A 42-14 Tiger run to open Tuesday night’s basketball game was too much for Sacramento State to overcome, as the Hornets lost their home opener 86-46 to the University of Pacific.

The Tigers, who are predicted to finish second in the Big West Conference, outshot the Hornets from the field 49 percent to 20, en route to handing the Hornets their third loss of the season. The Hornets’ first two losses came on the road against 25th ranked Colorado State University and the University of Wyoming.

Sacramento State, which returns no players from last year’s team, was ice cold all night, as the starting five combined for 6-of-42 (14 percent) shooting from the field.

“We had good shot opportunities, but they just were not falling,” said forward Samantha Miller, who contributed 12 points off the bench for the Hornets.

Pacific, on the other hand, was nailing shots from all over the court. The Tigers converted on 47 percent of their three pointers. Leading the way for the Tigers was Nancy Dinges, who scored 16 points including 4-of-8 from behind the 3-point arc.

After the Tigers mounted a 44-15 lead, Sac State went on an 11-2 run to cut the Pacific lead to 46-24 at the half. Unfortunately for the Hornets, any momentum they carried into the half was left in the locker room.

The Tigers came out of the break as they did the first and clawed away at any hope for a Hornet comeback by going on a 13-4 run. The Tigers stretched their lead to as many as 42 points with 2:22 remaining before coming away with the 40-point victory.

Despite the loss, Hornet head coach Carolyn Jenkins saw substantial improvement coming off a road trip that saw the Hornets lose by an average of 63 points.

“We made huge strides in rebounding and (limiting) turnovers,” Jenkins said.

The Hornets turned the ball over 24 times Tuesday, compared to an average of 44.5 turnovers in their first two games. The Hornets outrebounded the Tigers 48-42, including a 19-7 advantage on the offensive glass because of their poor shooting.

Danielle Iceman led the Hornets in rebounding with 11. The center also scored a team-high 13 points, rack ing up the team’s first double-double of the season.

“We took a step forward today, but we just were not converting shots,” said guard Kendra Yancey, who led the team with five assists.

Despite the decreased number of turnovers, the Hornets are still having plenty of trouble in their with their back-court situation. With point guard Sydney Gatson still struggling to find her game after coming off her red-shirt season, and guard Dolores Olivarez out for the season with an injury, Sac State starting guards, Gatson and Yancey combined for just eight points Tuesday while committing 13 turnovers.

“We are just learning to play with one another,” Yancey said.

The Hornets have had to learn to play together against a brutal schedule isn’t getting any easier. The Hornets will travel to the Lady Rebel Shootout where they will start with an opening round match up against the host team, University of Nevada, Las Vegas on this weekend.

“Hopefully (the pre season schedule) will prepare us for conference,” Miller said.