SACRAMENTO, Calif. — After a brief appearance at The Nest last week, the Sacramento State women's basketball team returns to the road for a pair of Big Sky Conference games this week, taking on Idaho State and Weber State. The Hornets and Bengals tip-off the week on Thursday (Jan. 23) at 6 p.m. PT in Pocatello, Idaho, before closing out the weekend with the Wildcats on Saturday (Jan. 25) at 1 p.m. PT in Ogden, Utah.
GAME #19
WHAT: Sacramento State (9-9, 2-3 Big Sky) at Idaho State (6-10, 1-4 Big Sky)
WHEN: Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025
TIME: 6 PM PT
WHERE: Pocatello, Idaho
ARENA: Reed Gym
WATCH: ESPN+
LIVE STATS: ISUBengals.com
GAME #20
WHAT: Sacramento State (9-9, 2-3 Big Sky) at Weber State (5-10, 2-3 Big Sky)
WHEN: Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025
TIME: 1 PM PT
WHERE: Ogden, Utah
ARENA: Dee Events Center
WATCH: ESPN+
LIVE STATS: WeberStateSports.com
GAME NOTES: Sacramento State | Idaho State | Weber State
ABOUT THE BENGALS
• Idaho State enters the week with a 6-10 overall record and a 1-4 mark in Big Sky play, standing in a tie for eighth in the league standings
• The Bengals have lost their last three contests — all on the road — falling to Weber State in overtime and both ends of a trip to Montana against the Grizzlies and Montana State
• Standing just 1-7 on the road, ISU has enjoyed playing at Reed Gym this year, posting a 4-2 record at home — last posting a 58-50 win over Northern Colorado on Jan. 4
• Junior forward Halle Wright is the lone Bengal in double figures, averaging 10.3 ppg while shooting .433 from the field overall
• Sophomore forward Piper Carlson is the leader on the glass, averaging 7.2 rpg to go with 7.8 ppg and shooting .455 from the floor
• Idaho State leads the Big Sky in blocks per game at 4.13 bpg, led by 12 from Wright and 11 each from Carlson and senior guard Tasia Jordan
SERIES NOTABLES
• Idaho State leads the all-time series with Sacramento State, 46-12
• The Hornets, however, have won five of the last seven meetings — including a first-round Big Sky Tournament victory last season
• The Bengals won the first 27 head-to-head meetings in the series from 1997-09 before Sacramento State posted its first win on Jan. 30, 2010, at home (80-71)
• Since 1997, the Hornets have only won three times in Pocatello — two of those wins coming in the last three seasons: a 73-57 victory on Jan. 27, 2022, and a 75-62 triumph on Feb. 18, 2023
ABOUT THE WILDCATS
• Weber State enters the week with a 5-10 overall record and a 2-3 mark in Big Sky play, tied with Sacramento State for fifth in the league standings
• The Wildcats host Portland State on Thursday (Jan. 23) before welcoming the Hornets
• Entering the week, Weber State has lost its last two, dropping both ends of its trip to Montana after posting a five-point overtime win over Idaho State on Jan. 11
• Posting just s 2-7 record on the road, the Wildcats are 3-3 at home this year, winning two of their last three since the start of Big Sky play
• Sophomore forward Taylor Smith leads the team in scoring at 13.4 ppg, adding 6.1 rpg while shooting .448 from the field
• Senior guard Kendra Parra is also in double figures, averaging 10.0 ppg while leading the team in assists with 42
SERIES NOTABLES
• Weber State leads the all-time series with Sacramento State, 35-21
• The Hornets have won three of the last four meetings after splitting the regular season series in 2023-24 — each team winning on their home floor
• The Wildcats have won 20 of the 27 all-time meetings in Ogden, Utah, including four of the last five
• Sacramento State's last win in Ogden came on Feb. 16, 2023, by a 66-52 score
