Sacrament State’s women’s basketball team got right back into the thick of the Big Sky Conference standings with wins over Eastern Washington and Portland State last weekend.

The Hornets (8-11, 3-4), who started the weekend out of the playoff chase, now find themselves in the sixth seed if the playoffs started today. The wins were of extreme importance to the Hornets as they had been hard-luck losers in some games prior. The one constant theme in the two wins was hustle.

In the game against Eastern Washington it was Stephanie Cherry and Lindsey Heard who were the difference for the Hornets. Cherry scored 20 points while tying career highs with five steals and four 3-pointers.

Heard, who was pressed into extra minutes when starting center Katelyn Ciampi fouled out in just 17 minutes, recorded her first career double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. The 69-61 victory of the Eagles set the table for Portland State’s visit.

In Saturday’s game the Hornets asserted their dominance on the boards to beat the Vikings of Portland State 70-65. The Hornets out-rebounded the Vikings 52-30 and held the Big Sky’s leading scorer and rebounder Kelsey Kahle to four points and five rebounds before fouling out. “We knew (the Vikings) don’t have a tall post,” Ciampi said. “We just took advantage of our height advantage.”

Three Hornets grabbed double-doubles in the game. A feat that seemed unlikely considering just two Hornets had recorded a double-double all season going in.

Cindy Alldrin (19 points and 13 rebounds), Ciampi (14 points and 10 rebounds) and Ashley Cadotte (12 points and 16 rebounds) helped carve up the Vikings for a second straight huge conference win. The wins vaulted the Hornets ahead of Portland State and into a virtual tie with Eastern Washington in the Big Sky standings.

Head coach Dan Muscatell is very pleased with what he has seen out of his team lately. “We’ve had some hard luck in some games, but I like the effort our players are putting forward,” Muscatell said. “If we play hard every game things will work themselves out.”The Hornet women go on the road this week to play both Weber State and Idaho State before returning home Feb. 16 to take on Montana.

Benn Hodapp can be reached at [email protected]