CHENEY, Wash. — Senior Jaydia Martin shared game-high honors with her 23 points and teammate Benthe Versteeg added 21 more, but a big fourth quarter wasn't enough to bring the Sacramento State women's basketball team all the way back on Saturday, falling to host Eastern Washington, 89-80, at Reese Court.
The Hornets had their record evened-up at 8-8 overall and fell to 1-2 in Big Sky Conference play. The Eagles, which had five players finish in double figures, improved to 6-10 overall and 2-2 in league play.
Martin, making her return to the EWU campus after playing the first three seasons of her collegiate career with the Eagles, posted her 10th consecutive double-digit scoring performance, hitting 9-of-15 from the field — including a trio of three-pointers — and adding a pair of rebounds and two assists. It was her third game with 20-or-more points this season and her first since putting up 22 points at Omaha on Dec. 7.
Versteeg, meanwhile, posted her third career 20-point performance with her 21 points, hitting 7-of-16 from the floor and 7-of-8 from the line, adding five rebounds and seven assists to her league-leading total in the latter category.
Together, the duo gave Sacramento State two players with 20-or-more points since Solape Amusan (23) and Irune Orio (22) accomplished the feat against Portland State on Feb. 3 of last season.
Senior Katie Peneueta added 13 points on 5-of-10 from the field, including a trio of three-pointers, adding a team-high six rebounds to go with three assists and a pair of blocked shots. Sophomore Lina Falk finished with 10 on 4-of-7 from the floor, giving the Hornets four double-digit scorers in a game for the seventh time this year, but losing for the first time in those seven contests.
The two teams went toe-to-toe through the first 20 minutes with Eastern Washington holding a three-point, 34-31, advantage at the break. The Eagles then put some distance between the two with a plus-10 third quarter, outscoring Sacramento State 27-17 in the period to lead by 13 despite the Hornets clipping the deficit down to five points at one point in the quarter.
In the fourth, Sacramento State shot 65 percent and put up 32 points in the period, but Eastern Washington was able to keep the Hornets at arms length, hitting 15-of-17 from the line — accounting for all but five of the team's free throw attempts for the game — en route to the win, never letting Sacramento State to get closer than eight points the rest of the way.
The Hornets, who shot 53 percent overall in the second half, posted their highest-scoring quarter of the season with the 32 points on Saturday, surpassing the 28-point third quarter against Lincoln University back on Nov. 10 and posting its highest single-quarter scoring total since a 32-point fourth quarter against EWU in an 82-76 win on Jan. 28, 2021.
Meanwhile, the 80 points overall marked the Sacramento State's second-highest total of the season (88 vs. Lincoln University) while shooting just under 50 percent (.492) for the contest to the Eagles' .441 for the game.
Having not played a game within the friendly confines of The Nest since a win over San Jose State back on Dec. 15, the Hornets finally return home for two games next week, welcoming Northern Arizona on Thursday (Jan. 16) for a 6:30 p.m. tip-off and a 2 p.m. start against Northern Colorado on Saturday (Jan. 18).
