SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Sacramento State women's basketball team looks to rebound from a loss in its Big Sky Conference opener on Thursday night, hosting Weber State on Saturday (Jan. 3) at Noon at Hornet Pavilion. The contest is also the program's annual Autism Awareness Game.
GAME #15
WHAT: Weber State (6-8, 0-1 Big Sky) at Sacramento State (6-8, 0-1 Big Sky)
WHEN: Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026
TIME: Noon PT
WHERE: Sacramento, Calif.
ARENA: Hornet Pavilion
WATCH: ESPN+
LIVE STATS: HornetSports.com
GAME NOTES: Sacramento State | Weber State | Big Sky Conference
THE COACHES
• Sacramento State's Aaron Kallhoff enters his third year at the helm of the Hornets' program, posting a 27-51 mark and a 105-127 overall record in seven-plus seasons as a head coach
• Kallhoff claimed his 100th career win as a head coach in Sacramento State's 2025-26 season-opening win over Stanton University
• Jenteal Jackson is in her third season as Weber State's head coach, posting a 27-49 record in her two-plus seasons with the Wildcats
NEW NEST
• After spending most of its history playing at The Nest, both the Sacramento State men's and women's basketball teams transition its home contests to the Hornet Pavilion located inside The WELL, an on-campus fitness complex that has renovated a portion of the facility to serve as the new home of the Hornets
• The venue will seat approximately 3,000 fans -- nearly tripling the capacity of The Nest
• It was a giant facelift for the facility featuring (among other enhancements): re-striping of all courts to include the game court, telescopic bleachers around the center court, two new video boards, LED ribbon boards, new scoreboards, a new sound system, removal and replacement of existing lighting, new press tables and courtside seats, and new branding promoting Sacramento State and the city of Sacramento
"BIG" NEWS FOR 2026
• The 2025-26 campaign marks the 30th -- and final -- season as a member of the Big Sky Conference for the Hornets, who announced plans to move to the The Big West beginning in 2026-27
• Sacramento State has faced four of its future league rivals this year: UC San Diego (Nov. 12), Long Beach State (Nov. 15), Cal State Fullerton (Nov. 21), and California Baptist (Nov. 29)
• Another league opponent -- Causeway rival UC Davis -- is also on the schedule (Nov. 24), but the Aggies are departing for the Mountain West Conference following this year
• The Big West will be the third conference for the Hornets in their Division I history after playing in the America West Conference along with Cal Poly, CSUN, and Southern Utah from 1994-96, and then joining the Big Sky in 1996-97
ABOUT THE WILDCATS
• Weber State enters Saturday's game with a 6-8 overall record and an 0-1 mark in Big Sky play after falling at Portland State on Thursday in its conference opener, 68-58
• The loss to the Vikings snapped a four-game winning streak for the Wildcats, which included victories over Loyola Marymount and Omaha to close non-conference play
• Saturday's game is the fourth straight road contest for Weber State, which is just 1-6 in true road games this year
• Senior forward Antoniette Emma-Nnopu is averaging a double-double on the year to pace the squad, scoring at a 14.0 ppg clip while grabbing 10 rebounds per game, but did not play in the Wildcats' conference opener at Portland State
• Senior guard Lanae Billy and junior guard Hannah Robbins are also scoring in double figures, averaging 13.9 ppg and 11.8 ppg, respectively
• Weber State is averaging 66.5 ppg and shooting .416 from the field as a team, while opponents are averaging 65.1 ppg and shooting .385 from the floor
• Former Hornet Celestine Segretain (2023-24) is also on the Weber State roster after playing one season at Eastern Arizona College, but has yet to appear in a game this season
SERIES NOTABLES
• Weber State leads the all-time series with Sacramento State, 36-22
• All but two meetings have come in conference play since 1997 -- both of those coming in the league's postseason tournament (2017, 2022)
• Of the Hornets' 22 wins in the series, 13 of those have come at home where they are 13-13 all-time in the history of the series
• The two programs have split the regular season series in each of the last two seasons with each school holding serve at home
