SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Sophomore guard Rubi Gray finished with a career-high 26 points to lead a trio of Hornets in double figures and Sacramento State led wire-to-wire en route to its third consecutive victory, cruising to a 78-58 win over Cal State Fullerton on Friday night at Hornet Pavilion.
The Hornets, who shot 60 percent from the floor in the first half and finished hitting 50 percent from the field overall for the game, improved to 5-1 overall. It is the best start through six games since the 2022-23 squad opened with the same record.
Led by 18 points from Kya Pearson and 13 rebounds by Nicole Steiner, the Titans fell to 1-4 overall, shooting just 32 percent overall from the floor following a 3-for-13 start (.231) in the opening 10 minutes.
Just over a week after putting up a then career-high 24 points in a win at UC San Diego on Nov. 12, Gray posted her second career 20-point performance with her 26-point outburst on Friday, hitting 11-of-20 from the floor, including four three-pointers. Gray's 11 makes were the most since Jaydia Martin finished 11-for-17 against Kansas City on Dec. 4 of last season.
Senior guard Benthe Versteeg added 12 points and tied her season high with seven assists, adding four rebounds and a pair of steals. Junior Natalie Picton finished with 11 points, four rebounds, five assists, and two steals.
Defensively, the Hornets forced Cal State Fullerton into 20 turnovers and ended the night with 17 steals — a career-high seven of those from senior Fatoumata Jaiteh, whose total is tied for fifth on the school's single-game list and were the most by a Sacramento State player since Maranne Johnson had nine against Southern Utah on Jan. 12, 2017.
Junior Keanna Salave'a also had a solid night, scoring nine points, grabbing six rebounds, dishing out four assists, stealing three balls, and blocking a pair of shots.
The Hornets never trailed, leading by as many as 31 points in the second quarter and breaking a 4-4 tie two minutes into the contest thanks to an 18-0 run over a span of just under six minutes. Sacramento State led 28-6 at the end of the first period and went into the locker room with a 30-point advantage at the break.
Cal State Fullerton won the third quarter, 22-14, but would get no closer than 17 points the rest of the way as the Hornets shot 50 percent in the final stanza to the Titans' 35 percent.
Friday marked the fifth time in six games this season that Sacramento State has held an opponent under 38 percent from the field and the third time under a 35 percent clip overall. The Hornets' 50 first-half points are the most against a Division I opponent this season as were the team's 78 total points.
Sacramento State closes out its brief two-game homestand on Monday (Nov. 24) at 6:30 p.m., hosting Causeway rival UC Davis at Hornet Pavilion. It is the final home contest for the Hornets before they embark on a stretch that will see them play five of their final six non-conference contests away from home.
