SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Off to a 2-0 start for the second consecutive season, the Sacramento State women's basketball team faces its first road test of the campaign with a short trip to Berkeley, Calif., to take on California on Sunday (Nov. 9) at 7 p.m. The game will be streamed live on the ACC Network Extra.
GAME #3
WHAT: Sacramento State (2-0, 0-0 Big Sky) at California (0-1, 0-0 ACC)
WHEN: Sunday, Nov. 9, 2024
TIME: 7 PM PT
WHERE: Berkeley, Calif.
ARENA: Haas Pavilion
WATCH: ACC Network Extra
LIVE STATS: CalBears.com
GAME NOTES: Sacramento State | California | Big Sky Conference
THE COACHES
• Sacramento State's Aaron Kallhoff is entering his third year at the helm of the Hornets' program, posting a 23-43 mark and a 101-119 overall record in seven-plus seasons as a head coach
• Kallhoff claimed his 100th career win as a head coach in Sacramento State's 2025-26 season-opening win over Stanton University
• Charmin Smith is in her seventh year as the California head coach, posting an 81-92 record
NEW NEST
• After spending most of its history playing at The Nest, both the Sacramento State men's and women's basketball teams transition its home contests to the Hornet Pavilion located inside The WELL, an on-campus fitness complex that has renovated a portion of the facility to serve as the new home of the Hornets.
• The venue will seat approximately 3,000 fans -- nearly tripling the capacity of The Nest
• It was a giant facelift for the facility featuring (among other enhancements): re-striping of all courts to include the game court, telescopic bleachers around the center court, two new video boards, LED ribbon boards, new scoreboards, a new sound system, removal and replacement of existing lighting, new press tables and courtside seats, and new branding promoting Sacramento State and the city of Sacramento
"BIG" NEWS FOR 2026
• The 2025-26 campaign marks the 30th -- and final -- season as a member of the Big Sky Conference for the Hornets, who announced plans to move to the The Big West beginning in 2026-27
• Sacramento State has the possibility of facing four of its future league rivals this year: UC San Diego (Nov. 12), Long Beach State (Nov. 15), Cal State Fullerton (Nov. 21), and UC Santa Barbara (Nov. 29)
• Another league opponent -- Causeway rival UC Davis -- is also on the schedule (Nov. 24), but the Aggies are departing for the Mountain West Conference following this year
• The Big West will be the third conference for the Hornets in their Division I history after playing in the America West Conference along with Cal Poly, CSUN, and Southern Utah from 1994-96, and then joining the Big Sky in 1996-97
ABOUT THE HORNETS
• Sacramento State returns two starters and six letter winners overall off of last season's squad that finished 15-18 overall and 7-11 in Big Sky play
• The Hornets advanced to at least the second round of the conference tournament for the third straight season
• Bolstering the roster is a class of nine newcomers from across all levels of basketball -- a group that includes three Division I transfers, another from a prominent NAIA program, two from the junior college ranks, and three freshmen
• Record-setting senior guard Benthe Versteeg is the leading returning scorer after averaging 12.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg, and 6.5 apg, while earning All-Big Sky first-team, Big Sky All-Defensive Team, and Big Sky All-Tournament honors for the second straight year
• Senior forward Fatoumata Jaiteh also returns after starting 27 of her 30 appearances a season ago, averaging 7.8 points and 4.7 rebounds per game, while finishing tied for second on the team with 45 steals
ABOUT THE GOLDEN BEARS
• California enters Sunday's game with an 0-1 record after falling to No. 19 Vanderbilt, 74-65, in Paris, France, as part of the Oui Play event
• The Golden Bears led the Commodores by two at the break, but were outscored 24-9 in the third
• Four Golden Bears finished in double figures led by freshman forward Taylor Barnes, who finished with 17 points and six rebounds on 7-of-13 from the floor
• Graduate center Sakima Walker added a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds
• California was picked to finish 12th in the 18-team ACC
• The Golden Bears finished 25-9 overall and 12-6 in the ACC last season, falling to Mississippi State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, 59-46
• Junior guard Lulu Twidale is the team's leading returning scorer at 13.2 ppg as she was one of five California players to average double-digit points a season ago -- four of which are absent from the roster in 2025-26
SERIES NOTABLES
• The series between California and Sacramento State is tied at six wins apiece
• The Hornets won the first six meetings from 1973-79, while the Golden Bears have won the last six meetings from 1993-21 -- all six played in Berkeley, Calif.
