SACRAMENTO, Calif. — After ringing in the New Year with a victory in its Big Sky Conference opener, the Sacramento State women's basketball team remains on the road for two more league contests this week. The Hornets return to the Pacific Northwest to take on Idaho on Thursday (Jan. 9) at 6 p.m., before taking on Eastern Washington on Saturday (Jan. 11) at 2 p.m. Both games will be shown live on the ESPN+ platform.

GAME #15
WHAT: Sacramento State (8-6, 1-0 Big Sky) at Idaho (9-4, 1-1 Big Sky)
WHEN: Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025
TIME: 6 PM PT
WHERE: Moscow, Idaho
ARENA: ICCU Arena
WATCH: ESPN+
LIVE STATS: GoVandals.com
GAME NOTES: Sacramento State | Idaho

ABOUT THE VANDALS
• Idaho enters the week with a 9-4 overall record and a 1-1 mark in Big Sky play
• The Vandals opened conference play with a split, falling at Montana State (59-56) before downing Montana (63-50) on the road
• Idaho is 4-1 in five games at home this year, winning its first four before falling to UC Davis, 65-58, on Dec. 18
• Sophomore guard Hope Hassmann leads a trio of Vandals in double digits, putting up 13.0 ppg while shooting .439 from the field and draining a team-high 19 three's
• Grad guard Olivia Nelson (10.8 ppg) and grad forward Rosie Schweizer (10.1 ppg) are also in double figures
• Grad forward Jennifer Aadland leads Idaho on the boards at 10.2 rpg while averaging 9.6 ppg
• The Vandals boast the second-best scoring defense in the Big Sky (56.0 ppg) while leading the league in field goal percentage defense (.337)

SERIES NOTABLES
• Idaho leads the all-time series with Sacramento State, 18-8, dating back to the 1992-93 season
• The Vandals have won the last two meetings, sweeping the regular season series from the Hornets in 2023-24
• Prior to that, Sacramento State had won four of the previous five head-to-head clashes
• The Hornets have won only twice in 13 games played in Moscow, Idaho: the first in 2015 (107-89) and the second in 2023 (77-70)

JAITEH NAMED BIG SKY PLAYER OF THE WEEK
• Junior Fatoumata Jaiteh was named the Big Sky Co-Player of the Week on Tuesday following her stellar performance at Portland State (more on that in a minute)
• It is Jaiteh's first career weekly honor from the conference office and the second for a Hornet this year after teammate Jaydia Martin earned the award on Dec. 10

DON'T UNPACK THOSE BAGS
• This week's clashes with Idaho and Eastern Washington are the fourth and fifth in a run of five straight games away from home for Sacramento State -- the longest such stretch since the Hornets played seven straight (including one at the Golden 1 Center in Downtown Sacramento) in 2021-22
• All told, Sacramento State will have gone 32 days between home games until Northern Arizona pays a visit to The Nest on Jan. 16, 2025 -- the seventh-largest gap of any team in the nation this year

BONUS BASKETBALL
• Sacramento State's extra-time win at Portland State in its Big Sky opener marked the Hornets' first overtime game since taking Northern Arizona to an extra period on Feb. 9, 2023
• The win over the Vikings, however, was the first overtime win for Sacramento State since they defeated UC Santa Barbara, 70-68, on Nov. 19, 2022
• The Hornets have won three of their last four overtime contests dating back to the 2021-22 campaign, ending a four-game skid in extra time
• In the program's Division I era, Sacramento State is 17-26 in overtime counting last Saturday's win
• The 12 points in the extra period by the Hornets were the most in a single overtime since Sacramento State outscored Southern Utah, 17-11, en route to a 75-69 victory over the Thunderbirds on Feb. 14, 2019

SHE'S GOING THE DISTANCE
• Both senior Jaydia Martin and sophomore Lina Falk played all 45 minutes in the win at Portland State
• It marked the first time that a Hornet had played at least that many minutes in a game since senior Katie Peneueta went all 45 minutes in the OT win over UCSB
• It was also the first time that a Sacramento State duo played 45 minutes or more in the same game since Hannah Friend (48) and Tiara Scott (46) did so in a double overtime loss to Montana on Jan. 3, 2019

