead and Sacramento State was off to the races.
Versteeg scored the next six consecutive points to push the run to 15-0 over a 4:44 span as the Hornets — who shot 53 percent from the field overall in the period — held New Mexico to 0-for-3 from the field and forced four turnovers to trail 48-45 heading into the final quarter.
The two teams traded points to start the fourth and back-to-back baskets by Martin made it a three-point game once again at 52-49 with 8:46 to play. That was as close as Sacramento State came, however.
A pair of free throws by Cumber keyed a personal 10-2 run for the Lobo guard and the home side led by as many as 14 points in the final quarter, holding the Hornets to just one field goal and a pair of free throws the rest of the way.
New Mexico shot 52 percent from the field — the highest by a Sacramento State opponent this season — while the Hornets were limited to just 37 percent overall for the game.
