SACRAMENTO — The Sacramento State women's basketball team plays in front of the hometown faithful for the final time in the 2023-24 regular season, welcoming Montana State to The Nest for a 1 p.m. tip-off on Saturday (Feb. 24). It's "Senior Day" for the Hornets, who will honor Solape Amusan prior to the game for her contributions to the Sacramento State program over the last two seasons.
NEXT UP…
GAME NOTES: Sacramento State | Montana State | Big Sky Conference
GAME #27
WHAT: Montana State (14-13, 8-6) at Sacramento State (5-21, 4-11)
WHEN: Saturday, Feb. 24, 2024
TIME: 1 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 in his first season at the helm of the Hornets. He has served five previous seasons 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. He earned his first career Division I victory as a head coach on Dec. 2 against CSUN
• Montana State head coach Tricia Binford is in her 19th season at the helm of the Bobcats, posting 326 victories in her tenure while winning 205 Big Sky Conference contests
ABOUT THE BOBCATS
• Montana State enters the weekend with a 14-13 overall record and an 8-6 mark in Big Sky Conference play
• The Bobcats are currently riding a three-game losing streak, following up losses against Northern Arizona (Feb. 10) and Montana (Feb. 17) with a 60-55 defeat at Portland State on Thursday
• Montana State is a stellar 10-2 on its home floor, but has struggled away from Bozeman, posting just a 3-10 mark in true road contests this year
• The Bobcats have lost six of their last eight away from home, last posting back-to-back road triumphs at Eastern Washington on Feb. 1 (62-61) and at Idaho on Feb. 3 (51-46)
• Senior guard Katelynn Limardo leads a trio of double-digit scorers for MSU, averaging 11.3 ppg and leading the team on the glass at 6.6 rpg
• Guard Madison Hall (10.8 ppg) and forward Marah Dykstra (10.6 ppg) are also in double figures, with the latter leading the team in assists (67)
• Hall also leads all regulars with a .453 field goal percentage, while Dykstra is shooting .423 on the year
SERIES NOTABLES
• Montana State leads the all-time series with Sacramento State by a 45-13 count
• The Bobcats earned a 60-54 win in Bozeman back on Jan. 25 and has won nine of the last 10 meetings
• Sacramento State's lone win in that stretch came on Feb. 23 of last season, an 82-73 victory at The Nest
• Eight of the Hornets' 13 victories in the series have come at home, where they are 8-17
• Sacramento State's longest winning streak in the series is four games from the second meeting of the 2011-12 season to the first meeting of the 2013-14 campaign
• That stretch marks the only time in the 59-game history of the series that the Hornets have won back-to-back games against the Bobcats
PREVIOUSLY: MONTANA STATE 60, SACRAMENTO STATE 54
• Freshman Ayanna Jackson posted her first career double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds, while freshman Lina Falk scored 12 points to lead a balanced scoring effort for the Hornets, who had five players finish with at least nine points
• Trailing by as many as 15 in the second quarter and down 14 at the half, Sacramento State used an 11-0 run to start the third to make it a three-point game with 5:59 to play in the period
• Montana State quickly returned the favor with a 16-0 run between the third and fourth periods to go back up by 19, but the Hornets answered with a 13-3 run and, later, a 10-4 run to make it a five-point contest with 20 seconds remaining but could come no closer
AND WE'RE REEEE... REBOUNDING
• The Hornets outrebounded Montana by a 42-38 count on Thursday -- the 10th time this season that Sacramento State has held the advantage on the boards
• Their 42 rebounds were tied for the third-highest single-game mark this season, behind the 43 boards against Eastern Washington (Dec. 30) and the season-high 51 rebounds at Northern Arizona (Feb. 15)
