SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The second round of Big Sky Conference play begins at home for the Sacramento State women's basketball team, which closes out a run of four-straight games at home with two contests this week. The Hornets host eighth-place Eastern Washington on Thursday (Feb. 6) at 6:30 p.m., before welcoming third-place Idaho on Saturday (Feb. 8) at 1 p.m.
THIS WEEK...
GAME #23
WHAT: Eastern Washington (7-15, 3-7 Big Sky) at Sacramento State (10-12, 3-6 Big Sky)
WHEN: Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025
TIME: 6:30 PM PT
WHERE: Sacramento, Calif.
ARENA: The Nest
WATCH: ESPN+
LIVE STATS: HornetStats.com
TICKETS: HornetSports.com
GAME #24
WHAT: Idaho (15-6, 7-3 Big Sky) at Sacramento State (10-12, 3-6 Big Sky)
WHEN: Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025
TIME: 1 PM PT
WHERE: Sacramento, Calif.
ARENA: The Nest
WATCH: ESPN+
LIVE STATS: HornetStats.com
TICKETS: HornetSports.com
GAME NOTES
Sacramento State | Eastern Washington | Idaho
ABOUT THE EAGLES
• Eastern Washington enters the week with a 7-15 overall record and a 3-7 mark in Big Sky play -- good for eighth place in the league standings, just one-half game behind the Hornets
• The Eagles split games against Idaho State (W, 78-71 in OT) and Weber State (L, 62-48) last week, and are 1-5 in their last six outings
• EWU is 0-10 on the road this season, having not won a regular season road contest since defeating Montana State in Bozeman by two points on March 2 of last year
• Graduate guard Peyton Howard, a transfer from Seattle U, is one of three Eagles in double figures, leading the team at 13.5 ppg and in assists (79)
• Freshman Kourtney Grossman (10.1 ppg, 10.3 rpg) and junior Ella Gallatin (10.0 ppg) are also in double figures
SERIES NOTABLES
• Eastern Washington leads the all-time series with Sacramento State, 40-23
• The Eagles have won the last four-straight meetings following an 89-80 shootout victory in Cheney, Wash., earlier this year
• The Hornets are 11-20 at home against EWU, last posting a win at The Nest on Jan. 7, 2023, by an 82-74 score
• That game also marks the last win in the series overall for Sacramento State
• All but three of the 63 all-time meetings have come as members of the Big Sky, with Eastern Washington holding a 36-20 lead in the series in conference games
ABOUT THE VANDALS
• Idaho enters the week with a 15-6 overall record and a 7-3 mark in Big Sky play -- good for third place in the league standings
• The Vandals split their games last week, defeating Weber State at home before falling to Idaho State
• Idaho travels to Portland State on Thursday before paying a visit to Sacramento
• The Vandals are 6-4 on the road this season, splitting their last four away from home
• Graduate guard Olivia Nelson, a transfer from Central Missouri, averages a team-high 14.2 ppg and shooting .450 from the field -- including a .418 clip from three-point range
• Sophomore guard Hope Hassmann is also in double figures (11.8 ppg) while grad forward Jennifer Aadland (9.9 rpg) leads the team on the glass
• Idaho is the only school in the Big Sky that has used the same starting lineup in every game this year
SERIES NOTABLES
• Idaho leads the all-time series with Sacramento State by a 19-8 count
• The Vandals have won the last three meetings following a 63-48 win in Moscow earlier this year
• Prior to Idaho's recent run, the Hornets won all three meetings in the 2022-23 season -- part of a stretch that saw them win four of five following seven straight losses
• Only 11 of the 27 meetings between the two programs have been played at The Nest with Sacramento State posting a 5-6 record in those games, including wins in two of the last three
MAY THE FOURTH BE WITH US
• Sacramento State has been strong in the fourth quarter as of late, "winning" the final stanza in five of its last seven contests and playing even in another
• The Hornets are plus-27 (137-110) in those seven fourth quarters, including a plus-12 in the win over Idaho State
• As a team, Sacramento State is shooting .451 (46-for-102) from the field and .825 (33-for-40) from the line in that stretch, averaging 19.6 points per fourth quarter
• Defensively, the Hornets are holding opponents to just .338 (27-for-80) shooting in the last seven fourth quarters, including just .333 (11-of-33) from three-point range
