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The Sacramento State women’s basketball team used superior rebounding and hustle to beat the Vikings of Portland State 70-65 Saturday in the Hornets Nest.

The Hornets (8-11, 3-4) smashed through their previous season-high in rebounds of 44 on their way to 52 boards on Saturday. Three Hornets grabbed double-doubles comprised of Cindy Alldrin (19 points and 13 rebounds), Katelyn Ciampi (14 points and 10 rebounds) and Ashley Cadotte (12 points and 16 rebounds). Prior to Saturday only two times had a single Hornet earned a double-double all season.

“There were a lot of rebounds to get,” head coach Dan Muscatell said of both team’s struggles from the floor in the second half. “That kind of a game favors us because we are a bigger team than (Portland State).”

For the second-straight game the Hornets came out shooting well. Sac State led 18-4 just four and a half minutes into the game. A combination of bad free throw shooting and the Vikings repeatedly beating the Hornets with backdoor cuts got Portland State (8-12, 2-5) back into the game as it was tied 39 at halftime. Vikings center Brianna Thompson scored on a lay-up 30 seconds into the second half to give the Vikings their last look at the lead. An immediate 8-0 run capped off by an Alldrin lay-up put the Hornets up for good.Vikings freshman forward Kelsey Kahle, who leads the Big Sky in scoring (18.2 points per game) and rebounding (8.5), was held in check for the entire game before fouling out late.

“We knew we had to focus on (Kahle),” Cadotte said of Kahle’s foul troubles. “We tried to exploit her foul situation in the second half. Kahle fouled out with 7:52 left in the game and Sac State ahead 59-54. “We were able to maintain discipline,” Muscatell said. “We did a good job of staying in front of (Kahle).”

Sac State’s advantage on the boards in the game was enormous at 52-30. “We knew (the Vikings) don’t have a tall post, so we just took advantage of our height advantage,” Ciampi said.

The Hornets have two road games next week against Weber State and Idaho State before returning home to face Montana on Feb. 16. The team knows the importance of these upcoming games if the Hornets are going to make their second straight Big Sky postseason appearance.

“We’re starting to play harder,” Alldrin said. “We are fired up for the upcoming games.”

Box Score