SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Senior Jaydia Martin and sophomore Madison Butcher finished with a team-high 14 points apiece and the Sacramento State women's basketball team closed on a 19-4 run over the final 15 minutes of regulation on Saturday afternoon, rallying from 12 points down for a 51-48 win over Northern Colorado at The Nest.
The Hornets snapped a three-game skid in improving to 9-9 overall and 2-3 in Big Sky Conference play, while the Bears fell to 8-9 overall and 1-5 in league.
Saturday's comeback — the largest for Sacramento State since rallying from down 18 against San Jose State on Nov. 14, 2021, en route to a 75-65 win — featured a fourth quarter that saw the Hornets limit Northern Colorado to a single point on a free throw by Aniah Hall just 16 seconds into the period, holding the Bears to an 0-for-7 performance from the field with nine turnovers.
All told, Sacramento State checked the UNC offense to the tune of 1-for-13 shooting with 10 turnovers over the final 15:09 during it's game-clinching run.
An 8-0 third quarter run after the Hornets opened the period with a basket staked Northern Colorado to its largest lead of the game at 44-32 with 5:09 remaining in the quarter.
From that point on, it was all Hornets. Martin scored inside to spark a 9-3 burst by Sacramento State and the Hornets finished the game on a 10-0 run following Hall's free throw for the Bears, eventually tying the score on a jumper by Lina Falk and taking the lead for good on a pair of free throws by Fatoumata Jaiteh with 1:52 to go and another by Martin with 13 seconds remaining to cap the scoring.
Martin's 14 points gave her double figures in each of her last 12 consecutive games, adding nine rebounds, two assists, and four steals. The nine rebounds were the most in Martin's Sacramento State career, while the steals tied her school career high.
Butcher's 14 points marked her fourth double-digit scoring performance of the year and her highest total since finishing with 14 in the win over San Jose State on Dec. 14. Falk finished with 12 points for her fourth-straight double-digit game and Jaiteh added six points, seven rebounds, and five steals — the latter matching her Sacramento State career high.
Overall, the Hornets shot just. 37 percent from the field, but held the Bears to just 33 percent — including 37 percent from three-point range after UNC had opened the game hitting 46 percent (6-for-13) from distance in the first half.
After playing five straight games on the road over the last month before this week's brief home appearance, Sacramento State returns to the road for two more conference contests next week, traveling to Idaho State on Thursday (Jan. 23) and Weber State (Jan. 25).