• Weber State won 23 of the first 24 meetings in the series from 1997-08, including a run of 17 straight from 2000-08
• Each of the last six meetings between the two schools have been decided by 10-or-more points
YOU CAN GO HOME AGAIN
• A split of last week's games against Northern Arizona and Northern Colorado improved the Hornets to 6-2 at The Nest this year, winning for the ninth time in their last 13 contests dating back to last season with the three-point triumph over the Bears
• The six victories at home are the most since the 2022-23 squad finished 11-2
YOU CAN ONLY HOPE TO CONTAIN HER
• Senior Jaydia Martin continues to steamroll her way past the opposition in the scoring column
• Martin has reached double figures in each of her last 12 outings, 13 of her last 14, and 14 of her 18 overall
• Martin, who enters the week ranked No. 3 in the Big Sky Conference in scoring, is averaging 17.4 ppg, 4.6 rpg, and 2.7 apg, while shooting .491 (83-for-169) during her recent run
• As a result, she has raised her season scoring average more than five full points from 9.3 ppg on Nov. 20 to a team-high 14.7 ppg entering this week's games
• Over her last 14 (dating back to Nov. 17 vs. Long Beach State), she is averaging 16.1 ppg while shooting .451 (88-for-195) from the floor
• Nearly 79 percent (209) of her 265 points have come during her 12-game double-digit scoring run
20-20-20-20 VISION
• Martin posted her team-high fourth 20-point scoring performance against Northern Arizona on Jan. 16, following up her 23-point game at Eastern Washington with 20 points against the Lumberjacks
• Her four games with 20-or-more points are tied for fourth in the Big Sky behind Northern Arizona's Sophie Glancey (7) and Taylor Feldman (7), and Montana State's Esmeralda Morales (5)
CAN YOU PASS ME THE WINDEX?
• No two players were busier on the glass for the Hornets against Northern Arizona than senior Katie Peneueta and junior Fatoumata Jaiteh, finishing with 13 rebounds EACH in the battle with the Lumberjacks
• Peneueta's total -- all coming on the defensive end -- was a career high, surpassing her previous high-water mark of 11 set at Idaho a week earlier
• The 13 defensive rebounds by Peneueta also ranked tied for sixth on the school's single-game list
• Meanwhile, Jaiteh collected six of her 13 boards on the offensive end, falling just one shy of her collegiate best for rebounds -- 14 set against Eastern Washington on Jan. 21, 2023, during her sophomore year at NAU
• It marked the first time that two Hornets finished with double-digit rebounds in the same game since Irune Orio (12) and Summah Hanson (10) did so at Northern Arizona on Feb. 15 of last season
THAT'S OFFENSIVE
• Jaiteh has been a beast on the offensive glass over her last two games, giving the Hornets a second chance with 11 of her last 20 rebounds
• The 11 offensive rebounds over the last two games account for nearly half of her 26 offensive boards on the season
• Jaiteh's six offensive boards are the second-most by a Hornet this year, trailing Brooklyn Taylor's seven o-boards against Lincoln University en route to a 11-point, 10-rebound double-double on Nov. 10
DON'T CALL IT A COMEBACK
• It's been a while since the Hornets dug themselves out of a substantial hole en route to a victory after they rallied from down 12 points in the third quarter to defeat Northern Colorado last week, 51-48
• The 12-point comeback was the largest deficit overcome by Sacramento State in a victory since it rallied from down 18 points against San Jose State on Nov. 14, 2021, en route to a 75-65 win
"ONE POINT, THAT'S ALL WE GOT?"
