MOSCOW, Idaho — Freshman Summah Hanson and Benthe Versteeg each finished in double figures on Monday night, but host Idaho broke a 34-all tie early in the third quarter and used a 15-4 run over the final six minutes of the period to propel the homestanding Vandals to a 70-64 victory over Sacramento State at the ICCU Arena in Moscow, Idaho.
Hanson finished with a game-high 23 points on 7-of-14 from the floor, adding six rebounds, while Versteeg finished with 19 points, five rebounds, and six assists, while playing most of the second half in foul trouble.
Monday's total for Hanson marked her fourth 20-point performance of the year, and the most since she scored a career-high 28 points at Weber State back on Jan. 11. Now with 293 points on the year, Hanson moved into fourth place on the program's single-season scoring list for freshmen in the Division I era, passing both Fantasia Hilliard and Julie Wastell.
She now needs only seven more points to become only the fourth freshman in the program's Division I history to reach the 300-point plateau and is just 12 points shy of Sarah Craig for third.
Versteeg, meanwhile, reached double digits for the second straight game and the 10th time overall this season, posting her highest total since a career-high 26 points against Northern Arizona on Jan. 20. She also marked her 13th game with at least six assists this year.
Sophomore Irune Orio nearly collected her first career double-double, finishing the night with nine points and nine rebounds, while Lina Falk added seven points, four rebounds, and four assists.
The Hornets led early on in the first before a 12-0 burst by the Vandals built a nine-point, 17-8, advantage with just under three to play. Sacramento State made it a six-point game at the end of one and battled back to regain the lead thanks to a 13-2 run start to the second quarter that gave the Hornets a 25-20 lead. Three lead changes and three tied scores later, Idaho held a 34-32 lead at the break.
Out of the locker room, Versteeg got her team on the board first with a basket inside to make it 34-34, but Sacramento State would come no closer. Idaho rattled off five straight points to regain a lead it would not relinquish and scored 15 of the final 19 points in the period, leading by as many as 15 points.
The two squads traded baskets to start the fourth and the Hornets eventually whittled the lead back down to single digits with a 9-1 spurt after the media timeout, trailing by seven with just under a minute to play. Sacramento State, however, came no closer with Orio's three-pointer with 23 seconds remaining in regulation providing the final margin.
Both teams shot 41 percent from the field, but the Vandals hit 9-of-19 (.474) from beyond the arc and attempted 10 more free throws than the Hornets on the night, finishing 18-of-21 from the line. Sacramento State, which won the second and fourth quarters, shot better than 42 percent in the final three periods.
Continuing a run that will see them play three times in six days, the Hornets return home this week to host Idaho State and Weber State at The Nest. The battle with the Bengals tips-off on Thursday (Feb. 8) at 6:30 p.m., before Sacramento State faces the Wildcats on Saturday (Feb. 10) at 2 p.m.
