SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Sacramento State women's basketball team hosts three of its final five regular season games at The Nest beginning with a pair of contests this week as Weber State and Idaho State pay a visit. The Hornets and Wildcats tip-off the week on Thursday (Feb. 20) at 6:30 p.m., while the Bengals come to town for a 2 p.m. tip-off on Saturday (Feb. 22).

THIS WEEK...
GAME #27
WHAT: Weber State (10-13, 7-6 Big Sky) at Sacramento State (11-15, 4-9 Big Sky)
WHEN: Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025
TIME: 6:30 PM PT
WHERE: Sacramento, Calif.
ARENA: The Nest
WATCH: ESPN+
LIVE STATS: HornetStats.com
TICKETS: HornetSports.com

GAME #28
WHAT: Idaho State (9-15, 4-9 Big Sky) at at Sacramento State (11-15, 4-9 Big Sky)
WHEN: Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025
TIME: 2 PM PT
WHERE: Sacramento, Calif.
ARENA: The Nest
WATCH: ESPN+
LIVE STATS: HornetStats.com
TICKETS: HornetSports.com

GAME NOTES
Sacramento State | Weber State | Idaho State

ABOUT THE WILDCATS
• Weber State enters the week with a 10-13 overall record and a 7-6 mark in Big Sky play -- good for fourth place in the league standings
• The Wildcats are just 4-9 away from home, splitting their last four games away from the Dee Events Center
• Weber State picked up a split last week, defeating Montana at home while falling to Montana State 
• Sophomore Taylor Smith leads a trio of Wildcats in double figures, averaging 13.8 points to go with 6.0 rebounds per game and shooting .427 from the field
• Kendra Parra (11.9 ppg) and Antoniette Emma-Nnopu (10.0 ppg) are also in double figures with the latter averaging a team-high 9.3 rpg
• Emma-Nnopu is also shooting a team-high .512 from the field, ranking second with 88 field goals made
• Weber State ranks tied for third in the league in scoring at 66.0 ppg, but is ninth in defense at 69.0 ppg
• The Wildcats also lead the league in free throw (.799) and three-point percentage (.348)

SERIES NOTABLES
• Weber State leads the all-time series, 35-21, following a 68-52 victory in Ogden earlier this season on Jan. 25
• The Hornets have won three of the last five meetings in the series dating back to the 2022-23 season
• That run followed five straight wins by the Wildcats in the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons, which followed four straight victories by Sacramento State in the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons
• Of the Hornets' 21 victories in the series, 12 of those have come at The Nest where Sacramento State is 12-13 overall in the series
• The Hornets have won two straight -- and four of the last five -- at home against Weber State since 2018-19
• Each of the last seven meetings have been lopsided in favor of the winning side, all decided by double-digits dating back to a three-point, 79-76, Wildcat win in Ogden on Jan. 29, 2022

ABOUT THE BENGALS
• Idaho State enters the week with a 9-15 overall record and a 4-9 mark in Big Sky play -- tied with Sacramento State for eighth in the standings
• The Bengals travel to Portland State on Thursday (Feb. 20) before heading to Northern California
• Idaho State is just 2-9 on the road this year, having lost five of its last six with a 52-44 win over Idaho on Feb. 1 the only saving grace in that stretch
• Junior guard Sophia Covello leads the team in scoring at 9.5 ppg as no Bengal is averaging double-digit points
• Piper Carlson and Kacey Spink share the team lead on the glass at 7.4 rpg, while Spink leads the team in assists at 3.58 apg
• As a team, Idaho State ranks third in the Big Sky in three-point percentage (.333), second in rebounding defense (32.88 rpg), and leads the league in blocked shots (3.83 bpg)

