SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Senior Jaydia Martin posted her fourth 20-point game of the season to led a trio of Hornets in double figures while Katie Peneueta and Fatoumata Jaiteh combined for 26 of the team's 42 rebounds on the night, but a late Northern Arizona run stymied a Sacramento State comeback, lifting the Lumberjacks to a 75-70 victory on Thursday night at The Nest.
The Hornets, now 8-9 overall and 1-3 in Big Sky Conference play, suffered their third consecutive defeat despite fighting all the way back from down 13 points to take a fourth-quarter lead with less than five minutes remaining.
Led by a game-high 28 points from Taylor Feldman, NAU improved to 13-5 overall and 4-1 in league play.
Martin posted her second consecutive 20-point performance, hitting 9-of-16 from the floor to hit the 20-point mark on the nose, chipping in three assists and a steal. It was the senior's 11th consecutive double-digit scoring game dating back to late November and her 13th in 17 games overall.
Sophomore Lina Falk added 12 points, four rebounds, and three steals, while junior Benthe Versteeg finished with 11 points, four rebounds, and six assists.
On the glass, Sacramento State finished with a 42-36 advantage, including an 11-9 lead on the offensive end, paced by the duo of Peneueta and Jaiteh, who grabbed 13 rebounds apiece. Peneueta's total was a career high, surpassing her previous best of 11 set at Idaho last week, while Jaiteh's total was just one off her collegiate high of 14 set against Eastern Washington on Jan. 21, 2023, during her sophomore season at Northern Arizona.
Peneueta's 13 rebounds all came on the defensive end, a total that ranks tied for sixth on the school's single-game list, while six of Jaiteh's 13 boards came on the offensive glass.
The Hornets trailed by 13 points with 4:32 remaining in the third quarter before slowly chipping away at the deficit. Sacramento State closed that period with a 9-5 burst to make it a single-digit game heading to the final quarter and then continued to run to start the fourth.
A three-pointer by Falk sparked a 15-5 run over the first 6:25 of the fourth, turning the nine-point deficit into a 63-62 lead with 4:55 to play in the game. The defense limited the Lumberjacks to just 2-of-7 from the floor and three turnovers in that span, helping power the comeback.
The door just wouldn't close for the Hornets, however, as Northern Arizona answered with its decisive burst to take control. Feldman scored 15 of her 28 points in the final 10 minutes, including a personal 11-0 run — eight of those coming at the line where she was 12-of-14 on the night — that turned the one-point deficit into a 10-point advantage with less than a minute to play.
Sacramento State limited NAU to just two free throws the rest of the way, but just ran out of time to complete the comeback. Two at the line by Jaiteh and a jumper by Martin made it a seven-point contest, while Madison Butcher drained a three-pointer with five ticks to go for the final tally.
The Hornets shot .403 from the field to the Lumberjacks' .383 for the game, but NAU was more accurate at the line, hitting 20-of-24 (.833) to Sacramento State's 14-for-19 (.737).
Northern Colorado pays a visit to The Nest on Saturday (Jan. 18) afternoon at 2 p.m. to close out the weekend. The Bears fell at Portland State, 58-52, on Thursday.
