POCATELLO, Idaho — Four Sacramento State players finished in double figures and the Hornets torched the Big Sky Conference's top scoring defense to the tune of 54 percent shooting from the field and a 50 percent clip from beyond the arc, cruising to a 85-72 victory over host Idaho State in the regular season finale for both teams on Monday night at Reed Gym in Pocatello, Idaho.
With the victory, and coupled with Eastern Washington's loss at Idaho, Sacramento State clinched the No. 5 seed in next week's Big Sky Tournament in Boise, Idaho, earning a rematch with the Bengals in the third round on Monday (March 9) at 11 a.m. PT.
The Hornets are now 14-17 overall and 8-10 in the Big Sky, posting the most league wins since the 2022-23 squad finished 13-5 en route to a share of the program's first conference title.
Led by 20 points from Alyse Aby, Idaho State fell to 19-10 overall and 12-6 in league play, slipping to the No. 4 seed after Northern Colorado (22-9, 13-15) hung on to defeat Montana to sew up the No. 3 spot.
The 85 points surrendered are the most against the Bengals, who entered the night allowing just 59.7 ppg, this season and the most since Montana State scored 94 points against them on Jan. 16, 2025.
Meanwhile, the 85 points for the Hornets were the most against a Division I opponent since scoring 88 in a loss to Idaho back on Feb. 22, 2020, and they shot a season-high .538 from the field overall — the best against a Division I opponent this year and the best since shooting .566 against Kansas City on Dec. 4, 2024.
Sacramento State's 14 makes from beyond the arc were a season high and the most since the Hornets drained 17 against Montana State on Feb. 23, 2023.
Sophomore Rubi Gray finished with a game-high 24 points — 19 of those coming in the first half — as she hit 8-of-11 from the field and 5-of-6 from distance. It was her fifth consecutive double-digit scoring performance and the fifth time she has finished with 20-or-more points in a game this year, falling just two short of her career high of 26 points set against Cal State Fullerton (Nov. 21) and matched at Northern Arizona (Jan. 15).
Both senior Benthe Versteeg and junior Natalie Picton chipped in 18 points apiece, combining to hit 14-of-29 (.483) from the field and grabbing five rebounds each. Versteeg also added seven assists to her total, moving her into sole possession of seventh place on the Big Sky's all-time list with 593.
Junior Keanna Salave'a was the fourth player in double figures, adding 10 points and grabbing a team-high six rebounds — four of those on the offensive end — while draining 8-of-8 from the line.
Sacramento State never trailed by more than three points the entire night slugging it out with Idaho State in the first part of a first quarter that saw three tie scores and three lead changes. A three-pointer by Gray broke a nine-all tie and the Hornets closed the first quarter on a 13-2 run that gave them a 12-point advantage they would not relinquish.
After shooting better than 71 percent (10-of-14) in the opening period, Sacramento State withstood a Bengal rally in the second as Idaho State nearly erased a 15-point Hornet advantage. Jaety Mandaquit opened the second quarter with a three-pointer before ISU exploded for a 10-0 that made it a five-point game just three minutes into the period.
A pair of free throws by Gray briefly stopped the bleeding, but the Bengals kept coming, cutting it to three points on back-to-back buckets by Aby and Asa Wolfram two minutes later. Gray and Fatoumata Jaiteh answered with back-to-back three-pointers and the Hornets answered every push by Idaho State to lead by nine, 47-38, at the break.
The Bengals never got closer than six points on two occasions in the third quarter the rest of the way as the two teams traded baskets over the final six minutes of the period before exploding for a 13-2 run over a three-minute span early in the fourth to go up by 21 points and essentially put the game away.
Sacramento State's defense held Idaho State to just 33 percent in the final quarter with 10 of the Bengals' 20 points in the period coming at the line.