DOWN, BUT NOT OUT
• The Hornets rallied from down 11 points in the fourth quarter against Portland State en route to the win -- the first time that Sacramento State had come back from down double-digits since the aforementioned win over UC Santa Barbara in 2022, when the Hornets also trailed by 11 in that game

JUST WIN, BABY
• The Hornets' win at Portland State was their smallest margin of victory this season, ending a run of nine-straight double-digit triumphs dating back to last year
• Before Saturday, all seven of Sacramento State's wins 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

MAKING THEIR POINT
• Sacramento State's 76 points against Portland State were the most since the Hornets finished with 88 points in a win over Lincoln University on Nov. 10
• The total is the third-highest of the season for Sacramento State and the most against a Division I opponent, surpassing the 74 points against Kansas City on Dec. 4

JAITEH IS OKAY
• Junior Fatoumata Jaiteh had herself quite a day in the Pacific Northwest, torching host Portland State for a collegiate-high 28 points in 34 minutes
• The total doubled-up her previous collegiate high of 14 points set at Montana while playing at Northern Arizona on Jan. 5, 2023
• All but four of her 28 points were scored in the second half and overtime, making all of her field goals after the break and finishing 12-of-13 from the line (including 6-of-6 in overtime alone)
• She finished 6-of-7 from the field overall and 16-of-19 from the line (more on that one in a minute) en route to her total, including hitting her first six shots of the game before missing her first attempt in overtime
• Had she turned that miss into a make, she would have tied Isnelle Natabou's school Division I era single-game shooting record of 7-for-7 against Fresno State in 2022
• The 28 points marked the second-highest total by a Hornet this year, trailing only Jaydia Martin's 31-point outburst against Kansas City on Dec. 4

SHE'S FREEEEEEE... FREE THROWIN'
• Jaiteh made her living at the line against Portland State, finishing 16-of-19 from the stripe en route to her collegiate-high 28 points
• The 16 makes enter the week tied for fourth on the nation's single-game list (UC Santa Barbara's Alyssa Marin was 22-for-25 against San Jose State on 11/17/24)
• The total were the most by a Hornet since All-American Kristy Ryan sank 17 at UC Irvine on Dec. 4, 1993, and were just two shy of Ryan's school single-game record of 18 against Alaska Fairbanks on Jan. 8, 1994
• Not only are the 16 makes the most by a Big Sky player this year, they are double the total of the next closest player with five others making eight in a game -- including teammate Benthe Versteeg, who was 8-for-12 against UC San Diego on Nov. 7

GIVING NO QUARTER
• Of Jaiteh's 28 points, 13 of those came in the fourth quarter alone -- the most points in a single period by a Hornet this season and the fifth double-digit quarter by a Sacramento State player in 2024-25

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 eight outings, nine of her last 10, and 10 of her 14 games overall this year
• Martin is averaging 17.6 ppg, 4.8 rpg, and 3.0 apg, while shooting .478 (55-for-115) overall
• As a result, she has raised her season scoring average more than four full points from 9.3 ppg on Nov. 20 to a team-high 14.1 ppg entering this week's games
• Over her last 10 (dating back to Nov. 17 vs. Long Beach State), she is averaging 15.7 ppg while shooting .426 (60-for-141) from the floor
• Nearly 80 percent (157) of her 197 points have come in her last 10 contests

DELICIOUS DISH
• Junior guard Benthe Versteeg continues to find her teammates for baskets with pinpoint accuracy
• Versteeg finished with a season-high 10 assists to go with her 10 points at Portland State, completing her first double-double of the season and the sixth of her career
• Versteeg's performance at Portland State was her first double-digit assist game since she finished with 13 points and 12 assists against Idaho State on March 9, 2024, at last year's Big Sky Tournament
• It marked only the third double-digit assist performance in the Big Sky this year, joining Montana's Mack Konig, who had 11 assists against South Dakota State and 10 more against Southeastern
• The Big Sky leader in the category a season ago, Versteeg has 27 assists in her last three games (9.0 apg) -- matching her output from the six games prior
• The junior now has 74 assists on the season -- a total that leads the Big Sky in both overall and assists per game (5.69 apg) -- and now has 312 for her career, matching Justyce Dawson (312 from 2014-18) for fifth on the all-time list
• With 61 more helpers, Versteeg will tie Julie Wastell (373 from 1995-99) for fourth
• Following her performance against the Vikings, Versteeg now has nine games with at least five assists this year and 37 of those in her career
• Versteeg's career total ranks as the second-most among active players in the Big Sky, trailing only Montana State's Esmeralda Morales (334)

