LA JOLLA, Calif. — Sophomore guard Rubi Gray finished with a career-high 24 points while teammates Natalie Picton and Brooklyn Taylor came up big to help repel a fourth-quarter rally, lifting Sacramento State to a 71-60 victory over host UC San Diego on Wednesday night at LionTree Arena in La Jolla, Calif.
The victory pushed the Hornets to 3-1 overall on the season, defeating their future Big West Conference rival for the second straight year. The Tritons, who are the reigning Big West Tournament champions and an NCAA Tournament qualifier last season, fell to 1-2 overall with the loss.
Gray, whose previous career-best was nine points set in the win over Stanton University earlier this year, nearly tripled that mark in 38 minutes on Wednesday, draining 8-of-18 from the field, including a quartet of three-pointers, and hitting all four of her shots from the line. She added four rebounds and three blocks in the victory.
It marked the first 20-point performance by a Sacramento State player this year and the most since Benthe Versteeg had 24 against Northern Arizona in the second round of last year's Big Sky Conference Tournament.
Picton helped lead a balanced scoring effort by finishing in double figures with 13 points — 10 of those coming in the fourth quarter — while playing all 40 minutes to go with three rebounds. Taylor added nine points and seven rebounds in 14 minutes, six of those points and three of those boards coming in the final stanza.
Senior Fatoumata Jaiteh nearly added a double-double with nine points and nine rebounds, while senior Benthe Versteeg finished with seven points, seven rebounds, and six assists, but both were whistled for their fifth fouls midway through the final quarter.
Sacramento State looked as if it would run away with the contest early, hitting 7-of-7 from beyond the arc in the second quarter alone to help turn a two-point deficit into a 16-point advantage at the break. UC San Diego got as close as six points in the period, but a 10-0 run over the final 3:11 of the half helped the Hornets outscore the Tritons, 25-9, in the quarter.
That run was extended to 12 with the first basket of the third quarter, but UCSD would not go quietly. The Tritons whittled the lead down to 11 and then used an 8-0 run to end the period to make it a seven-point contest heading into the final 10 minutes.
The deficit was just two points after a Rosa Smith three-pointer and a lay-up by Dymonique Maxie to start the fourth before a Picton pull-up jumper stopped the bleeding for the Hornets. Sacramento State rebuilt its lead back to nine, but UC San Diego was game, cutting it gap back to three points on two occasions — the last coming with 4:08 to play — before the Hornets found their finishing kick.
Taylor scored on back-to-back possessions and Gray added a pair of free throws over the next two minutes while the Tritons missed on two trips up the court and turned the ball over on a third possession. After a pair of free throws by UCSD, Picton hit two more from the line as Sacramento State made 9-of-10 from the stripe down the stretch, keying a 13-5 burst over the final 3:33 while the defense held the Tritons to without a field goal in that span.
The Hornets held a 53-32 advantage on the glass, including a 16-10 lead on the offensive end that led to 14 second-chance points. Five players finished with at least six rebounds, including season-high's by Jaiteh, Elizabeth Abiara (eight), Versteeg, and Taylor. Keanna Salave'a's six rebounds marked her fourth consecutive game with at least five.
Wednesday night's performance on the glass marked the second time Sacramento State has finished with 50-or-more rebounds in a game this year, matching the 53 boards in the season-opening win over Stanton University, and were the most against a Division I opponent in Head Coach Aaron Kallhoff's tenure, surpassing the 51 rebounds in an 82-66 win at Northern Arizona on Feb. 15, 2024.
Sacramento State's defense also forced UC San Diego into 23 turnovers on the night, turning those into 23 points for the good, while the Hornets outscored the Tritons, 32-14, in the paint.
This week's Southern California roadtrip comes to a close on Saturday (Nov. 15) as Sacramento State takes on Long Beach State at 2 p.m. at the Walter Pyramid, continuing a run of four-straight games against Big West opponents.
