POCATELLO, Idaho — In a back-and-forth battle that featured nine tie scores and 16 lead changes, it was Sacramento State that had the late-game magic on Thursday night, using a 15-0 run over the final five minutes to put away host Idaho State for a 72-63 win at Reed Gym in Pocatello, Idaho.
The Hornets won their second straight in improving to 10-9 overall and 3-3 in Big Sky Conference play, holding the Bengals to just 32 percent shooting in the second half and a 25 percent clip in the fourth quarter alone.
Idaho State, which was outscored by a 20-8 count in the final 10 minutes, fell to 6-11 overall and 1-5 in league. Sophia Covello led the way with 16 points — 11 of those coming in the second half.
Junior guard Benthe Versteeg finished with a game and season-high 23 points on 9-of-16 from the field, adding six rebounds and six assists while playing all 40 minutes. It was her second 20-point performance of the year (21 at Eastern Washington on Jan. 11) and the fourth of her career, while posting her 12th game with five-or-more assists.
Senior Jaydia Martin kept her double-digit scoring streak alive, finishing with 15 points on 4-of-7 from the floor and adding seven rebounds and three assists. Martin, the Big Sky's third-leading scorer entering the night, has now reached double figures in each of her last 13 contests.
Senior Katie Peneueta added 11 points, seven rebounds, three blocks, and three steals, posting her fourth double-digit scoring performance of the year while finishing with multiple blocks in a game for the fifth time this season.
Neither team led by more than five in a closely contested first half as Versteeg was credited with a basket at the end of the first after a timing error and then she gave the Hornets a two-point advantage at the half with a three-pointer from the top of the key for a 40-38 lead.
Idaho State won the third quarter, 17-12, to take a three-point lead into the final stanza, but the Bengals could not hold off hard-charging Sacramento State. Peneueta put back her own miss before Versteeg hit 1-of-2 from the line then scored inside to give the Hornets a lead they would not relinquish.
Martin hit a pair from the line and Versteeg sandwiched a pair of floaters around a basket inside by Peneueta to finish-off the run as Idaho State snapped a scoreless streak of 5:21 on a jumper with 30 seconds remaining and the game already well in-hand for Sacramento State.
The Hornets shot 52 percent from the field for the game and hit 14-of-18 from the line, leading for only 7:44 on the night. ISU finished shooting 48 percent from the floor, but hit 68 percent in the first half — including a 75 percent clip (9-of-12) in the second quarter — before going cold in the second half, shooting just 32 percent after the break and 3-of-12 (.250) in the decisive fourth period.
Sacramento State closes out the weekend on Saturday (Jan. 25) as the Hornets travel to Ogden, Utah, for a 1 p.m. tip-off against Weber State.