• Sacramento State grabbed 10 of its 42 rebounds on the offensive glass against the Lady Griz -- marking the sixth consecutive game that the Hornets have reached double-digit offensive rebounds
QUARTER NOTES
• Sacramento State limited Montana to just seven second quarter points and 2-of-15 shooting from the field overall on Thursday, tying the mark for the fewest points allowed in a single quarter this year alongside the seven-point fourth quarter by Washington in the regular season opener
• Of her 18 points, sophomore Benthe Versteeg scored 10 of those in the fourth quarter against the Lady Griz -- her second double-digit scoring quarter of the year (10-point fourth against Northern Arizona on Jan. 20) and the seventh by a Hornet this year
• Hanson (three times), Amusan, and sophomore Irune Orio also have double-digit scoring quarters
TURNING IT AROUND
• While the results may not always have ended in a "W," the Hornets have shown improvement during the second leg of Big Sky Conference play
• In three of the team's losses the second time around in league, the Hornets turned a 37-point loss to Idaho on Dec. 28 to just a six-point defeat on Feb. 5 (31-point difference), a six-point loss at Northern Colorado on Feb. 17 was seven points better than the 13-point differential in the first meeting on Jan. 18, and the one-point loss to Montana on Thursday was 26 points better than the 27-point defeat in Missoula on Jan. 27
• Meanwhile, the Hornets have turned three of those defeats into victories, avenging a 14-point loss to Idaho State on Jan. 13 with a three-point win on Feb. 8 (a 17-point difference), defeating Weber State by 31 points following a 20-point loss on Jan. 11 (a 51-point difference), and taking down Northern Arizona by 16 after falling to the Lumberjacks by 17 on Jan. 20 (a 33-point difference)
A "FRESH" FACE ATOP THE LIST
• With 11 points at Northern Colorado on Feb. 17, freshman Summah Hanson became the highest-scoring freshman in the program's Division I history, reaching 348 points in her debut season to pass Gigi Hascheff (344 points in 2013-14)
• Hanson's 21-point outburst against Montana on Thursday night gave her 369 points, which stand 133 shy of breaking onto the school's single-season top-10 list for the Division I era and 149 shy of the all-time single-season chart for total points
• Her seven baskets against the Lady Griz gave her 131 for the season, which supplanted Sarah Craig (127, 2002-03) atop the single-season freshman list for that category, while her 11 rebounds against Montana gave her 224 rebounds, which tied Margaret Huntington's record total in 2013-14
• If the season ended today, Hanson's 14.2 ppg would be the best by a freshman in the school's Division I history, passing Craig's 12.2 ppg in 2002-03, as would her 8.6 rpg, passing Margaret Huntington's 7.5 rpg
• Hanson is only the fourth Hornet to reach the 300-point plateau in her rookie season and the 11th Sacramento State freshman to score at least 200 points
MOST SINGLE-SEASON POINTS BY A HORNET FRESHMAN
(Division I era only)
1. Summah Hanson 369 (2023-24)
2. Gigi Hascheff 344 (2013-14)
3. Hallie Gennett 336 (2013-14)
4. Sarah Craig 305 (2002-03)
t5. Fantasia Hilliard 274 (2011-12)
t5. Julie Wastell 274 (1995-96)
7. Maranne Johnson 268 (2014-15)
8. Sami Field-Polisso 230 (2007-08)
9. Sarah Stapp 226 (1992-93)
10. Tiara Scott 221 (2016-17)
SEEING DOUBLE-DOUBLE
• After finishing with 21 points and 11 rebounds against Montana, Hanson's 12 double-doubles remain the gold standard in the Big Sky and are tied for No. 27 in the NCAA entering the week
• Hanson is one of only two freshmen (Northern Kentucky's Carter McCray is the other with 14) -- and one of eight underclassmen overall -- in the nation with at least 12 double-doubles as of Feb. 22
• Hanson has posted a double-double in five of her last seven games (more on that in a minute...)
