SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Sacramento State head women's basketball coach Aaron Kallhoff announced on Thursday the commitments of eight student-athletes who will continue their academic and athletic careers with the Hornets beginning with the 2025-26 season.
The incoming class includes six transfers across all levels of basketball, including three from other Division I programs, another from a prominent NAIA program, and two more from the junior college level to go along with a pair of standout incoming freshmen.
"Our staff is very excited about the incoming eight student athletes to go with our core foundation and we look forward to putting all the pieces together for this upcoming season," Kallhoff said.
Arriving in Sacramento from the Division I level are guard Natalie Picton, who spent the last two seasons at Big Sky Conference rival Montana State, forward Pinja Paananen, who spent her freshman year at Arkansas in the SEC, and forward Elizabeth Abiara, who played the last two years at Central Arkansas.
In addition to that trio, the Hornets have also added forward Keanna Salave'a, an NAIA All-America selection from Providence College in Montana, as well as junior college transfers Ajong Lual, who played her freshman season at Garden City Community College in Kansas, and Tali Fa'i, who spent the last two years at Laney College in Oakland, Calif.
The incoming freshman duo of Jamiah Fontenberry and Elisa Leghissa round out the class. Fontenberry is a local standout who prepped at Inderkum HS while Leghissa joins the green and gold from Italy, where she played for USE Rosa Scotti Empoli in the Italian second division.
Brief bios on the incoming class are below.
Sacramento State is coming off a 2024-25 season in which it finished 15-18 overall and 7-11 in the Big Sky, advancing to the second round of the conference tournament for the second consecutive season. The final win total marked a nine-game improvement in the win column, which is tied for the third-best year-to-year improvement in the program's Division I history.
The 15 overall victories also marked the second-highest total in the last 10 seasons, trailing only the 25 wins during the Hornets' Big Sky championship and NCAA Tournament run in 2022-23.
SACRAMENTO STATE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL 2025-26 INCOMING CLASS
ELIZABETH ABIARA (6-2, Jr., F, Mansfield, Texas / Lake Ridge HS / Central Arkansas)
• Spent two seasons with the Sugar Bears in the Atlantic Sun Conference, appearing in 64 games and making 25 starts
• Averaged 6.2 points and 6.9 rebounds per game as a sophomore (2024-25), helping Central Arkansas to an ASUN Tournament championship game appearance and a second-round berth in the WNIT
• Finished with eight double-digit scoring performances, including a season-high 16 points to go with 10 rebounds at Lipscomb
• As a freshman (2023-24), helped the Sugar Bears to 21 wins, the program's first ASUN Tournament championship game appearance, and a WNIT berth
• Averaged 3.7 points and finished second on the team in rebounding at 4.9 per game
• Prepped at Lake Ridge HS where she played basketball and competed for the track and field team
• First-team all-district honoree as a senior after averaging 9.5 points and 10.2 rebounds per game
• Also set the school record in the high jump
• First-team all-district selection as a junior and was named the team's offensive player of the year
TALI FA'I (5-7, Jr., G, Newark, Calif. / Newark Memorial HS / Laney College)
• Two-time All-Bay Valley Conference first team selection for the Eagles
• All-State second team honoree as a sophomore (2024-25)
• Averaged 11.9 points, 9.5 rebounds, and 3.4 steals per game as a sophomore, shooting .445 from the field
• Posted double-digit points 14 times, including a season-high 22 points against San Joaquin Delta College
• Averaged 13.3 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 2.9 assists per game as a freshman (2023-24), shooting .478 from the field
• Finished in double figures 17 times, including four 20-point games and a season-high 27 points against Contra Costa on 12-of-19 from the field
• Prepped at Newark Memorial HS where she was a two-time team captain and a first-team All-Mission Valley Athletic League selection for the Cougars
JAMIAH FONTENBERRY (5-11, Fr., G/F, Sacramento, Calif. / Inderkum HS)
• Local product who prepped at Sacramento's Inderkum HS
• Finished her prep career with more than 1,500 points and 1,300 rebounds
• Capital Valley Conference MVP as a senior, averaging 17.8 points and 7.8 rebounds for the Tigers
• First-team all-conference honoree as a freshman and junior, while picking up second-team honors as a sophomore
• Averaged 15.9 points and 9.6 rebounds as a junior, while swiping an average of 4.4 steals per game
• As a sophomore, averaged a double-double with 11.8 points and 10.6 rebounds per contest
ELISA LEGHISSA (6-1, Fr., F, Trieste, Italy / USE Rosa Scotti Empoli)
• Spent last year with USE Rosa Scotti Empoli in Italy's Serie A2 — the second division of Italian basketball
• Appeared in 16 games and averaged 2.9 points and 3.8 rebounds per game before suffering an injury
• The year before, she competed for Basket Roma, also in Serie A2
• Was a member of the Italian U18 National Team at the FIBA Women's Eurobasket Championships, averaging 2.6 points and 6.0 rebounds per game
• Set personal tournament high's with six points and nine rebounds against Poland, adding four steals and a block
• Also had eight-rebound games against Germany and Hungary and another nine-rebound performance against Luxembourg
AJONG LUAL (6-5, So., C, Tucson, Arizona / Salpointe Catholic HS / Garden City CC [Kan.])