SERIES NOTABLES
• Idaho State leads the all-time series, 46-13
• The Hornets, however, have won the last three straight -- and six of the last eight meetings -- following a 72-63 win in Pocatello earlier this year on Jan. 23
• That follows a stretch of nine consecutive victories by the Bengals from 2017-21
• Of the 13 wins in the series, seven have come at The Nest, including the last two meetings in Sacramento
• The Hornets' last loss in the series came in the first meeting of last year -- a 62-48 decision in Pocatello
• Idaho State's last win in Sacramento came during the 2021-22 season by the score of 67-56 on Feb. 19 -- the last in a run of six-straight wins at The Nest

SHE'S A HELPER
• Junior Benthe Versteeg posted her second double-digit assist game of the season at Northern Arizona last weekend, dishing out 12 helpers against the Lumberjacks to go with four points and seven rebounds
• The 12 assists surpassed her previous season high of 10 set as part of a double-double at Portland State in the Big Sky opener on Jan. 4
• Her 12 assists were the most since she had the same number against Idaho State in last year's Big Sky Tournament opener
• Versteeg's performance marked the fourth double-digit assist performance of the season by a Big Sky player and are the most in the league entering the week, surpassing the 11 assists by Montana's Mack Konig against South Dakota State on Dec. 7
• It marked Versteeg's seven career game of 10-or-more assists and stood just two helpers shy of her school Division I era single-game record of 14 set against Weber State on Feb. 10 of last season

DELICIOUS DISH
• The Big Sky leader in both total assists and assists per game a season ago, Versteeg has 101 assists in her last 15 games (6.73 apg)
• She now has 148 assists this season -- leading the Big Sky in both overall and assists per game (5.92 apg)
• Her 12-assist game gave her 386 for her career,  allowing her to jump past a pair of Hornet greats and into third on the school's all-time list, leapfrogging both Julie Wastell (373 in 1995-99) and Tika Koshiyama-Diaz (381 in 2007-11)
• Versteeg trails only career record-holder Fantasia Hilliard (726 from 2011-15) and Heather Baker (453 from 1989-93) on the all-time chart
• Versteeg is the first Hornet to post 100 assists in back-to-back seasons since Fantasia Hilliard led the team in all four of her seasons in the green and gold (2011-15)
• Thanks to her combined 18 assists last week, Versteeg now has the most assists among active players in the Big Sky entering the week, surpassing Montana State's Esmeralda Morales (382) for the moment

BACK ON TRACK
• Senior Jaydia Martin is streaking again
• Martin, who had scored in double figures in 13 consecutive games from Nov. 29 to Jan. 23, has a new five-game streak following last week's contests, averaging 16.2 ppg and shooting .450 (27-for-60) from the field
• Her 20 points last week at Northern Colorado marked her fifth game with 20-or-more points and her highest since scoring 20 against Northern Arizona on Jan. 16
• Her five 20-plus point games rank tied for fifth in the Big Sky entering the week
• Martin, who enters the week ranked No. 4 in the Big Sky in scoring, has reached double figures in 18 of her last 20 games and a team-high 20 of her 26 games
• During her run of 13 straight double-digit games, Martin averaged 17.2 ppg, 5.0 rpg, and 3.23 apg, while shooting .471 (89-for-189)
• During that time, Martin topped the 20-point plateau four times -- including a 31-point effort against Kansas City on Dec. 4 that remains tied for the most points by a Big Sky player this season entering the week

NO GRAY AREA
• Freshman Rubi Gray finished a perfect 3-of-3 from the floor -- including a three-pointer -- en route to a seven-point night against Idaho on Feb. 8, coming up just one point shy of her career high set against Abilene Christian on Nov. 29
• She also added four rebounds in 14 minutes, matching her career high set a week earlier against Montana State on Jan. 30
• Gray is shooting 6-for-11 (.545) over her last four games, including 4-for-8 (.500) from beyond the arc

"NORTHERN" EXPOSURE
• Senior Katie Peneueta had herself quite a weekend during the Hornets' trip to Northern Colorado and Northern Arizona
• Peneueta averaged 15.5 ppg, 6.0 rpg, and 3.5 rpg in the two games, while shooting .550 (11-for-20) overall from the floor and 4-for-9 (.444) from three-point range
• Her 18 points against the Lumberjacks was her seventh double-digit scoring performance of the season and her highest point total since she finished with 20 against Wagner on Dec. 1