• Hanson is one of 29 players in the Big Sky to post a double-double in a game this year, but one of only 17 to have multiple double-doubles
• Of Hanson's 12 double-doubles, four have included 20-point games which are the most in the league
• Hanson's five 20-point games are tied for fifth in the league
• Her 12 double-doubles this season are tied for seventh on the program's Division I single-season list alongside Kennedy Nicholas (12 in 2018-19) and are already tied for ninth on the school's career list with Shelby Boudreaux and Emily Christensen
SUMMAH'S LUCKY SEVEN
• Hanson extended her double-digit scoring streak to seven games following her 21-point effort against Montana on Thursday
• The freshman is averaging nearly a double-double over that stretch, putting up 16.0 ppg and 9.57 rpg while shooting .465 (40-for-86)
• Hanson has shot better than 45 percent in six of those seven contests
• She has also grabbed 10-or-more reebounds five times in that stretch
QUEEN OF THE BOARD ROOM
• Following her 11 rebounds against Montana, Hanson ranks second in the Big Sky in both rebounding (8.62 rpg) and total rebounds (224)
• Among qualifying freshman across the country, Hanson is second in rebounding behind Northern Kentucky's Carter McCray (10.7 rpg)
• Hanson also ranks second in rebounds among the nation's freshmen, trailing McCray's 279 boards
• She ranks No. 68 in the nation overall in rebounds per game
• Hanson has led or shared the lead in rebounding in 18 times
• Her 16 rebounds at Fresno State (Dec. 16) were the most since Isnelle Natabou grabbed 18 against Weber State on Jan. 21 last season
SHE'S KIND OF A BIG (SKY) DEAL
• Hanson is one of only five players in the Big Sky to rank in the top 10 in both scoring and rebounding (4th and 2nd, respectively), joining NAU's Sophie Glancey (3rd and 4th), Northern Colorado's Delaynie Byrne (5th & 3rd), EWU's Jamie Loera (7th & 9th), and Idaho's Kennedy Johnson (8th and 6th)
• Among that group, Hanson is the only freshman as Glancey is a sophomore, Johnson is a junior, and both Loera and Byrne are seniors
TREASURE STATE SUCCESS
• Amusan has seen her fair share of success against the Montana schools in her two seasons
• In six career games over the last two years (she missed this year's contest at Montana State due to illness), Amusan is averaging 14.2 ppg and 4.2 rpg, while shooting .500 (28-for-56) from the floor overall and .545 (24-for-44) from beyond the arc
• Of her six career games against the Montana schools, Amusan has finished in double figures in four of them, after being held to just nine points against Montana at home last year and eight points on Thursday night against the Lady Griz
• In two games against the Bobcats alone, Amusan is averaging 15.0 ppg and 4.5 rpg while shooting .500 (10-for-20) from the field and .563 (9-for-16) from beyond the arc
SHE'S A GIVER
• Versteeg remains atop the Big Sky in both assists per game (6.50 apg) and total assists (169) entering the weekend
• She is one of only two players in the Big Sky to average better than 5.0 apg, joining Eastern Washington's Jamie Loera (5.42 apg)
• If the season ended today, Versteeg's 6.50 apg would tie the highest single-season mark in the program's history, joining Fantasia Hilliard's 6.50 apg in 2013-14 (195 assists in 30 games)
• Should she end the year atop the Big Sky list, Versteeg would become the first Hornet to lead the league since Lianna Tillman averaged 6.04 apg in 2021-22
• Versteeg would be the fifth Hornet overall to lead the league in assists, joining Tillman, Rexanne Rodriguez (5.65 apg) in 2000-01, Tika Koshiyama-Diaz (5.48 apg) in 2010-11, and Fantasia Hilliard in 2012-13 (5.9 apg), 2013-14 (6.5 apg), and 2014-15 (5.8 pg).
• She has 17 games with at least six assists
• Those 17 games are the most since Tillman had 18 such contests in 2021-22
• Her double-doubles against Northern Arizona (18 points, 13 assists), Weber State (26 points, 14 assists), and Santa Clara (16 points, 10 assists) are three of only five point-assist double-doubles in the league this year
VERSTEEG IS VER-SCORING
• When she's not dishing it out, she's taking it to the opponents as Versteeg's 18-point night against Montana gave the sophomore double-digit points in six of her last seven games
• In that stretch, Versteeg is averaging 16.1 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 8.57 apg, and 2.14 spg, while shooting .402 (41-for-102) from the floor.