• Sunday marks the first two meetings between the programs since Nov. 9, 2021, which ended in a 90-71 Cal victory
• Before that, the two schools hadn't faced one another since 2016
• This weekend's meeting will be the ninth between the two to be played on the Golden Bears' home floor with Cal winnings six of the previous eight at Haas Pavilion
• On the flip side, Sacramento State has won all three meetings at home, but the two schools haven't played in Sacramento since a 72-65 Hornet win on Feb. 13, 1979
WANNA BE STARTIN' SOMETHIN'
• The Hornets have started a season with back-to-back wins for the second straight year and only the third time in the program's Division I history (since 1991-92)
• Sacramento State defeated Jessup University and UC San Diego en route to a 4-0 start last season and posted wins over CSUN and San Diego State to tip-off the 2013-14 campaign
CROWD PLEASERS
• Despite an 11 a.m. tip-off against Nevada on Thursday, the Hornets drew a crowd for their game against the Wolf Pack, bolstered by a boisterous contingent of local school kids as part of "Field Trip Day" at Hornet Pavilion
• The 1,144 in attendance marked the seventh-largest single-game crowd in the program's Division I history and the fourth-largest for an on-campus contest that wasn't also a doubleheader with the men's team
• The on-campus record stands at 1,301 for a game at The Nest against Northern Arizona on Feb. 25, 2006
LONG TIME COMING
• Thursday's 20-point win over Nevada snapped a 16-game losing streak to the Wolf Pack in the series since a 64-60 win at home on Dec. 6, 1995
• The 20-point margin of victory was the largest for Sacramento State in the series since a 77-54 win in Reno on Dec. 29, 1993
GIRL ON FIRE
• The Hornets have had the hot hand to start 2025-26, shooting 50 percent or better in each of their first two contests
• The last time Sacramento State hit at least 50 percent in back-to-back games came during the 2022-23 season when the Hornets shot 54 percent at Idaho State (Feb. 18) and 52 percent against Montana State (Feb. 23)
• Entering Sunday's game at California, eight different Hornets are shooting better than 50 percent from the field this season
UNANSWERED CALL
• Aside from holding Nevada to just 45 points and 36 percent shooting overall, the Sacramento State defense made sure that the Wolf Pack didn't do any damage from long distance on Thursday
• Nevada was shut out from beyond the arc, going 0-for-12 from three-point range -- the first time the Hornets have held an opponent to without a three-pointer since blanking the Wolf Pack (0-for-7) from distance on Nov. 9, 2019, in an 83-72 loss
SHOOTING BLANKS
• Dating back to last season, Sacramento State's defense has held each of its last five opponents -- and nine of its last 10 -- to under 40 percent from the field, including a 28 percent clip by Northern Arizona in a Big Sky Tournament meeting last year
• Five of those 10 opponents have made fewer than 20 field goals in a game, including only 12 by Weber State on Feb. 20 last season
• Meanwhile, the Hornets' offense has shot 40 percent or better seven times in that same stretch
PICTURE WORTH A THOUSAND POINTS
• Versteeg enters her final collegiate season closing in on a milestone, needing just 169 more points to reach 1,000 for her career
• Should she reach the plateau, Versteeg would become the 19th Hornet to accomplish the feat and the first since Summer Menke did it in 2022
• Along with her assist total (more on that in a minute), she also ranks ninth on the all-time minutes played list with 2,971 and, if she's able to replicate her total from each of the last two seasons, would set a new school record in that category
• With her 12 assists over her first two games this season, Versteeg now has 458 for her career, moving her past Heather Baker (1989-93) into second on the school's all-time list
• She trails only record-holder Fantasia Hilliard (2011-15), who has 726 for her career, on that chart
• Among other top 10s, Versteeg is just 114 made field goals, 73 more free throws made, and 30 more steals from breaking into those respective lists
BACK TO RUN THE SHOW
• The two-time Big Sky assist queen returns to the floor for her fourth season in the green and gold as Benthe Versteeg looks for a repeat of her last two record-setting campaigns
• After setting the school single-season record with 208 assists in 2023-24, Versteeg matched her own mark with 208 helpers in 2024-25, which ranked her tied for eighth in the Big Sky record books
• It marked the 12th time in Big Sky history that a player accumulated 200 assists in a season and only the third to accomplish the feat since 2012, joining Northern Arizona's Regan Schenck (231 in 2022-23)
• Versteeg's 6.50 apg last year is tied for the second-highest single-season mark in program history along with Fantasia Hilliard's 2013-14 average -- both of which trailed Versteeg's 6.71 apg in 2023-24