BENTHE VERSTEEG AND THE FORTY MINUTES
• When it comes to minutes, there is nothing "minute" (my-NOOT) about it for Versteeg
• In what is becoming a regular thing, the Hornets' point guard went the distance for the fifth time this season by playing all 40 minutes against Montana on Feb. 1
• Last week, she played 39 minutes at Northern Colorado and 38 at Northern Arizona
• After playing 38 minutes or more just twice in her first 14 games, Versteeg has now done so in 10 of her last 11 games
• All told, Versteeg has played a full 40 minutes on 17 different occasions in 87 career games as a Hornet, while playing at least 39 minutes in 16 other contests

MINUTE WOMEN
• Speaking of minutes, the Hornets have three players ranked among the top six in the league in the category entering the week
• Versteeg is second in the Big Sky at 34.52 mpg -- trailing only Portland State's Layla Torres-Kahapea (34.94) -- followed by Jaydia Martin (32.97) in fifth and Lina Falk in sixth (32.79 mpg)
• Sacramento State is the only school with three players among the top 10, with Portland State and Idaho logging two apiece
• Since the start of Big Sky play, no other player in the league has played more than the duo of Versteeg (37.77 mpg) and Falk (36.64 mpg), who rank 1-2 in the conference, with Martin standing seventh (34.14 mpg)

PASSES OR POINTS?
• When Versteeg isn't finding her teammates for baskets, the junior is dabbling in some scoring of her own over the last 13 games
• Versteeg is averaging 12.7 ppg in that stretch -- nearly two points better than her season average overall -- including a trio of 20-point outings at Eastern Washington (21), at Idaho State (23), and against Idaho (22)
• Since the start of Big Sky play, Versteeg has reached double figures in nine of the team's 13 games, averaging 12.7 ppg, 4.2 rpg, and 6.46 apg while raising her overall season average from 9.3 ppg to 11.0 ppg
• Overall, the junior has finished with double-digit points 16 times and has led the team in scoring six times

MAY THE FOURTH BE WITH US
• Sacramento State has been strong in the fourth quarter as of late, "winning" the final stanza in seven of its last 11 contests and playing even in another
• The Hornets are plus-23 (210-187) in those 11 fourth quarters, including a plus-12 in the win over Idaho State
• As a team, Sacramento State is shooting .440 (70-for-159) from the field and .800 (52-for-65) from the line in that stretch, averaging 19.1 points per fourth quarter
• Defensively, the Hornets are holding opponents to just .381 (51-for-134) shooting in the last 11 fourth quarters, but the opposition is shooting .819 from the line with 18 more attempts overall
• Sacramento State has also forced opponents into 53 turnovers (4.8 per quarter) in that stretch compared to only 37 (3.4 per quarter) for the Hornets
• The Hornets are also outrebounding opponents, 94-75, in the fourth period, averaging 8.5 rebounds per quarter

START ME UP
• The Sacramento State starting five has accounted for more than 87 percent of the team's scoring (695 of 798 points) over the Hornets' last 13 games
• The 74 points by the starters at Eastern Washington were a season high and the most since the Sacramento State starting five finished with 75 points at Northern Arizona on Feb. 15 of last year (an 82-66 win)
• The 67 points (of the 72 total) from the starters at Northern Colorado are the third-highest in a game this year, trailing the aforementioned 74 against the Eagles and the 72 at Portland State to tip-off Big Sky play
• Sacramento State's bench has scored in double figures only once in the team's last five games, putting up 10 points against Idaho on Feb. 8

