GREELEY, Colo. — Senior Jaydia Martin posted her fifth game with 20-or-more points this season to lead a group of four Hornet starters in double figures on Thursday morning, but host Northern Colorado shot 58 percent from the field for the game and out-raced visiting Sacramento State for an 85-72 win at Bank of Colorado Arena in Greeley, Colo.
Playing in front of a crowd of over 2,800 made up of mostly local grade school students as part of UNC's "Kid's Day" game, the loss dropped the Hornets to 11-14 overall and 4-8 in Big Sky Conference play. The Bears, meanwhile, improved to 11-13 overall and 4-9 in league.
Martin was incredibly efficient from the field, hitting 7-of-8 from the floor — including 3-for-3 from beyond the arc — and 3-of-4 at the line en route to her 20-point day, adding four rebounds and a pair of steals in 34 minutes. It was her fourth-straight double-digit scoring game and her highest point total since she finished with 20 against Northern Arizona on Jan. 16.
Junior Benthe Versteeg added 17 points on 7-of-14 from the floor, including a career high-tying 3-for-3 from three-point range to match her makes against Idaho on Dec. 28, 2023. She added six assists and a pair of rebounds in 39 minutes, finishing in double figures for the third time in her last four games.
Senior Katie Peneueta added 13 points on 5-of-12 shooting while grabbing six rebounds, five assists, and blocking three shots, while junior Fatoumata Jaiteh chipped in 10 points and three rebounds. Sophomore Lina Falk led the way on the glass with seven rebounds to go with seven points and two steals.
Nine of Peneueta's 13 points came from beyond the arc, hitting a trio of three-pointers to move her closer to seventh place on the school's all-time list. Her three blocked shots also gave her 28 on the season and 91 for her career, moving her to within nine swats of becoming only the sixth Hornet to hit the century mark in that category for a career.
Sacramento State shot 65 percent (11-for-17) from beyond the arc for the contest, matching its season high in three-point makes set against Wagner (11-for-25) back on Dec. 1. The Hornets' percentage on the day was the best since they finished 10-of-15 (.667) against Cal Poly back on Nov. 25, 2022.
Overall, Sacramento State shot 49 percent from the floor — its best since hitting on 52 percent from the field at Idaho State on Jan. 23 — but could not overcome a hot-shooting day by Northern Colorado, which did not shooting lower than 56 percent in any of the four quarters on Thursday.
Northern Colorado scored twice in the first 20 seconds of the game, but the Hornet defense was able to keep the Bears within arms length for most of the quarter. UNC closed the first quarter on a 7-0 run to build a 10-point lead after one and ballooned that advantage to as many as 15 points in the second quarter, but Sacramento State clawed back.
A triple by Falk sparked a 7-0 run to bring her team to within single-digits at the half and a 16-8 run late in the third quarter made it a seven-point game before UNC drained a triple right before the period buzzer to make it a 10-point contest heading into the final quarter.
However, Sacramento State could not get closer than 10 points the rest of the way, trading baskets with the Bears for most of the quarter until the buzzer sounded. The Hornets were 20 points better in the second half compared to the first 20 minutes, but Northern Colorado was equally as explosive, scoring 51 in the second half compared 34 in the first two periods.
Sacramento State closes out its road trip on Saturday (Feb. 15) at 1 p.m., traveling to Flagstaff, Ariz., to take on second-place Northern Arizona.
