SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Sophomore guard Rubi Gray finished with a game-high 19 points to lead two teammates in double figures and the Sacramento State women's basketball team was perfect from the line down the stretch, holding off visiting Eastern Washington for a hard-fought 61-54 victory on Saturday afternoon at Hornet Pavilion.
The Hornets evened their record at 10-10 overall and moved to 4-3 in Big Sky Conference play with the win, snapping a brief two-game skid in league play. The Eagles also moved to 10-10 overall, but fell a game behind Sacramento State with a 3-4 record.
Gray scored 11 of her 19 points in the second half, finishing with eight makes from the field in 39 minutes. It marked the 15th time in 17 games that the sophomore has finished in double figures, falling just one point shy of her fifth 20-point game of the year.
Joining Gray in double figures was junior guard Natalie Picton, who finished with 18 points — 11 of those coming in the second half — and was also 4-for-4 from the line, adding three rebounds and three steals. Senior guard Benthe Versteeg added 10 points for her fourth-straight double-digit scoring performance.
In her third game back from injury, senior forward Fatoumata Jaiteh led the way on the glass, grabbing a team-high seven rebounds — four of those on the offensive end — and added a crucial steal off an inbounds pass in a one-possession game that allowed the Hornets to pull away.
Holding a nine-point lead at the break, Gray and Picton got Sacramento State out of the gates quickly to start the third with back-to-back jumpers that gave the Hornets their largest lead of the day, 35-22. Kourtney Grossman answered for EWU with five straight points to key a 9-2 run over a three-minute span that cut Sacramento State's advantage to six with 5:22 to play.
The Eagles clawed their way back to within five at the start of the fourth and threatened to complete the comeback after trading baskets to begin the final period, closing to within a single point at 48-47 with 3:04 to play on a basket by Elyn Bowers.
Picton came up clutch on the Hornets' next possession, draining a three-pointer to build the lead back to four and the defense stood firm, limiting Eastern Washington to just one field goal over the final 2:41.
Meanwhile, Sacramento State was white-hot from the line, finishing a perfect 12-of-12 from the stripe in the second half with 10 of those makes coming in the final 37 seconds of the contest to ice the victory.
The Hornets held a 34-31 advantage on the glass as Elizabeth Abiara and Keanna Salave'a joined Jaiteh in the effort on the glass with six and five rebounds, respectively.
Sacramento State now takes to the road for its next four games, wrapping up the first round of Big Sky play with a trip to first-place Montana State on Thursday (Jan. 29) and Montana on Saturday (Jan. 31).