• Versteeg has now led the Big Sky in assists per game in back-to-back seasons -- the first player in league history to do so since Hilliard did so in three straight years from 2012-15 and only the fourth overall since 1988-89 (Montana's Skyla Sisco and Eastern Washington's Jennifer Sutter were the others)
• Versteeg's performance last year marked only the sixth time a Hornet led the league in assists, joining Lianna Tillman (6.04 apg) in 2021-22, Rexanne Rodriguez (5.65 apg) in 2000-01, Tika Koshiyama-Diaz (5.48 apg) in 2010-11, and Hilliard, who did it in three straight seasons: 2012-13 (5.9 apg), 2013-14 (6.5 apg), and 2014-15 (5.8 pg)
DROP THE NEEDLE
• It was a record-setting night at Hornet Pavilion in the Hornets' season-opening victory over Stanton University
• Sacramento State's 85-point margin of victory surpassed the previous mark, which was a 71-point, 86-15 win over San Francisco State on Feb. 21, 1974
• The 52 field goals made against the Elks bested the 50 makes from the field against Portland State on Jan. 2, 2016
LET'S GET STRAIGHT TO THE POINT
• The Hornets put together one of the highest-scoring single-game performances in school history against Stanton as the 124 points were the fourth-most in a game and the first 100-point showing since scoring 107 in a double-overtime defeat at Northern Arizona in 2020
• On the other side of the scoreboard, the 39 points allowed to the Elks were tied for the third-fewest allowed in the program's Division I history and the fewest since limiting San Jose State to the same total on Dec. 15, 2024, in a 66-39 victory
• It was the highest-scoring season opener in school history, surpassing the 101 points scored in a 101-58 win over Cal State East Bay to tip-off the 1988-89 season
1/4 + 1/2 = ONE WHOLE WIN
• The 42 points scored by the Hornets in the first quarter against Stanton were the most in a single-quarter since the NCAA moved to four quarters in 2015-16
• Monday's mark surpassed the previous high of 39 scored in the third quarter of a 126-78 win over UC Irvine on Dec. 22, 2015
• Sacramento State's 71-point first-half against the Elks was also the highest single-half total since the Hornets put up 75 second-half points against the Anteaters in that same 2015 victory
MISS STEAL YOUR BALL
• The 26 steals against Stanton were four shy of the program's all-time single-game mark of 30 set against Portland State on Feb. 7, 2015
• It total was the highest in six seasons for the Hornets, who last posted a 20-plus steal game against Cal Maritime on Nov. 13, 2019, finishing with 28 in that contest
YOU'RE A BIG HELP
• It wasn't a record, but it was REALLY close... the 33 assists against the Elks were one shy of the all-time mark of 34 against Portland State in a 126-78 win on Jan. 23, 2016
• That came just three weeks after the Hornets collected 33 assists against the Vikings in a 132-91 win on Jan. 2 -- the same game that they set the school single-game scoring record
PASSING FANCY
• As part of the Hornets' 33-assist performance on Monday, four Sacramento State players finished with at least four helpers -- including a game-high total from a somewhat unlikely source
• Senior forward Fatoumata Jaiteh led everyone with a career-high eight assists against Stanton -- the most by a Hornet since Benthe Versteeg had 11 against Eastern Washington in last year's Big Sky Tournament opener
• Jaiteh's total amounted to nearly a third of her total from all of 2024-25 when she finished the year with 27 assists and more than doubled her single-game high of three in the Big Sky Tournament match-up with Northern Arizona in the second round
• Senior classmate Benthe Versteeg, who led the Big Sky in both total assists and assists per game last year, finished with a "ho-hum" seven assists to go along with eight points, three rebounds, and four steals
• It was Versteeg's 31st career game with seven-or-more assists -- all of those coming in the last two-plus seasons (a total of 64 games)
BOARD MEETING
• The 53 rebounds and 29 boards on the offensive glass were the most in a single game for the Hornets since they grabbed 61 total and 33 on the offensive end as part of a 90-34 win over Pacific Union on Dec. 19, 2019
SHE CAN DO BOTH
• All nine of the Hornets' newcomers made their debuts in the green and gold in Monday's win over Stanton -- among them, redshirt freshman Jaety Mandaquit, who walked on the team after wrapping up her second season with the Sacramento State women's soccer team
• Mandaquit becomes only the third two-sport student-athlete in the women's basketball program's Division I history, the first since 2001-02, and only the second women's soccer player to make the jump
• The other two student-athletes were: Allison Espinosa, a two-time All-American (1989-90) in volleyball who played women's basketball in 1990-91 and 1991-92 (42 career games, 3.8 ppg, 3.0 rpg, .477 FG%), and Lori Kerswell, a two-time All-Big Sky selection who played four years with the women's soccer team and joined the women's basketball team for one year in 2001-02 (22 games, nine starts, 4.3 ppg, 2.5 rpg).
