RENO, Nev. — The Sacramento State backcourt of
Koko Akridge and
Natalie Picton combined for 40 points on the night and the visiting Hornets withstood a furious fourth-quarter rally by host Nevada en route to a wire-to-wire, 70-60, victory over the Wolf Pack on Saturday night at Lawlor Event Center.
With the victory, Sacramento State opened the season 2-0 for the third consecutive year and defeated the Wolf Pack for the second win in those starts for the second straight campaign. The win evened the all-time series between the two programs at 27 wins apiece while the Hornets won in Reno for the first time since a 77-54 victory back on Dec. 29, 1993.
Led by 16 points from Mahaila Harrison and 14 more from Alexis Swillis, the Wolf Pack fell to 0-2 to start the year.
Akridge finished with a game-high 23 points, posting her first 20-point performance as a Hornet and matching her collegiate high set against Le Moyne on Jan. 15 of last season while at Long Island. Akridge drained 7-of-18 from the fioor with five of those makes coming from beyond the arc and finishing 4-for-4 from the line to end the day a plus-15.
Picton, meanwhile, poured in a season-high 17 points while adding four rebounds, a season-high four assists, and a pair of steals, nearly doubling her scoring output from the season opener at UT Arlington when she finished with nine. She is now 103 points shy of 1,000 for her career.
Sophomore
Jelena Savic shared game-high honors with seven rebounds to go with eight points, two assists, and two steals, while
Achol Magot continued to be perfect from the field, finishing 4-for-4 for the second straight game and adding another eight points.
The first half was all Sacramento State as the Hornets opened the game on a 13-2 run and led by as many as 19 points in the second quarter following a 15-4 run over the final six and a half minutes of the period, eventually heading into the locker room with a 44-27 advantage at the break.
Sacramento State held a 19-point advantage with just over three minutes remaining in the third quarter before Nevada began to make its move. After trading points to end the third, the Wolf Pack opened the fourth with a 10-2 burst to make it an 11-point game.
A three-pointer by Akridge stopped the bleeding for the Hornets, but just briefly as Nevada went on another run, scoring seven straight points to bring the deficit back to single digits with less than a minute to go. However, Picton hit 1-of-2 from the line and
Elizabeth Abiara scored a wide-open basket inside for the final points of the night.
Sacramento State shot just under 40 percent from the field for the night to just over 42 percent for the Wolf Pack, who limited the Hornets to just three field goals in the final period en route to a 17-8 scoring advantage in the fourth quarter.
The Hornets forced Nevada into 16 turnovers on the night, turning those into 27 points to the good, while holding a 39-32 advantage on the glass, including an 11-5 lead on the offensive end.
After opening the season on the road, Sacramento State hosts Cal State East Bay in its home opener on Monday night (Nov. 9) at 6:30 p.m. at Hornet Pavilion. The contest will be streamed live on the ESPN+ platform.