• Sacramento State has also forced into 37 turnovers in that stretch (compared to 24 for the Hornets)
BENTHE VERSTEEG AND THE FORTY MINUTES
• When it comes to minutes, there is nothing "minute" (my-NOOT) about it for junior Benthe Versteeg
• In what is becoming a regular thing, the Hornets' point guard went the distance by playing all 40 minutes against Montana on Feb. 1, playing a complete game for the fourth time in her last six contests and the fifth time overall this season
• Over her last six, Versteeg has missed only 2:39 of game time
• All told, Versteeg has played a full 40 minutes on 17 different occasions in 83 career games as a Hornet, while playing at least 39 minutes in 14 other contests
MINUTE WOMEN
• Speaking of minutes, the Hornets have three players ranked among the top seven in the league in the category entering the week
• Versteeg is second in the Big Sky at 34.11 mpg -- trailing only Portland State's Layla Torres-Kahapea (34.97) -- followed by Jaydia Martin (32.41) in sixth and Lina Falk in seventh (32.24 mpg)
• Sacramento State is the only school with three players among the top 10, with Portland State and Idaho logging two apiece
BACK ON TRACK
• After being held to fewer than 10 points in her previous two games, senior Jaydia Martin was back in double digits against Montana
• The senior finished with a team-high 16 points on 6-of-11 from the field adding nine rebounds and a block in 33 minutes
• Martin's 16 points marked her highest total since she scored 20 against Northern Arizona on Jan. 16
• Meanwhile, the nine rebounds tied her Sacramento State career high set two weeks earlier against Northern Colorado back on Jan. 18
• For the week against the Montana schools, Martin averaged nearly a double-double with 10.0 ppg and 8.0 rpg, while shooting .421 from the floor
• Martin, who enters the week ranked No. 5 in the Big Sky in scoring, has reached double figures in 16 of the team's 22 contests overall and has led the team in scoring in a team-high nine games
• During her run of 13 straight double-digit games (Nov. 29 to Jan. 18), 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
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 nine games
• Versteeg is averaging 12.8 ppg in that stretch -- two points better than her season average overall -- including a pair of 20-point outings at Eastern Washington (21) and at Idaho State (23)
• Since the start of Big Sky play, Versteeg has reached double figures in seven of the team's nine games -- tied with Jaydia Martin for the most on the team in that span -- averaging 12.8 ppg, 4.0 rpg, and 6.11 apg while raising her overall season average from 9.3 ppg to 10.8 ppg entering this week
• Overall, the junior has finished with double-digit points 14 times and has led the team in scoring five times
DELICIOUS DISH
• Junior guard Benthe Versteeg continues to find her teammates for baskets with pinpoint accuracy
• Versteeg has led the team in assists 17 times in 22 games this season
• The Big Sky leader in both total assists and assists per game a season ago, Versteeg has 72 assists in her last 11 games (6.55 apg)
• The junior now has 119 assists on the season -- a total that leads the Big Sky in both overall and assists per game (5.67 apg) -- and now has 357 for her career, passing Justyce Dawson (312 from 2014-18) for fifth on the all-time list
• With 16 more helpers, Versteeg will tie Julie Wastell (373 from 1995-99) for fourth
• 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)
• Versteeg's career total ranks as the second-most among active players in the Big Sky, trailing only Montana State's Esmeralda Morales (366)
FATOU ON THE OFFENSIVE
• Junior Fatoumata Jaiteh has been a burden for opposing teams on the offensive glass as of late
• Jaiteh, who ranks second on the team in both rebounds (94) and rebounds per game (4.9 rpg), has collected 21 of her last 42 rebounds at the offensive end over the last six games
• That total includes a season-high six offensive rebounds (of her 13) against Northern Arizona on Jan. 16 and five against Northern Colorado (Jan. 18) and Montana (Feb. 1)
• Jaiteh's 36 offensive rebounds this year are the most on the team, leading teammates Lina Falk and Benthe Versteeg by 12 entering the week
SWIPER, NO SWIPING!