• Trading her cleats for sneakers, Monday's debut for Mandaquit marked her first organized basketball contest since her junior year of high school
• She finished the win over Stanton with two points, three rebounds, and a pair of steals in 11 minutes against the Elks, scoring her first collegiate points with a lay-up off an assist from freshman Jamiah Fontenberry in the third quarter
• Hailing from Hilo, Hawai'i, Mandaquit is only the second Hornet to come from the "Aloha State" and the first since Jordan Kealoha (Honolulu) played two seasons for Sacramento State in 2010-12
A RARE BREED
• According to a preseason survey of schools across the country, Mandaquit is one of only four two-sport women's basketball student-athletes across the country
• Lamar's Molly Powell and UCLA's Megan Grant are doubling-up in women's basketball and softball, while Saint Louis' Ellie Paloucek joined the Billikens' women's basketball team after playing 14 matches with the women's soccer program
M-V-P! M-V-P!
• For the first time in the history of the program, the preseason Big Sky Conference MVP resides in Sacramento as senior guard Benthe Versteeg was named the league's top player to kick-off the 2025-26 campaign
• It's another award on the mantel for the decorated Versteeg, who enters this season as a two-time All-Big Sky selection (first-team honors as a junior), a two-time Big Sky all-tournament team choice, and a two-time all-defensive team selection
• She is the only Hornet to make the league's all-tournament team twice in the program's history and the only player to earn a spot on the all-tournament team without being a member of one of the four semifinal qualifiers in each of the last two years
HONORS FROM THE WORLDWIDE LEADER
• In addition to her MVP award from the Big Sky, Versteeg was also named the preseason player of the year pick for the league by Charlie Creme on ESPN.com
• She becomes the second Hornet in the last four years to earn the honor after Isnelle Natabou was picked by the media outlet prior to the 2022-23 campaign
TOP HALF HORNETS
• Sacramento State was picked to finish in the upper half of the Big Sky standings to start the season, selected fifth by the coaches and fourth by the media
• The Hornets received 50 points total to finish ahead of Eastern Washington (38) in fifth, trailing preseason favorite Montana State (74 points, 5 first-place votes), Montana (72 points, 3 first-place votes), Idaho (65 points, 1 first-place vote), and Idaho State (57 points, 1 first-place vote)
• Among the media that cover the league, Sacramento State received a pair of first-place nods and 177 points overall, finishing behind Montana State (11 first-place votes, 238 points), Montana (7 first-place votes, 224 points), and Idaho (7 first-place votes, 220 points)
• Last season, the Hornets were picked fourth by the coaches and sixth by the media
PICTON HONORED WITH KAY YOW SERVANT LEADER AWARD
• Junior guard Natalie Picton was recognized as one of 61 women's basketball student-athletes across all divisions nationwide with the Kay Yow Servant Leader Award
• Picton is the only honoree from the Big Sky
• Now in its second year, the award honors student-athletes "of great character who put the needs of others before their own, who uplift others, and who do it with grace and humility"
• Student-athletes are nominated by their coach, and are people who exemplify Coach Yow's spirit and who reflect her resolve, grace, generosity, and servant's heart
ON THE RISE
• Thanks to its 15-win season in 2024-25, Sacramento State boasted a nine-game improvement in the win column from the 2023-24 season — tied for the third-best year-to-year improvement in the program's Division I history
• The Hornets matched the nine-game improvement from 2010-11 (4-25) to 2011-12 (13-18) and trails only the 11-win improvements from 2020-21 (3-22) to 2021-22 (14-16) and, again, from 2021-22 (14-16) to 2022-23 (25-8)
• Sacramento State's 15 wins in 2024-25 were the second-highest total in the last 10 years, behind the Big Sky championship/NCAA Tournament season (25-8) in 2022-23
• The nine wins at home last season were tied for the fifth-most in school history.