• The Hornets' defense was on point to help power the team's comeback against Northern Colorado, holding the Bears to a single point in the fourth quarter on a free throw just 16 seconds into the period
• Sacramento State limited UNC to 0-for-7 from the field and nine turnovers in the decisive fourth and 1-for-13 with 10 turnovers in the final 15:09 during the Hornets' game-clinching 19-4 run
• That one point is the fewest points that Sacramento State has allowed in a quarter since the NCAA moved to four periods for women's basketball in 2015-16
• In fact, four of the six lowest-scoring quarters by a Hornet opponent have come this season: a four-point fourth at Cal State Fullerton (Nov. 14) and a four-point first and third quarters against Wagner (Dec. 1)
THE BUTCHER DID IT
• Sophomore Madison Butcher did her part in helping the Hornets past Northern Colorado, coming off the bench to finish with 14 points and share game-high honors with teammate Jaydia Martin
• The 14 points marked her fourth double-digit game of the season and her highest total since finishing with 14 in the win over San Jose State on Dec. 15
• She finished 5-for-8 from the field, tying her season high for field goals made and added a pair of three-pointers
FALK THIS WAY
• Sophomore Lina Falk is back to her consistent scoring ways, finishing in double figures in each of her last four games following her 12-point outing against Northern Colorado last week
• Falk is averaging 11.0 ppg during her recent stretch while shooting .441 from the floor
• The sophomore has reached double figures in 13 of the team's 18 games and has not averaged less than 11.0 ppg all season
DELICIOUS DISH
• Junior guard Benthe Versteeg continues to find her teammates for baskets with pinpoint accuracy
• Versteeg averaged 6.0 apg in the Hornets' two games last week, leading the team in the category for the 14th and 15th times in 18 games this year
• The Big Sky leader in both total assists and assists per game a season ago, Versteeg has 50 assists in her last seven games (7.14 apg)
• The junior now has 97 assists on the season -- a total that leads the Big Sky in both overall and assists per game (5.71 apg) -- and now has 335 for her career, passing Justyce Dawson (312 from 2014-18) for fifth on the all-time list
• With 38 more helpers, Versteeg will tie Julie Wastell (373 from 1995-99) for fourth
• With three more assists, Versteeg would become the first Hornet to post 100 assists in back-to-back seasons since Fantasia Hilliard led the team in all four of her seasons in the green and gold from 2011-15
• Versteeg's career total ranks as the second-most among active players in the Big Sky, trailing only Montana State's Esmeralda Morales (349)
• Versteeg's 10 assists as part of a double-double at Portland State (Jan. 4) marked her sixth career game with double digits in the category and one of only three such games in the Big Sky this year along with Montana's Mack Konig, who had 11 assists against South Dakota State and 10 more against Southeastern
SWIPER, NO SWIPING!
• Sacramento State ranks third in the Big Sky in both steals (179) and steals per game (9.94) entering this week's contests
• The team's 179 steals through 18 games are closing in on last year's total of 207 over 31 contests -- which were the most by a Hornet squad since the 2019-20 team finished with 282
• Sacramento State has four players ranked in the top 15 in the league in steals: Jaydia Martin (8th, 1.67 spg), Benthe Versteeg (t9th, 1.65 spg), Fatoumata Jaiteh (11th, 1.60 spg), and Lina Falk (t13th, 1.56 spg)
• Versteeg and Falk share the team lead with 10 multi-steal games this year, followed by Martin with nine and Jaiteh with seven -- the latter doing so in each of the last four
• As a team, the Hornets have 10 games with at least 10 steals, doubling up last year's total of five
SHE'S JUST KATIE FROM THE BLOCK
• Senior Katie Peneueta is proving to be a problem inside for opposing shooters, collecting three blocks against Northern Arizona to give her a team-high 16
• Her 1.60 bpg would rank second in the Big Sky behind only Northern Arizona's Sophie Glancey for the league lead if Peneueta met the league minimum for games played this year
• Of Peneueta's 16 blocks, 15 of those have come over the last six games, averaging 2.67 bpg in that span
• The three blocks against the Lumberjacks give her 79 for her career, solidifying her hold on sixth place on the school's all-time list
• With 21 more swats this season Peneueta would become only the sixth Hornet to reach the century mark in school history and the first since Kennedy Nicholas finished with 173 from 2016-20
• Peneueta finished with a game-high six blocks in the team's second meeting with Abilene Christian this season (Dec. 20) -- tied for the most by a Big Sky player in a game this year
• The total, however, was not a career high as the Vancouver, Wash., native had seven swats -- and nearly a triple-double -- in a win over Idaho on Jan. 5, 2023, adding 11 points and 11 rebounds in 39 minutes against the Vandals