CAN'T PASS THIS UP
• Thanks to her three assists against Montana, Versteeg's Big Sky-leading total grew to 169 assists for the year moving her into sixth on the both school's all-time and Division I Era single-season lists
• The sophomore passed last year's assist leader, Kahlaijah Dean (168), for fifth on both lists and she needs 10 more to reach Lianna Tillman's team-leading total of 179 in 2021-22 for fourth
• The school's all-time single-season record is 197 set by Fantasia Hilliard during the 2014-15 season and she holds the top three spots on both lists with 195 in 2013-14 for second and 184 in 2012-13 for third
LIKE A RECORD, BABY
• Versteeg had herself an opportunity -- 14 of them, in fact -- that she couldn't pass up against Weber State on Feb. 10, setting the school Division I Era single-game record with 14 assists in the win
• The performance surpassed the previous Division I Era record of 13 set by Justyce Dawson at Southern Utah on Feb. 25, 2017, and fell one assist shy of the all-time record of 15 held by Tina Gray in 1985-86
• Her 14 assists are the most in a game in the Big Sky -- and tied for seventh in the NCAA -- entering the week and marked the second time she has finished in double figures along with her 10 against Santa Clara on Nov. 29
• Five days later, Versteeg nearly equalled that single-season record with 13 assists at Northern Arizona -- her league-best third game with 10-or-more assists on the year
BENTHE BETTER IN THE BIG SKY
• Since the calendar turned to conference play, Versteeg has been red hot against the Hornets' Big Sky Conference rivals
• Versteeg has reached double figures 11 times in 15 conference contests
• Through 15 league games, Versteeg is averaging a team-high 14.7 ppg (three points better than her overall average), 6.87 apg, 3.9 rpg, and 2.07 spg
• Her 81 makes from the field are the most on the team in league games ahead of Hanson's 77, while her 50 makes from the line lead the squad
SOLO ACT
• Senior Solape Amusan has done a little bit of everything for the Hornets this season, ranking third on the team in scoring (8.4 ppg), third in rebounding (3.8 rpg), and third in steals (1.12 spg)
• She has reached double-digit points in seven of her last 12, averaging 11.3 ppg in that stretch including a career-high 23 points against Portland State on Feb. 3
• Her five steals against Weber State on Feb. 10 marked the second time a Hornet has had that many in a game this year (Versteeg vs. Cal Poly on Dec. 21)
• Of her last 34 made field goals, 26 of those have come from beyond the arc
• In her last 12, Amusan is shooting .427 (44-for-103) overall and .421 (32-for-76) from beyond the arc
PUTTING THE "OH!" IN ORIO
• Sophomore Irune Orio has shined since the calendar turned over to 2024, averaging 10.1 ppg in the 15 games since, compared to just 6.0 ppg in the first 11 games of the year
• Orio has scored double-digit points eight times since Jan. 1, including a career-high 22 points against Portland State on Feb. 3
• She wrapped up her first collegiate double-double with 13 points and a career-high 12 rebounds at Northern Arizona
• She became the fourth Hornet to post a double-double this year along with Hanson, Versteeg, and freshman Ayanna Jackson
SHE GIVETH, SHE TAKETH AWAY
• Sophomore Benthe Versteeg enters the weekend leading the team in both assists (169) and steals (47)
• Should she remain atop the list in both categories, it will mark the fourth straight season that a Hornet has led the team in both categories, joining Summer Menke (56 and 43) in 2020-21, Lianna Tillman (179 and 34) in 2021-22, Kahlaijah Dean (168 and 44) in 2022-23
SWIPER, NO SWIPING
• Versteeg has led or co-led the team in steals 13 times this season and 23 times overall in her career
• Versteeg enters the week with 47 steals on the year and 1.81 spg -- ranking third in the league in both categories
• The 47 steals are the most by a Hornet since the 2018-19 campaign when Hannah Friend led the team with 55 steals
