SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Junior guard Benthe Versteeg finished one assist shy of a triple-double, scoring a game-high 15 points and grabbing 11 rebounds to go with nine assists, but Sacramento State could not find the baskets they needed down the stretch, falling to visiting Idaho State by a 50-41 score on Saturday afternoon at The Nest.
The Hornets fell to 12-16 overall and 5-10 in Big Sky Conference play with the defeat, but are still in the race for a top-six seed in the upcoming conference tournament, standing just one game behind the Bengals, Montana, and Eastern Washington with three league contests remaining.
Led by double-digit days from Kacey Spink (12) and Tasia Jordan (10), Idaho State improved to 11-15 overall and 6-9 in league play.
Versteeg's 15 points marked her 15th double-digit scoring performance of the season and the most since she finished with 17 against Northern Colorado on Feb. 13. Playing all 40 minutes for the sixth time this season, Versteeg's 11 rebounds tied her career high set against Long Beach State earlier this year, while the nine assists for the Big Sky leader in that category marked the 17th time this year that she has finished with at least five in a game.
Classmate Fatoumata Jaiteh was the only other Hornet in double figures, finishing with 10 on 5-of-9 shooting to go with six rebounds and three steals. Senior Katie Peneueta finished with four blocks in a game for the second straight contest, standing just one shy of becoming the sixth player in school history to reach the century mark for her career.
Sacramento State trailed by a single point after one period and was down nine at the half before rallying in the third quarter to close the gap. The Hornets shot 50 percent (5-of-10) from the floor while limiting Idaho State to just 3-of-16 (.188) in the period, using an 11-2 run at one point to make it a one-point game with 1:32 to go and trail by only three heading into the final 10 minutes.
Neither side had a productive fourth quarter, but the Bengals were able to do just enough to hold off any possible comeback attempt, using back-to-back three-pointers in the first 1:38 to rebuild the lead back to nine. Versteeg answered with four straight points, but the Sacramento State offense was able to manage only one free throw the rest of the way.
The Bengals shot just 34 percent overall to 33 percent for the Hornets, while both teams finished with 34 rebounds in a very statistically even performance.
Sacramento State closes the regular season with two of its final three games on the road beginning next Thursday (Feb. 27) at 6 p.m. at Montana. The Hornets then travel to unbeaten and league-leading Montana State on Saturday (March 1), before closing out with a "Senior Night" home clash against travel partner Portland State on Monday (March 3) at 6:30 p.m.