• Sacramento State ranks third in the Big Sky in both steals (202) and steals per game (9.18 spg) entering this week's contests
• One of only three schools entering the week with 200-or-more steals, the Hornets' 202 steals this season are closing in on 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 players ranked in the top 15 in the league in steals: Fatoumata Jaiteh (6th, 1.68 spg), Benthe Versteeg (11th, 1.52 spg), and Lina Falk (12th, 1.50 spg)
• Versteeg and Falk share the team lead with 10 multi-steal games this year, followed by Martin with nine and Jaiteh with eight
• 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
• Senior Katie Peneueta is proving to be a problem inside for opposing shooters, collecting a pair of blocks last week against the Montana schools to give her a team-high 22 on the year
• Her 1.57 bpg would rank second in the Big Sky behind only Northern Arizona's Sophie Glancey (1.73 bpg) for the league lead if Peneueta met the league minimum for games played this year
• Of Peneueta's 22 blocks, 21 of those have come over the last 10 games, averaging 2.10 bpg in that span
• She now has 85 for her career, solidifying her hold on sixth place on the school's all-time list and ranking second among active Big Sky players behind Glancey (90)
• With 15 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 a game-high 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 in a game 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 in 39 minutes 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
THREE IS MORE THAN TWO
• In 65 career games with the Hornets, Peneueta has made a living from long distance, sinking 151 of 177 career field goals (85.3 percent) from beyond the three-point line
• As a freshman, only four of her 60 makes were from closer than 22 feet, 1 3/4 inches while, as a sophomore, she doubled that output, making eight two-pointers out of her 79 total baskets
• This year, 24 of Peneueta's 38 makes have been from long distance, shooting .381 from three-point range entering the week
THE "PEN"-EUETA IS MIGHTIER
• Thanks to those 151 makes from beyond the arc, Peneueta now ranks among the school's top 10 in the category, passing Sarah Stapp (142 from 1992-96) for 10th place on the list
• She needs one more make to match Emily Christensen (152 from 2007-12) for ninth and 17 to tie Sami Fields-Polisso (2007-11) and Erika Edwards (2006-10) for seventh
• Her career .444 (151-for-340) three-point percentage would also be a record -- by a wide margin -- if the season ended today
• 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 season a year later during the Hornets' Big Sky championship season
THREE FOR 15
• Sacramento State is one of two Big Sky schools to have three players rank among the top 15 scorers in the conference entering the week
• Jaydia Martin (5th), Lina Falk (13th), and Benthe Versteeg (14th) make up the Hornets' contingent joining a trio from Northern Arizona, which has all three of its top scorers in the top 10
START ME UP
• The Sacramento State starting five has accounted for more than 86 percent of the team's scoring (481 of 557 points) over the Hornets' last nine 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)
• All but nine of the Hornets' 63 points against Montana (Feb. 1) were scored by the team's starters
SEARCHING FOR THE RIGHT COMBINATION
• Sacramento State's starting five opened the year with some stability, putting the same five players on the floor to tip-off the first five games of the season
• However, since then, illness and injury have joined forces to throw a wrench into the Hornet lineup as Sacramento State has used 10 different starting five's over the course of its last 16 games
• In those 16 games, only three lineups have been used more than once: Versteeg, Alonso, Falk, Martin, and Jaiteh (vs. Abilene Christian and New Mexico); Versteeg, Falk, Martin, Peneueta, and Jaiteh (Portland State, Idaho, Northern Arizona, Northern Colorado, Idaho State, and Weber State), and Versteeg, Gray, Martin, Peneueta, and Jaiteh (Montana State and Montana)
• In all, the Hornets have used 11 different starting lineups this season
