Riddled by injuries, Sacramento State’s women’s basketball team lost 69-50 to Div. II powerhouse Holy Names College of Oakland Sunday in the Hornets’ only exhibition contest of the preseason.

Due to injuries at the point guard position, Hornet head coach Carolyn Jenkins was forced to start junior guard/forward Kendra Yancey at point guard. It was Yancey’s first start at the position since her senior year in high school.

The Hawks countered the Hornets’ lack of experience at the point guard position with a heavy full court press, which was led by senior shooting guard Mya Paul and junior point guard Lynnette Rix.

With the press causing havoc in the Hornet backcourt, the Hawks sprung out to a 13-2 lead. Holy Names’ defense forced a total of 22 turnovers in the first half, 34 overall.

“We are going to have to learn to handle the defensive pressure,” Jenkins said.

When the Hornets did break the Hawks’ full court press, their half court offense wasn’t much to rave about. Sac State shot just 35 percent from the field for the game.

“We were passing up shots and not looking to score,” Yancey said. Yancey led all Hornets with 11 points.

The Hawks headed into the locker room with a 35-19 half time lead, led by Paul’s 12 first half points. Holy Names came out in the second half as they did the first – on fire. The Hawks dominated the Hornets on the boards, outrebounding the Hornets 54-38.

Angella Zanini led Holy Names with 13 rebounds, while freshman center Kristine Knowlton led Sac State with eight. With the combination of a stifling press and superb rebounding, the Hawks stretched their lead to 29 points.

Trailing by 29 points, the Hornets began to show signs of life.Knowlton sparked the Hornet defense with several blocked shots, finishing the game with seven. The blocked shots allowed the Hornets to start fast breaks, and more importantly, avoid the Hawks’ press.A 3-pointer by junior forward Samantha Miller with 8:50 left in the game cut the Hawk lead to 16 points. This was as close as the Hornets would get.

Rix put a seal on the game by scoring on back-to-back Hornet turnovers. Rix finished the game with 12 points, while Paul led the Hawks with 17. Senior center Alisa Flick also scored in double figures with 13 points, en route to the Hawks’ victory.

The Hornets came into Sunday’s game with three guards out of the lineup. Sophomore starting point guard Sydney Gatson was out with a lower back injury. It is questionable whether she will be back in time for the Hornet’s next game Friday at Colorado State University. Junior point guard Dolores Olivarez also missed the game with a knee problem, and is waiting results on an MRI.If Gatson is not back from injury before Friday’s game, Jenkins said she would likely have Yancey and senior guard Ciara Jenkins share time at the point. Jenkins played the point guard position for most of the second half versus the Hawks

Despite the 19-point loss, Jenkins was pleased with her teams’ performance down the stretch, when they cut the Hawks lead from 29 to 19.

“We are going to look at that stretch on the video and show (our players) that they can do this all of the time,” Jenkins said.