Back-to-back wins would have been nice, but the Hornets were unable to link together their first win streak of the season after falling short in a 75-70 battle against Cal State Northridge at Hornet Gym last Thursday evening.

Sac State is now faced with a two-game skid, the latter defeat at the hands of red-hot Idaho State, 62-45 on Saturday night at Holt Arena. These two games are dissapointing after the Hornets earned their first Big Sky conference win versus Portland State two weeks ago.

The Hornets (1-7 in league, 3-15 overall) are now 1-8 on the road this season, as they continue a three-game road trip Thursday against Montana, before playing at Montana State on Friday.

“I?ve said this all year. It?s the little things that are keeping us from being more successful,” Hornet head coach Carolyn Jenkins said following Thursday night?s match-up with the Matadors. “We have to get better at that. It?s the mental toughness issue that we have to address.”

Sac State shooting guard, Michelle St. Clair, tossed in her record shattering 52nd 3-pointer of the year to snap the former single-season record on Thursday, six-and-a-half minutes into the contest. The basket gave the host team its first lead of the game at 8-6.

After the game, St. Clair admitted that she would have traded the record for a win.”It?s an honor, but I don?t even think about it when I?m playing,” said St. Clair, who tallied three more 3-pointers in the second half. “I just want to win, and we came so close. One of our goals this year was to beat Northridge. Last year, at home, we lost by three and this year it was close again.”

Facing an 11-point halftime deficit, the Hornets managed to make a game out of it down the stretch. Sac State tied the game midway through the second half and was down 71-68 after a Sephora Scoubes layup with 1:08 remaining. But Cal State Northridge guard Sha?Tasha Allen sealed the win when she converted two free throws with :07 left on the clock.

“They took it to us in the second half,” Matador coach Frozena Jerro said. “I thought they played very well with the personnel that they had. But we got the win, and we?re trying to keep it moving forward. We always have a tough time at (Hornet Gym.)”

The injury-ravaged Hornets kept it close for most of the contest despite having eight players to work with. Starting point guard Rexanne Rodriguez, forward Tola Tallman, and St. Claire were each forced to play 40 minutes on Thursday.

St. Claire?s game-high 28 points, which included a 4-of-12 performance from beyond the 3-point arc and an 8-of-8 mark at the free-throw line, was complimented by Scoubes? 14. Allen?s 17 points paced the Matadors while Myesha Saleem and Kristi Rose pitched in 13 apiece. Eleven of Saleem?s 13 came in the first half and she added a game-best 11 rebounds.

On Saturday, Idaho State (8-0, 15-4) continued its mastery over the Hornets, who have yet to beat the Bengals since its Big Sky entry in the 1996-1997 season.

The Bengals, currently riding high on an 11-game tear (a new school record) and a 12-game home winning streak, jumped out to an early 20-2 lead and the Hornets had a tough time recovering. Sac State getting to the free-throw line only once didn?t help.

Sac State refused to go down without a fight. Behind 44-23 at halftime, the Hornets went on an 18-6 rampage in the final 11:14 of the second half. But the last-ditch effort was too little, too late.

Scoubes mirrored Mandi Carver?s 20 points to tie for the game-high. Carver, Idaho State?s starting power forward, also finished with 10 rebounds.

After the road games in Montana, the Hornets return to campus on Feb. 15 versus Montana St.