GREELEY, Colo. — Sophomore guard Rubi Gray finished with a team-high 15 points and senior guard Benthe Versteeg added 12 more to lead the Hornets, but it wasn't enough to overcome a slow start on Saturday as Sacramento State fell at Northern Colorado, 68-46.
The Hornets had their three-game winning streak come to an end with the defeat, evening their record at 9-9 overall and falling to 3-2 in Big Sky Conference play. The Bears, who entered the day in second place in the league standings, improved to 14-5 overall and 5-1 in conference.
Gray, who tied her career high with 26 points two days ago in the win at Northern Arizona, posted her third-straight double-digit scoring game — and her 14th in the last 15 games — thanks to her 15 points, hitting 6-of-14 from the field while adding four rebounds.
Versteeg finished in double figures for the third time in her last four games, but came up two points shy of reaching 1,000 for her career on Saturday, hitting 5-of-10 from the field while adding four rebounds on two assists.
Junior guard Natalie Picton and junior forward Elizabeth Abiara shared team-high honors with seven rebounds apiece, while freshman Jaety Mandaquit led the way with three assists and three steals.
Versteeg scored the first two points of the game and the Hornets were tied at four in a slow-developing first quarter, but could not overcome a bevy of turnovers in the first 10 minutes. The Bears finished the first quarter on an 11-3 run to lead by eight at the end of one and held that advantage at the break after Sacramento State clawed back from down 12 at one point.
The two teams then played nearly even in the third with the Hornets getting to within seven points at one point, but Northern Colorado put the game away in the fourth, outscoring Sacramento State by a 24-12 count. The Bears opened with eight of the final period's first 10 points and led by as many as 24 points en route to the win.
The Hornets, who outrebounded the Bears by a 36-35 count, shot just 33 percent from the field to Northern Colorado's 44 percent for the game while the hosts just nearly 50 percent from the floor in the second half. The Bears took advantage of 27 miscues by Sacramento State, turning those into 23 points.
Following their first league road trip of the season, the Hornets come back home for a pair of games next week, welcoming Idaho on Thursday (Jan. 22) for a 6:30 p.m. tip-off before Eastern Washington comes to town on Saturday (Jan. 24) at 2 p.m.