• Peneueta's six blocks against Abilene Christian rank tied for eighth on the school's single-game list, three off the record of 10 set by Heidi Carroll against San Francisco State on Feb. 21, 1983
THREE IS MORE THAN TWO
• In 61 career games with the Hornets, Peneueta has made a living from long distance, sinking 143 of her 165 career field goals from beyond the three-point line
• As a freshman, only four of her 60 makes were from closer than 22 feet, 1 3/4 inches while, as a sophomore, she doubled that output, making eight two-pointers out of her 79 total baskets
• This year, 16 of Peneueta's 26 makes have been from long distance, shooting .410 from three-point range entering the week
THE "PEN"-EUETA IS MIGHTIER
• Thanks to those 143 makes from beyond the arc, Peneueta now ranks among the school's top 10 in the category, passing Sarah Stapp (142 from 1992-96) for 10th place on the list
• Her career .453 (143-for-316) three-point percentage would also be a record if the season ended today
• Peneueta holds the top two single-season three-point marks in school history (minimum 25 three-pointers made), shooting a school-record .463 (56-for-121) as a freshman in 2021-22 and a second-best mark of .455 (71-for-156) in her sophomore season a year later during the Hornets' Big Sky championship season
START ME UP
• The Sacramento State starting five has accounted for 92 percent of the team's scoring (299 of 325 points) over the Hornets' last five games
• The 74 points by the starters at Eastern Washington were a season high and the most since the Sacramento State starting five finished with 75 points at Northern Arizona on Feb. 15 of last year (an 82-66 win)
SEARCHING FOR THE RIGHT COMBINATION
• Sacramento State's starting five opened the year with some stability, putting the same five players on the floor to tip-off the first five games of the season
• However, since then, illness and injury have joined forces to throw a wrench into the Hornet lineup as Sacramento State has used nine different starting five's over the course of its last 13 games
• In those 13 games, only two lineups have been used more than once: Versteeg, Alonso, Falk, Martin, and Fatoumata Jaiteh (vs. Abilene Christian and New Mexico) as well as Versteeg, Falk, Martin, Peneueta, and Jaiteh in four games against Portland State, Idaho, Northern Arizona, and Northern Colorado
• In all, the Hornets have used 10 different starting lineups this season -- one of seven schools across the country entering the week that have used 10-or-more different lineups and ranking tied for fifth on that list along with Utah State and Siena
• New Orleans leads the way on that list with 12, while UNC Asheville, Georgia Southern, and St. Bonaventure have all used 11
JUST WIN, BABY
• The Hornets' win at Portland State on Jan. 4 was their smallest margin of victory this season, ending a run of nine-straight double-digit wins dating back to last year
• Before that, all seven of Sacramento State's wins this season had been by double figures -- five of those by 27 points or more -- following its 27-point win over San Jose State back on Dec. 15
• Sacramento State's 39-point triumph over Wagner on Dec. 1 was the largest since a 59-point win over Pacific Union on Dec. 19, 2019, and the largest against a Division I opponent since a 48-point triumph over Portland State on Jan. 23, 2016
• The 78 points in the win over Jessup were the most in a season-opener for Sacramento State since an 88-85 win over Cal Poly to tip-off the 2018-19 campaign
• Meanwhile, the 88 points in the win over Lincoln University were the most by the Hornets since a 96-88 loss against Idaho on Feb. 22, 2020
PUT A LID ON IT
• In holding San Jose State to just 39 points back on Dec. 15, it marked the second time this season -- and the first time in the program's Division I history -- that the Hornets have held two opponents to fewer than 40 points in a single season (Wagner finished with just 34 on Dec. 1)
• The 34 points allowed to Wagner were the fewest surrendered in a game in the program's Division I history and the fewest by a Sacramento State opponent since a 78-29 win over Concordia College on Nov. 22, 1990
• The 39 points scored by the Spartans were tied for the third fewest in the program's Division I history, matching a 45-39 win over New Mexico State on Dec. 31, 2004
• Overall from the field, Wagner shot just .245 (12-for-49) for the game, which stands as the lowest by a Hornet opponent since Pacific Union shot the same percentage in the aforementioned 2019 meeting and the lowest by a Division I opponent in the program's Division I history
• Prior to making the jump to the Division I level, one would have to go all the way back to Feb. 12, 1991, to find a lower percentage by a Sacramento State opponent as the Hornets held Cal State East Bay to just .239 (16-for-68) shooting in an 81-38 win
• Along with the 40 points allowed to Cal State Fullerton on Nov. 14, three of the five fewest opponent point totals in the program's Division I history have come this year
• Of the top 15 lowest point totals by an opponent in that same stretch, 10 of those have come at The Nest