• Appeared in 28 games for the Broncbusters as a freshman (2024-25), averaging 4.5 points and shooting .568 from the field overall
• Helped Garden City CC to the NJCAA Region 6 Tournament
• Scored a season-high 15 points three times
• Prepped at Salpointe Catholic HS where she was a two-year varsity letter winner for the Lancers and helped lead them to a 4A state title as a senior
PINJA PAANANEN (6-2, So., F, Laukaa, Finland / Jyväskylä Basketball Academy / Arkansas)
• Appeared in 26 games for Arkansas in the SEC as a true freshman
• Prior to arriving in the United States, she competed with Finland's national team at the U16, U18, and U20 levels
• Earned Nordic Championship gold medals from 2021-23
• Represented Finland at the FIBA U20 Women's European Championships in 2023, appearing in five games
• Averaged 5.6 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 1.2 assists per game for Forssan Alku in Finland's Korisliiga — the nation's highest division of women's basketball
NATALIE PICTON (5-5, So., G, Welland, Ontario / Niagara Prep Academy / Montana State)
• Appeared in 60 career games for the Bobcats, making 29 starts as a freshman
• Averaged 6.3 points, 1.8 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per game as a sophomore (2024-25) while helping Montana State to a Big Sky regular season and tournament championship
• Shot .440 from the field overall last year and .383 from three-point range while making 80 percent from the line
• Finished in double figures nine times, including a season-high 24 points in 22 minutes against Idaho State (Jan. 16)
• As a freshman (2023-24), finished in double figures 11 times, including a season-high 14 points against Idaho
• Prepped at Niagara Prep Academy
• A member of the 2022 Kia Nurse National EYBL team out of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, and averaged 15.3 points, 5.3 assists, and 2.8 steals for her three-time Ontario Basketball Association provincial championship squad
• Was a member of the Junior NBA Canadian championship team, as well as a world's semifinalist
KEANNA SALAVE'A (6-2, Jr., F, Vancouver, Wash. / Heritage HS / Providence College)
• Women's Basketball Coaches Association NAIA All-American as a sophomore with the Argos in 2024-25
• First-team All-Frontier Conference selection and was named to the league's All-Defensive Team while picking up five conference player of the week awards
• Averaged 16.2 points and 10.1 rebounds per game as a sophomore, shooting .564 from the field and 71 percent from the line
• Also blocked 71 shots while helping Providence College to a conference tournament title and a No. 5 seed in the NAIA Women's Basketball National Championships
• Finished with double-digit points in 20 of the team's 23 games, including seven with 20-or-more points and 15 double-doubles
• Named the Frontier Conference Freshman of the Year in 2023-24 while helping the Argos to a NAIA National Tournament runner-up finish
• Averaged 12.8 points and 10.4 rebounds per game while shooting .534 from the field
• Finished with double-digit points 27 times in 35 games and 10-or-more rebounds 21 times, including 18 double-doubles
• Prepped at Heritage HS in Vancouver, Wash. — the alma mater of former Hornet standout
Katie Peneueta, who graduated following the 2024-25 campaign
• First-team all-region selection as a junior and senior and was the Greater St. Helens League 3A Player of the Year as a senior
• Also competed in track and field and volleyball
