After the disappointment of losing the Big Sky opener at home on Thursday night,the Hornet women’s basketball team rolled backed into the Hornets Nest with not near enoughintensity to stop a hot Weber State squad. The 57-55 loss to the Wildcats was thesecond time in as many games that the Hornets had the opportunity to tie thegame in the closing seconds.

“We need to come out with more urgency,” junior guard Stephanie Cherry saidafter the game. “(Weber) played more physical than us and if we want to winclose games we have to play physical all around.”

Most of the Wildcat’s physical play stemmed from their starting forward ShanteeReleford. The 6-foot junior played limited minutes in the game but came awaywith a team-high eight rebounds. Six minutes into the game Releford drove thelane and collided with senior guard Cindy Alldrin. Releford was charged with theoffensive foul, but the effects of the hard foul may have contributed toAlldrin’s one point performance in the first half.

Alldrin wasn’t the only Hornet having trouble putting points on the board in thefirst half as senior Ashley Cadotte went 0-6 from the field, most of her missescoming from directly underneath the basket. Junior guard Kim Sheehy alsostruggled early hitting only 1-5 from both the field and from behind the arc.

With his starters shooting below 30 percent in the first 15 minutes of play,head coach Dan Muscatell went to his bench and found hope in forward LindseyHeard. Heard knocked down two back-to-back three pointers, both coming offassists from sophomore guard Ali Mollet, which brought the Hornets to withinseven going into the half.

Muscatell mentioned after the game that his team’s effort in the first half ofthe last three games has been sorely lacking.

“I expect more from the team,” Muscatell said. “We’re just not getting theresults we need.”

In the 2nd half, the Wildcats showed the prowess needed to overcome a Hornetattack, which made the game quite a spectacle for the 322 in attendance. With4:34 seconds left to play in the game, Cherry hit a wide-open jumper to bringthe Hornets within four points of the Wildcats. The play prompted the firstchants of “Defense” from the crowd. With just under three minutes left to playCadotte hit the last field goal for the Hornets on a lay-up. The Hornets finalsix points would come from Cherry at the free throw line. Cherry’s six-straightfrom the line weren’t enough to overcome the lead that Weber built in the firsthalf. Cherry finished with a game-high 22 points, but her two assists weren’tenough to get her teammates involved, especially early in the game.

Muscatell said his team’s effort in the 2nd half of today’s game was a beginningpoint, but for next week’s road trip to Montana and Montana State the team willhave to share the ball more in order to keep everyone involved.

The Hornets have now lost five straight games and hold an 0-2 record in the BigSky. Weber State’s record in the Big Sky moves to 1-1.

Sac State will lug their 0-2-conference record on the road with them as theirnext three games will be played away from the Hornets Nest. The team’s next homegame will be on Feb. 2 when they take on Eastern Washington.