SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Junior guard Benthe Versteeg posted what is believed to be the program's first-ever triple-double, finishing with 14 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists on Thursday night, but a game-closing 13-4 run by host Montana erased a late Sacramento State advantage and lifted the Grizzlies to a 71-63 victory at Dahlberg Arena.
The loss dropped the Hornets to 12-17 overall and 5-11 in Big Sky Conference play, shooting just over 58 percent in the third quarter alone to help turn a nine-point halftime deficit into a two-point lead at the end of the period.
Montana improved to 11-16 overall and 7-9 in league play, shooting 46 percent in the fourth quarter to help power its comeback.
After narrowly missing out on accomplishing the feat in her last outing, Versteeg played all 40 minutes on Thursday night for the seventh time this season, making 7-of-12 from the field while setting a new career high on the glass with her 12 boards. The 10 assists marked her third double-digit total of the year along with her 10 at Portland State on Jan. 4 and the 12 against Northern Arizona on Feb. 15.
In her last outing against Idaho State on Feb. 22, Versteeg finished with 15 points, 11 rebounds, and nine assists in 40 minutes.
Junior
Fatoumata Jaiteh finished with a game-high 18 points to go with six rebounds on 6-of-8 shooting from the floor, while senior
Katie Peneueta added 16 points and five rebounds.
Trailing by as many as 11 points in the opening quarter, the Hornets and Grizzlies traded blows in the second quarter with Montana eventually leading by nine at the break.
Peneueta opened the third by scoring six of her team's first eight points, turning an eight-point deficit down to just four with 7:12 remaining. Jaiteh then went to work at the end of the period scoring eight of her 10 points in the quarter for the Hornets, tying the contest at 48-all with a pair of free throws with under a minute remaining before Peneueta hit a pair from the line to five Sacramento State its first lead with 20 seconds to go.
Montana opened the fourth quarter with a 10-0 run to regain the advantage, but the Hornets had an answer. Jaiteh hit three from the line and Versteeg scored on back-to-back drives before finding teammate
Rubi Gray streaking down the court two possessions later for a lay-up that put Sacramento State ahead, 59-58, with 4:19 to play.
From that point on, the Grizzlies regained their composure and closed the game strong as Izabella Zingaro scored inside to spark a run of 11 straight points for Montana over the next four minutes and the Grizzlies held the Hornets to 0-for-5 from the floor in that stretch to ice the victory.
Zingaro, with 10 points, was one of four Montana players in double figures, led by 16 points, five rebounds, and eight assists from Mack Konig.
Sacramento State, which outrebounded its opponent by a 41-32 count, shot just under 41 percent from the field for the game to just over 39 percent for the Grizzlies, but Montana was able to sink 10 three pointers to only four for the Hornets.
The final road contest of the regular season sends Sacramento State to Bozeman, Mont., on Saturday (March 1), taking on league-leading Montana State (26-2 overall, 16-0 Big Sky), which defeated Portland State, 78-49, on Thursday to win its 19th consecutive game.