PUT A LID ON IT
• A big part of Sacramento State's success last season came on the defensive end where the Hornets limited opponents to just 63.55 ppg, a .381 field goal percentage, and .310 from beyond the arc
• The scoring average ranked as the fourth lowest in school history (and the lowest since surrendering only 59.9 ppg in 2022-23)
• The three-point percentage was the lowest since Sacramento State limited opponents to just .303 from distance in 2018-19
• Overall, the opponent's .3812 field goal percentage was the lowest in the program's Division I history and the lowest -- by mere percentage points (.0007 to be exact) -- since the 1988-89 squad held opponents to .3805 shooting from the floor
SHINING ON THE WORLD STAGE
• Two Hornets saw action on the international stage over the summer as Noemi Arvai represented Hungary at the FIBA U19 Women's World Cup, finishing eighth, while Pinja Paananen joined her Finland teammates at the FISU Summer World University Games in Germany, finishing eighth after posting wins over Argentina, the Czech Republic, and India in group play
WORLDWIDE LEADER
• Of Sacramento State's 15-member roster for 2025-26, six of those student-athletes hail from outside the United States
• The Hornets' roster represents seven different countries: the United States, The Netherlands, Canada, Finland, Australia, Italy, and Hungary
• With the additions of Italy's Elisa Leghissa, Finland's Pinja Paananen, and Canada's Natalie Picton, Sacramento State has now had 21 international players in the program's Division I history -- 19 of those coming in the last eight years
• The six international players rank seventh among schools who responded to a preseason survey (Wagner leads the way with 13 total), while the seven countries represented (including the United States) are tied for third behind San Francisco and Columbia (nine each) and tied alongside Wagner and Tulsa
• Australia leads the way with four former Hornets, followed by three from Germany and Canada, two from Spain and France, and one each from Italy, Finland, The Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, and Brazil
• Leghissa and Paananen are the first student-athletes from their respective nations to represent Sacramento State, while Picton is the first Canadian Hornet since Sarah Craig (Calgary, Alberta) in 2003-04
UNITED STATES OF SACRAMENTO
• In addition to the student-athletes from six different countries, this year's edition of the Hornets also hail from five different states
• Alongside five native Californians (Jeniece Harmon, Brooklyn Taylor, Jamiah Fontenberry, Tali Fa'i, and Sophia Lee), Sacramento State also features natives of Washington (Keanna Salave'a and Fatoumata Jaiteh), Texas (Elizabeth Abiara), Arizona (Ajong Lual), and Hawai'i (Jaety Mandaquit)
• Abiara becomes only the third Texan to play for the Hornets since 1988-89
• Jaiteh and Salave'a are the latest Washingtonians to compete for Sacramento State as the "Evergreen State" is home to 18 Hornets during the program's Division I era -- the most of any state outside of California
• Mandaquit is only the second Hornet to hail from the "Aloha State" and the first since Jordan Kealoha (Honolulu) played two seasons for Sacramento State in 2010-12
• In the program's Division I era, Hornets have called 25 different states home
CALIFORNIA LOVE
• The Hornets have a balanced slate of eight home contests and eight road games to start the 2024-25 season -- a start that doesn't have them leaving the state of California for a game
• Sacramento State doesn't play its first game outside of the "Golden State" until mid-January when the Hornets travel to Flagstaff, Ariz., to take on Northern Arizona on Jan. 15 in Big Sky play
IRON SHARPENS IRON
• Three of Sacramento State's 2025-26 opponents reached the NCAA Tournament a season ago: California was a No. 8 seed and Big Sky championship Montana State was a No. 13 seed -- both losing in the first round
• Meanwhile, Big West Tournament champion UC San Diego was part of the NCAA's "First Four," before falling to Southern University
• In addition, three other opponents also earned postseason berths: Big Sky rival Northern Arizona was selected to compete in the NCAA Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament, reaching the second round, while Chattanooga (second round) and Pacific (first round) earned berths in the Postseason Women's NIT.
