GREELEY, Colo. — Sacramento State's Summah Hanson became the highest scoring freshman in the program's Division I history, finishing as one of three Hornets in double figures, but a late fourth-quarter run helped host Northern Colorado pull away for a gritty 65-59 victory on Saturday in Greeley, Colo.
The loss snapped a three-game winning streak for the Hornets (5-20, 4-10), who had also won four of their last five heading into the contest. Meanwhile, the Bears evened their record at 12-12 overall and 7-6 in league.
Hanson, who finished with 11 points and four rebounds against Northern Colorado, needed only seven to match Gigi Hascheff's previous record of 344 points scored during the 2013-14 season. She surpassed the record on a lay-up with 1:36 remaining in the third quarter, then tacked on three free throws in the final period to extend her record.
With her four baskets on the day, Hanson also matched Sarah Craig's Division I Era freshman record of 127 field goals made and moved to within 11 rebounds of Margaret Huntington's freshman mark of 224 rebounds.
Senior
Solape Amusan added a team-high 13 points to go with three rebounds, while freshman
Lina Falk ended the day with 12 points and five rebounds. Amusan finished in double figures for the sixth time in her last 10 and the ninth time overall, while Falk went for 10-or-more points for the second time in the last three contests and her third time overall.
Sophomore
Benthe Versteeg, who entered the day ranked among the top six in the nation in both assists and assists per game, finished with nine points and seven assists while playing all 40 minutes for the ninth time this season. The native of the Netherlands began the day leading the nation at 38.32 mpg.
Versteeg's seven assists give her 166 for the year, moving her into sixth place on both the school's all-time and Division I era single-season lists, needing just two more to match last year's leader,
Kahlaijah Dean, for fifth on both charts.
Sacramento State trailed by five just two minutes into the final quarter, but a 7-2 run that included baskets by Falk,
Irune Orio, and Amusan — the last a three-pointer — tied the game at 54-all with 6:39 to play.
That's when Northern Colorado found a groove, coming out of a Hornet timeout to break the deadlock thanks to an 8-0 run, building a 62-54 lead it would not relinquish. Meanwhile, the Bears' defense clamped down in the clutch, limiting Sacramento State's offense to just five free throws over the final 2:52 en route to the win.
The Hornets finished just 3-of-12 (.375) from the floor in the final quarter while Northern Colorado hit 6-of-9 (.667) from the field to ice the victory.
Saturday's contest began with fireworks as the two teams traded baskets in a back-and-forth battle with neither team leading by more than four in the opening quarter. A 10-3 burst midway through the period gave Sacramento State a three-point advantage with 2:30 to play, but UNC answered with six straight points to regain the lead 90 seconds later. Versteeg then ended the period by draining a three-pointer with 28 seconds left to knot the game at 20 apiece.
The Hornets then came out of the quarter break on fire, scoring the first 10 points of the second period to build a 30-20 lead with 6:48 left in the first half, but Northern Colorado had an answer. The Bears finished the half on a 9-1 run cutting Sacramento State's lead to just two at the break.
Neither team led by more than two until the final 3:21 of the third quarter until an "and one" by Northern Colorado's Aniah Hall sparked a brief 6-0 burst for a five-point Bears advantage, only to have Amusan drain a three-pointer and Hanson scored inside to tie the game at 45. Tatum West then grabbed the lead for UNC right before the end of the quarter, scoring inside off an offensive rebound for a 47-45 advantage to set up the final quarter fireworks.
The final homestand of the season pits Sacramento State against the Big Sky's Montana contingent next week at The Nest as the Hornets welcome Montana on Thursday (Feb. 22) at 6:30 p.m., before Montana State comes to town on Saturday (Feb. 24) for a 1 p.m. tip-off.