• Sacramento State won the last meeting, 56-45, at home on Feb. 20 of last season and has won four of the last six -- and 21 of the last 34 since 2009 -- after Weber State won 23 of the first 24 meetings between the two schools
• The Hornets have won the last three meetings in Sacramento since 2023, last falling on their home court on Feb. 17, 2022, by a 62-52 score
• Each of the last eight meetings have been one-sided affairs with the winner posting double-digit victories in those contests
• The last single-digit decision came in 2022, with the Wildcats edging the Hornets, 79-76, in Ogden, Utah
KEEPING IT 1,000
• Versteeg enters this week's contest continuing to inch her way toward a milestone, needing just 58 more points to reach 1,000 for her career
• Should she reach the plateau, Versteeg would become the 19th Hornet to accomplish the feat and the first since Summer Menke did it in 2022
• Versteeg's 942 career points rank second among active Big Sky student-athletes as of Jan. 1, trailing only Montana's Mack Konig (1,214)
SHADES OF GRAY
• Sophomore guard Rubi Gray continued her run of double-digit scoring performances against Idaho State on Thursday, finishing with 16 points on 7-of-15 shooting against the Bengals
• The native of Tasmania has now reached double figures in each of her last 11 games -- which includes a trio of 20-plus point performances -- averaging 17.3 ppg and 3.0 rpg while shooting .486 (72-for-148) from the field overall
• Her 24 points against Pacific (Dec. 4) matched her output against UC San Diego (Nov. 12) and were just two shy of her career high of 26 against Cal State Fullerton (Nov. 21)
• Following a slow start to the year, Gray has shot better than 40 percent from the field in nine of her last 11 contests
• She has led, or shared the team lead, in scoring in nine of those 11 contests
• Of her team-high 209 points, all but 19 of those have come during her 11-game scoring binge
• She enters Saturday's game ranked among the top 10 in the Big Sky in nine different categories including scoring (7th), total points (4th), and field goals made (t-4th)
SWIPER, NO SWIPING
• Sacramento State's defense turned Idaho State over 23 times on Thursday night -- the third time in the last four games that a Hornet opponent has had 20-or-more turnovers -- thanks to 17 steals
• The 17 swipes are tied for the third-most in a game (26 vs. Stanton and 20 vs. Simpson) and tied for the most against a Division I opponent (17 vs. Cal State Fullerton on Nov. 21) this season
• Those two marks against the Titans and the Bengals are also the most against a Division I opponent since Sacramento State finished with 17 at Weber State on Jan. 11, 2020
"PIC"-POCKET
• Junior guard Natalie Picton was in the Bengals' pockets for most of the game on Jan. 1, tying her season high for a second straight game with five steals in the Big Sky Conference opener
• She now has multiple steals in 12 of the team's 14 games -- including six games with three or more -- setting her season high in her Hornet debut against Stanton in the regular season opener
• Picton's 38 steals rank second in the Big Sky standings in that category as of Jan. 1 and third in the league at 2.71 spg
• Her 38 swipes are 11 shy of teammate Benthe Versteeg's team-high total of 49 at the end of last season
• As a team, the Hornets have posted 20-or-more steals twice this year against Stanton (26) and Simpson (20)
• The 26 steals against Stanton were four shy of the program's single-game mark of 30 set against Portland State on Feb. 7, 2015
• The total was also the highest in six seasons for the Hornets, who last posted a 20-plus steal game against Cal Maritime on Nov. 13, 2019, finishing with 28 in that contest
• Individually, Fatoumata Jaiteh's seven steals against Cal State Fullerton on Nov. 21 are tied for the most by a Big Sky player in a game, while Picton's three five-steal performances -- along with Rubi Gray's five against Stanton and Jaiteh's five against Long Beach State -- rank tied for ninth
HISTORIC HELPING HANDS
• With her 73 assists over her first 14 games this season, Versteeg now has 519 for her career, placing her second on the school's all-time list, trailing only record-holder Fantasia Hilliard (726 from 2011-15), on that chart
• That total also puts her among the top 15 in Big Sky history, moving her into 12th place past Montana's Margaret Williams (511 from 1982-87) and closing in on Eastern Washington's Chene Cooper in 11th (525 from 2008-12)