SWIPER, NO SWIPING!
• Sacramento State ranks third in the Big Sky in both steals (234) and steals per game (9.00 spg) entering this week's contests
• One of only four schools entering the week with 200-or-more steals, the Hornets' 234 steals this season easily surpassed last year's total of 207 over 31 contests -- which were the most by a Hornet squad since the 2019-20 team finished with 282
• Sacramento State has three ranked in the top 15 in the league in steals: Fatoumata Jaiteh (9th, 1.57 spg), Lina Falk (10th, 1.54 spg), and Jaydia Martin (t11th, 1.50 spg)
• Falk and Martin share the team lead with 12 multi-steal games apiece, followed by Versteeg with 10 and Jaiteh with nine
• The Hornets have 10 games with at least 10 steals, doubling up last year's total of five

SHE'S JUST KATIE FROM THE BLOCK
• Peneueta is proving to be a problem inside for opposing shooters, collecting three blocks last week to give her a team-high 28 on the year
• Her 1.56 bpg would rank second in the Big Sky behind only Northern Arizona's Sophie Glancey (1.63 bpg) for the league lead if Peneueta met the league minimum for games played
• Of Peneueta's 28 blocks, 27 of those have come over the last 14 games (1.93 bpg)
• She had a block in seven straight contests from Jan. 23 to Feb. 13 following her three swats at Northern Colorado, but was held without a block at Northern Arizona for the first time since Jan. 18 against the Bears
• Peneueta has a block in all but five of her 18 games
• Peneueta now has 91 for her career, solidifying her hold on sixth place on the school's all-time list and ranking second among active Big Sky players (Glancey, 96)
• With nine more swats this season Peneueta would become only the sixth Hornet to reach the century mark in school history and the first since Kennedy Nicholas finished with 173 from 2016-20
• Peneueta finished with six blocks in the team's second meeting with Abilene Christian this season (Dec. 20) -- still tied for the most by a Big Sky player this year
• The total, however, was not a career high as the Vancouver, Wash., native had seven swats -- and nearly a triple-double -- in a win over Idaho on Jan. 5, 2023, adding 11 points and 11 rebounds against the Vandals
• Peneueta's six blocks against Abilene Christian rank tied for eighth on the school's single-game list, three off the record of 10 set by Heidi Carroll against San Francisco State on Feb. 21, 1983

THE "PEN"-EUETA IS MIGHTIER
• In 69 career games with the Hornets, Peneueta has made a living from long distance, sinking 157 of 191 career field goals (82 percent) from beyond the arc
• Thanks to those 157 three-point makes, Peneueta now ranks among the school's top 10 in the category, passing Emily Christensen (152 from 2007-12) for ninth
• She needs 11 more to tie Sami Fields-Polisso (2007-11) and Erika Edwards (2006-10) for seventh
• Her career .445 (157-for-353) three-point percentage would also be a record -- by a wide margin
• Peneueta holds the top two single-season three-point marks in school history (minimum 25 three-pointers made), shooting a school-record .463 (56-for-121) as a freshman in 2021-22 and a second-best mark of .455 (71-for-156) in her sophomore year

BOARDING BIG IN THE BIG SKY
• Limited to only five non-conference contests due to illness and injury to start the year, senior Katie Peneueta has been a beast on the boards for the Hornets since the start of Big Sky play
• Of her 100 rebounds this season, 85 of those have come in Big Sky play, averaging 6.5 rpg to stand 13th
• During that stretch, Peneueta has a pair of double-digit rebounding performances against Idaho (Jan. 9) with 11 and Northern Arizona (Jan. 16) with a career-high 13
• She has led the team in rebounding a team-high six times in those 11 games, followed by five from Jaydia Martin and four from Lina Falk

SEARCHING FOR THE RIGHT COMBINATION
• It seems like some stability has returned to the Hornets' starting lineup as of late as the quintet of Versteeg, Falk, Martin, Peneueta, and Jaiteh have combined to start 10 of the team's last 13 games
• Sacramento State opened the year by putting the same five players (Versteeg, Gray, Falk, Martin & Jaiteh) on the floor to tip-off the first five games of the season
• However, between that and the team's most recent run, illness and injury joined forces to throw a wrench into the lineup as Sacramento State used seven different starting five's over its next eight games
• In all, the Hornets have used 11 different starting lineups this season