RIVERSIDE, Calif. — Sophomore Rubi Gray extended her double-digit scoring streak to five consecutive games thanks to a team-high 19 points and junior Keanna Salave'a banked home a tying three-pointer with less than five seconds remaining in regulation, but a foul called with 1.1 seconds remaining led to a pair of tie-breaking free throws that lifted Chattanooga to a 59-57 win over Sacramento State on Friday afternoon in Riverside, Calif.
In the opening game for both teams at the CBU Classic, the Hornets fell to 5-3 overall on the year, suffering their second consecutive defeat by a combined total of five points. Led by 21 points by Caia Elisaldez, the Mocs evened their record at 4-4.
Sacramento State faces host California Baptist in the consolation game on Saturday (Nov. 29) at Noon, while Chattanooga faces UC Santa Barbara, which defeated the Lancers by a 74-49 score in Friday's opening game, in the championship at 2:30 p.m. Both games will be streamed live on the ESPN+ platform.
Gray finished 6-of-10 from the field, including a pair of three-pointers, and 5-of-6 from the line en route to her team-high total, adding three rebounds. Salave'a finished with 11 points (4-of-9 field goals) and a team-high eight rebounds to go with a pair of blocks and a steal, while junior Natalie Picton added 11 points, including a trio of three-pointers, adding two assists and a pair of steals in 40 minutes.
Picton's performance also marked her fifth-straight game — and her seventh in eight contests — with 10-or-more points, while Salave'a tied her Sacramento State career high on the glass for the second straight game to go along with her second double-digit scoring performance as a Hornet this year.
After a slow start to the game that saw the Hornets fall behind by as many as eight points midway through the contest, a lay-up by Salave'a sparked an 11-0 run over the final 4:17 to give the Hornets a 17-14 lead following the first period. The run carried over into the second quarter as Sacramento State lengthened its lead after scoring the first nine points of the period, holding the Mocs to 0-for-10 from the field in that stretch.
The Hornets led by as many as 13 points with four minutes gone in the second quarter and had a 32-24 lead at the break before Chattanooga began to chip away. The Mocs, who used a 13-2 burst to regain the lead, doubled-up Sacramento State, 18-9, in the third quarter to take a one-point lead into the final stanza, shooting 55 percent in the period.
Both teams traded points to start the fourth, but the Hornets erased a four-point deficit to regain the lead, 51-49, thanks to four points by Salave'a and a pair at the line from Brooklyn Taylor with 4:34 to play. Chattanooga answered with a 6-0 run of its own to rebuild its four-point advantage, but a three-pointer by Gray clawed Sacramento State back to within a point. with less than a minute to play.
Two free throws by Elisaldez with 10 seconds to go put the Mocs up three, but Salave'a came up clutch out of a timeout, banking home a three-pointer from the top of the key to tie the game. With both teams looking at overtime, Elisaldez raced up the sideline and lofted up a three-quarter court shot while falling between two defenders, but was deemed to be fouled in the act, sending her to the line for three.
Elisaldez hit the first and the third for the two-point advantage with 1.1 remaining, leaving the door cracked for the Hornets, who were unable to get off a shot at the buzzer.
Chattanooga finished with a 38-33 advantage on the glass, turning 10 offensive rebounds into 14 second-chance points, and were able to score 17 points off 19 Sacramento State miscues. The Mocs also went to the line 24 times to 14 for the Hornets, making 17.