DELICIOUS DISH
• Versteeg has posted five-or-more assists in 11 of the team's 14 games
• Her total of 73 assists and her 5.21 assists per game puts her atop the Big Sky in both categories entering this week, while ranking No. 32 and No. 33 in the nation, respectively, as of Jan. 1
• With her seven assists against Cal State Fullerton on Nov. 21 -- which tied her season high -- Versteeg posted her 32nd career game with seven-or-more assists with all of those coming in the last two-plus seasons (a total of 78 games)
HOLD THE LINE
• Picton has been nearly automatic from the line this season, shooting a team-high .905 (19-for-21) from the stripe
• The Welland, Ontario, native drained 15 consecutive free throws without a miss until her first went astray at San Francisco on Dec. 17 -- her first miss since Nov. 12 at UC San Diego
• The mantle for consecutive makes now falls on the shoulders of Rubi Gray, who is 23-for-26 (.885) from the line and has made her last 18 from the stripe since missing her first in the Hornets' match-up with Chattanooga on Nov. 28 (she did not have an attempt on Thursday against Idaho State)
• Two more makes without a miss and Gray will move into a tie for 12th for consecutive makes by a Hornet in the program's Division I era and the longest streak since Sofia Alonso opened with 22 straight makes last year
A "KEY" INGREDIENT
• While her three-game double-digit scoring streak came to an end on Thursday against Idaho State, junior Keanna Salave'a has continued her strong work on the glass, finishing with a team-high six against Idaho State Thursday
• The six rebounds marked the seventh time in 14 games that she has either led or shared the team lead in the category this year
• Salave'a has grabbed six-or-more rebounds in each of her last three games, including a Sacramento State career-high 11 boards as part of a double-double against San Jose State on Dec. 21
• Those 11 rebounds are the second-most by a Hornet this year, trailing only teammate Benthe Versteeg's 12 boards at home against UC Davis on Nov. 24
• The 11 caroms also marked her fifth game with eight-or-more rebounds this year, while her performance on Thursday night was her 11th with five or more caroms in 14 games
• Salave'a is averaging a team-best 6.2 rpg, ranking in the top 15 in the Big Sky in rebounding (13th), total rebounds (10th), and offensive rebounds (t3rd)
• Her work on the offensive end (39 rebounds) accounts for nearly half of her rebound total (87)
NO QUIT IN MANDAQUIT
• Redshirt freshman Jaety Mandaquit gave her team a lift in 25 minutes off the bench for the Hornets against Idaho State
• Mandaquit drained a three-pointer for her only points of the game, but was a menace on the glass and on the defensive end, grabbing a career-high six rebounds and swiping a career-best three steals against the Bengals
• The six boards surpassed her previous high of four at California Baptist on Nov. 29, while her previous best for steals was two, twice, against Stanton (Nov. 3) and Simpson (Dec. 15)
TIME IS ON THEIR SIDE
• Three of the top five players in the Big Sky in terms of minutes played sport the green and gold as Picton (second), Versteeg (third), and Gray (fifth) are among the toughest to get off the court
• Picton has played just under 88 percent of the team's minutes (491 of 560) -- including four games with 40-or-more minutes -- with Versteeg close behind at 84 percent (471 of 560) and Gray at 78 percent (438 of 560)
• Picton's 35.1 mpg trails only NAU's Naomi White (37.3 mpg), while Versteeg is third at 33.6 mpg
• Thanks to those minutes, Versteeg has moved into fifth on the all-time minutes played list with 3,382 and, if she's able to replicate her total from each of the last two seasons, would break Kylie Kuhns' school career record of 3,804 minutes from 2009-13
• Meanwhile, for Picton, her time on the court is a big step up from last season when she played a total of 497 minutes in 31 games at Montana State, and is well above her average of 29.1 mpg in 29 games during her freshman season with the Bobcats in 2023-24
FINDING THE RIGHT COMBINATION
• After senior Fatoumata Jaiteh went down with an injury against UC Davis on Nov. 24, the Hornets have been in search of her replacement in the starting five
• Featuring the same starting lineup in each of the team's first seven games, Sacramento State has had a different starting five in five of its last seven contests
