SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Junior Benthe Versteeg finished with a game-high 22 points to lead a group of three Hornets in double figures, but a 15-3 run over the first five-plus minutes of the fourth quarter by visiting Eastern Washington broke open a one-point game and lifted the Eagles to a 68-53 victory over Sacramento State on Thursday night at The Nest.
The Hornets suffered their fourth consecutive loss in falling to 10-13 overall and 3-7 in the Big Sky Conference. EWU, which finished with four starters in double figures, improved to 8-15 overall and 4-7 in league play, winning for the first time on the road this season and completing the regular season sweep of Sacramento State.
Versteeg flirted with a triple-double, hitting 9-of-15 from the field while adding six rebounds and seven assists. She scored 14 of her 22 points in the second half and added a pair of steals and two blocked shots, finishing with her third 20-point game of the season.
Senior Jaydia Martin and sophomore Lina Falk each contributed 12 points and six rebounds apiece, sharing team-high honors on the glass.
It was a tight first 20 minutes as the teams were nearly even statistically as they headed into the locker room tied at 27. The third quarter saw the Eagles attempt to pull away, erasing a pair of early baskets by the Hornets by exploding for an 11-0 run and building a seven-point advantage at 38-31 with 3:50 remaining in the period.
Freshman Rubi Gray stopped the bleeding for Sacramento State with a three-pointer from the corner and sparked a 10-4 rally by the Hornets, punctuated by a Versteeg triple just before the buzzer that clawed the home side back to within a single point, 42-41, heading to the final quarter.
That turned out to be the end of the comeback, however, as Eastern Washington opened the fourth by scoring 15 of the first 18 points in the period, building a 13-point lead and never looking back. Versteeg traded baskets with the Eagles over the next four posessions, but a three-pointer by Kourtney Grossman staked EWU to its biggest lead of the night, 65-48, putting the game out of reach.
Eastern Washington finished shooting 10-of-14 (.714) in the fourth quarter and out-shot Sacramento State, 42 percent to 34 percent, for the game while holding a 39-37 advantage on the glass.
The Hornets close out a four-game homestand on Saturday (Feb. 8) at 1 p.m., hosting Idaho for the second meeting between the two schools this year. The Vandals edged Portland State, 66-62, in the Rose City on Thursday night to improve to 8-3 in league play.