LOOK FOR THE HELPERS
• Versteeg and teammate Sofia Alonso (ninth) give the Hornets two of the top-10 playmakers in the Big Sky entering this week's conference contests
• Sacramento State is one of three schools that have two players among the top 10 in assists along with Northern Arizona (Leia Beattie and Taylor Feldman) and Idaho (Hope Hassmann and Olivia Nelson)
• Senior Jaydia Martin (2.64 apg), gives the Hornets three in the top 15 -- the only school to accomplish that feat entering this week's league lid-lifters

MY TEAM IS ON THE FLOOR
• Sacramento State's starting five accounted for 72 of the team's 76 points in the win over Portland State -- the highest total by a Hornet starting five since the starting group scored 75 points at Northern Arizona on Feb. 15 of last season
• The previous season high by a Sacramento State starting five was 56 (of the 74 points scored) against Kansas City on Dec. 4

BLOCK YOU VERY MUCH
• After being sidlined for two weeks due to injury, senior Katie Peneueta came back with a 16-point effort against New Mexico prior to the Christmas holiday, but it was her work on the defensive end a day later against Abilene Christian that opened eyes
• Peneueta finished with a game-high six blocks in the team's second meeting with the Wildcats this season -- tied for the highest total by a Big Sky player 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

SHE'S JUST KATIE FROM THE BLOCK
• Peneueta tallied her eighth block of the year in the win at Portland State, giving her 71 for her career and moving her into a tie for seventh on the all-time list with former teammate Isnelle Natabou (2021-23) 
• With her next block, Peneueta will tie Natasha Torgerson (2009-13) for sixth with 72
• With 29 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

THREE IS MORE THAN TWO
• In 57 career games with the Hornets, Peneueta has made a living from long distance, sinking 138 of her 156 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, 11 of Peneueta's 17 makes have been from long distance, shooting .423 from three-point range entering the week

THE "PEN"-EUETA IS MIGHTIER
• Thanks to those 138 makes from beyond the arc, Peneueta stands only four three-point makes away from breaking into the school's all-time top 10, closing in on Sarah Stapp (142 from 1992-96) in 10th place
• Her career .455 (138-for-303) three-point percentage would also be a record if the season ended today
• Peneueta also 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

SWIPER, NO SWIPING!
• After leading the team with 58 steals last season, Versteeg's three against Portland State on Saturday marked her ninth multi-steal game this year
• Meanwhile, both Martin and sophomore Lina Falk have seven such games, followed by Alonso with five more
• The Hornets' defense has accounted for 142 steals -- including eight games with double-digits in that category following the 12 swipes against the Vikings
• Last year, Sacramento State finished with 10-or-more steals in a game only five times
• The Hornets enter the week ranked third in the Big Sky in both steals and steals per game (10.14 spg)
• Four Hornets rank among the top 15 in steals in the Big Sky entering the week -- Versteeg is sixth (1.92 spg), Alonso is eighth (1.67), while Martin and Falk are tied for 13th (1.50 spg)

YOU CAN GO HOME AGAIN
• Thanks to the Hornets' win over San Jose State back on Dec. 15, Sacramento State improved to 5-1 within the friendly confines of The Nest this season, winning for the eighth time in their last 11 contests at home dating back to last year
• The five wins in six games at home to start the year is the program's best start at The Nest since the 2022-23 squad opened 7-1 through its first eight games
• This year's start also surpassed last year's home win total and marked the seventh time in the school's Division I history that Sacramento State has opened with at least five home wins in its first six games on its home floor

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 

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 eight different starting five's over its last nine games
• In those nine games, only the lineup of Versteeg, Alonso, Falk, Martin, and Fatoumata Jaiteh has been used more than once