• Tali Fa'i (vs. Chattanooga), Keanna Salave'a (at Pacific), and Pinja Paananen (Simpson, San Francisco, and San Jose State) earned their first career starts as Hornets, while Brooklyn Taylor picked up her first start of the year -- and the second of her career -- at California Baptist
IN THE MARGINS
• Sacramento State's 60-point margin of victory over Simpson on Dec. 15 is the fourth-largest in the program's history, trailing the school-record 85-point win over Stanton earlier this year, a 71-point win over San Francisco State in 1974 and a 64-point victory against Stanislaus State in 1979
• Five of the Hornets' six victories this year have come by double-digits
• Of those five, four have been by 20-or-more points: Stanton (+85), Nevada (+20), Cal State Fullerton (+20), and Simpson (+60)
• On the other side, four of the team's eight defeats have been by six points or fewer, including a three-point overtime loss
RIM PROTECTORS
• Sacramento State enters the New Year leading the Big Sky in total blocks (60) and ranking second in blocks per game (4.29), while standing No. 62 in the nation in blocks per game as of Jan. 1
• Individually, Salave'a is one of 11 players in the Big Sky with double-digit swats, ranking tied for third in the league with 13
• The Hornets have blocked multiple shots in 12 of their 14 games this season, including five-or-more blocks eight times
• Sacramento State's seven blocks at San Francisco were a season high and tied for the second-most in a game by a Big Sky squad this year
• The seven blocks were the most for the Hornets since they had seven against Northern Arizona in the second round of last year's Big Sky Tournament on March 9
DE-FENSE (CLAP, CLAP)...
• Sacramento State hasn't given up much this season, entering Saturday ranked second in the Big Sky Conference in scoring defense (59.9 ppg), second in field goal percentage defense (.378), third in rebounding defense (35.6 rpg), and leading the league in three-point percentage defense (.270) -- the latter ranking No. 53 in the NCAA (as of Jan. 1)
• It's a continuation of a trend that has seen the Hornets post two of the stingiest scoring defenses in school history in the last three years as they allowed 59.9 ppg in 2022-23 (second in school history) and gave up 63.6 ppg in 2024-25 (fourth in school history)
• The school record is 56.8 ppg allowed over 23 games in 1984-85
BENCH BOOST
• Sacramento State's second unit has come on to outscore its counterparts in nine of the team's 14 games this season
• Hornet reserves have combined for 20-or-more points six times
• Sacramento State is fourth in the Big Sky in bench points per game (21.7)
NOT HALF BAD
• Sacramento State is 5-1 this season when leading at the half and a combined 18-5 when winning the first 20 minutes under Head Coach Aaron Kallhoff over the last two-plus seasons
• Last season, the Hornets were 10-1 when leading at the break
• The 58 first-half points on Dec. 15 against Simpson were the second most in a single half this year, trailing only the 71-point opening half against Stanton, and the third half with at least 50 points
ATTACKING THE PAINT
• Sacramento State is a combined 6-1 this year when outscoring its opponents in the paint
• The Hornets have scored 30-or-more points in the key in all six of those wins, including 86 points in the season opener in a lop-sided win over Stanton, 54 against Simpson on Dec. 15, and 44 more in a 20-point victory against Cal State Fullerton
HITS OF THE 70s
• During the Aaron Kallhoff era, 70 points seems to be the magic number for the Hornets
• Over the last two-plus seasons, Sacramento State is 16-3 when scoring 70-or-more points, while winning just 10 times when held under that mark since 2023-24
HORNETS SIGN OREGON TEAMMATES
• Sacramento State added a pair of high school standouts during the November signing period, welcoming forward Dyllyn Howell and guard Jordan Barlow from South Medford HS in Oregon
• Howell is a two-time all-conference pick and was an all-state selection as a junior, helping her team to a state title as a sophomore
• Barlow was also a member of that state title-winning squad, picking up all-conference honors as a junior
• Once they arrive on campus, the duo would be the ninth and 10th Hornets to hail from the "Beaver State," and the first since Kylie Kuhns and Natasha Torgerson played for the Hornets from 2009-13