A TALL ORDER
• This year's Sacramento State squad is among the tallest in the program's Division I history, featuring eight players standing six feet or taller
• The number broke the previous mark of seven set in 2001-02 and tied on five other occasions
• The average height for this year's squad is 71.13 inches (roughly five feet, 11 and 1/8 inches... if you're into fractions), which stands second only to the 2023-24 squad that averaged 71.43 inches (roughly five feet, 11 13/32 inches)
• Individually, sophomore Ajong Lual stands at 6-foot-5, which is tied for the tallest player in the program's history along with Alicja Falkowska (2021-22), Isnelle Natabou (2021-23), and Paula Haw (2023-25)
AS THE WORLD TOURNEY'S
• This year marks the ninth straight season (save for the 2019-20 campaign that was canceled by the pandemic) that the Hornets will be playing in a regular season tournament
• Sacramento State travels to Riverside, Calif., to join host California Baptist, Chattanooga, and UC Santa Barbara for the CBU Classic on Nov. 28-29
• The Hornets played in three tournaments last season, finishing 2-4 in those events with wins over Wagner and Kansas City
CHAMPIONSHIP PEDIGREE
• Benthe Versteeg is the last remaining piece from the Hornets' 2022-23 Big Sky regular season and tournament championship run that ended in a trip to UCLA for the program's first-ever NCAA berth; however, she is not the only member of the roster with championship experience
• Junior Natalie Picton joins Sacramento State after helping Montana State to a Big Sky regular season and tournament title in 2024-25
• Senior Fatoumata Jaiteh enters her second year with the green and gold after helping Northern Arizona to a share of the 2023 Big Sky regular season crown
• Junior transfer Keanna Salave'a helped her University of Providence team to a Frontier League tournament title as a sophomore and twice helped the Argos to the NAIA National Tournament -- including a national runner-up finish as a freshman in 2023-24
BENCH BOSSES
• Joining third-year head coach Aaron Kallhoff on the bench are associate head coach De'Audra Brown, associate head coach Michael Floyd, and assistant coach Jodi Page, along with Women's Basketball Chief of Staff Elexus Trenkle
• A sideline veteran at both the junior college and Division I levels, Brown was elevated to her current position in March of 2024. She was named to the Women's Basketball Coaches Association's "30-under-30" coaches list in 2017 and has stops at Hawai'i, New Mexico State, Eastern Arizona College and Seward County CC
• Floyd is the newest member of the staff after spending the last nine seasons at Santa Clara, including helping the Broncos to 14 wins as the program's interim head coach in 2024-25, while enjoying coaching stops at Alabama State, Spring Hill College, Alabama, Troy University, Alabama Southern CC, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, South Alabama, and the University of West Alabama
• Page is in her third year with the Hornets after spending a season at UNC Greensboro in 2022-23, along with stops at New Mexico State, Cal State Fullerton, Arizona State, and Eastern Washington, as well as 20 years coaching in her native Australia
• Trenkle is in her third season at Sacramento State after serving as the men's basketball director of operations at Tarleton in 2022-23 and a graduate assistant for the Texans in 2021-22
NATION'S BEST PLAY IN SACRAMENTO
• For the seventh time in NCAA Tournament history, Sacramento will be a host site for "March Madness" as the Golden 1 Center hosts the regional games of the 2026 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament on March 27-30
• It is the first time that Sacramento will host the NCAA women's basketball tournament and the first time that the city hosts something other than the first or second rounds of the NCAA men's or women's tournaments, with two teams advancing to the Women's "Final Four" in Phoenix, Ariz.
• The Golden 1 Center has hosted the men's first and second rounds in 2017 and 2023, and will again do so in 2027
• ARCO Arena also hosted men's first and second round games in 1994, 1998, 2002, and 2007