• Versteeg set a career high with five steals against Cal Poly on Dec. 21, and finished with four for a third time this year against Montana on Feb. 22, joining her two performances against Idaho State
• The sophomore has been a pest as of late, posting multiple steals in 11 of her last 14 games and averaging 2.29 spg in that span, with her 32 steals in that stretch accounting for more than half of her season total
• Versteeg has a steal in all but five games and multiple steals 15 times
NO REST FOR THE WEARY
• Versteeg played all 40 minutes in a regulation game for the ninth time this year at Northern Colorado on Feb. 17
• It also marked the 10th time in her career that she has gone the distance, joining a "complete game effort" at Cal State Fullerton last year
• Versteeg's nine "complete games" this season are the most since Lianna Tillman did so nine times during the 2021-22 campaign
• Only two other Hornets have gone the distance this year: Solape Amusan has done it twice against Portland State (Feb. 3) and Montana (Feb. 22), while Lina Falk did so at Montana State (Jan. 25)
HOLD UP, WAIT A MINUTE
• For the second consecutive week, Versteeg leads the NCAA in minutes per game (38.43), passing Duquesne's Megan McConnell (38.35)
• Aside from her marathon efforts detailed above, Versteeg has played at least 38 minutes in 10 other games and has played 37-or-more minutes in all but four games this year
• Hanson is fifth in the Big Sky at 34.14 mpg -- including a season-high 39:47 at Idaho (Feb. 5)
• After playing in only 20 minutes at Washington in the opener, Hanson has played 35-or-more minutes 14 times
BREATH OF "FRESH" AIR
• Sacramento State has started at least one true freshman in all 26 games this season and has listed at least two true freshman in the starting five in 19 of those
• The Hornets have started three true freshmen four times at Washington (Nov. 6), against Cal State Fullerton (Nov. 12), at Montana State (Jan. 25), and at Montana (Jan. 27)
• Sacramento State listed a starting five comprised completely of underclassmen in each of the first four games and again in back-to-back games at Montana State and Montana
WANNA BE STARTING SOMETHING
• The Hornets' starting five has produced at least half of the team's points in all but one game this season after the bench held a 33-32 advantage against Santa Clara on Nov. 29
• Sacramento State's starting five was responsible for a season-high 75 points in the win at Northern Arizona
• Fifty-five of the the team's 61 double-digit scoring performances have come from starters; Freshman Ayanna Jackson had 12 as a reserve against Cal State Fullerton and 11 at Montana State, Solape Amusan was the spark off the bench three times with 11 against UC Davis, 18 against Santa Clara, and 19 at Montana, while J'yana Salton added 10 points against Idaho
• The game against Montana marked the 7th time overall -- and the 12th time in the last 15 games -- that the starting five has accounted for at least 40 points in a game
• Overall, Hornet starters have accounted for just over 81 percent of the team's points this year, scoring 1,192 of the 1,461 total points thus far
COMBINATION UNLOCKED
• The Hornets look as if they have settled in on a rotation, using the same starting lineup in each of the last seven games: Benthe Versteeg, Irune Orio, Lina Falk, Solape Amusan, and Summah Hanson
• That combination has been used 10 times overall, with Sacramento State posting a 4-6 record in those contests
• The Hornets used a different starting lineup in each of their first eight games and have used 13 different starting lineups through 26 games overall
• Sacramento State used the same lineup (Versteeg, Orio, Falk, Amusan, and Hanson) in back-to-back-to-back games for the first time this season against Fresno State, Cal Poly, and Idaho
• All told, 12 of the 13 Hornets who have seen time on the court have earned a start, with Hanson and Versteeg the only two to start all 26 games
