An undermanned Sacramento State women’s basketball team was unable to hold off the University of Montana Saturday night in a 79-56 loss.

Only eight players saw minutes and only five managed to put points up on the board for the Hornets.

Sophomore forward Danielle Iceman contributed a game- and career-high 25 points along with six rebounds and two steals. Sophomore forward Alyson Thurman also helped out in the frontcourt, posting 14 points.

“Alyson and Danielle really stepped up against Montana’s defense,” Jenkins said.

In the backcourt, sophomore point guard Sydney Gatson scored 10 points, pulled down nine rebounds and dished out seven assists.

The Grizzlies roared out the gates, shooting 59 percent from the field to take a 46-26 halftime lead. The Hornets fought their way back with an 8-0 run to open up the second half. The Hornets later pulled within nine points of Montana with 13:12 to play.

At that point Gatson went down with a hard fall, temporarily had to leave the game and Montana was able to regain their momentum.

“Being able to make some runs shows that we can play with anyone in our conference,” said Jenkins.

Montana managed to hold off the Hornets and take control of the game, remaining undefeated in the Big Sky Conference (6-0, 14-5) while handing the Hornets their fifth conference loss. Hollie Tyler led the Grizzlies with 21 points and 13 rebounds.

Iceman, Thurman and Gatson combined for 49 of the Hornets’ 56 points scored.

Sac State was handed their first loss of the two-game road trip on Thursday when the Montana State University Bobcats (5-1, 11-6) ruled their home court and defeated the Hornets 82-47.

Gatson, who is averaging 11.5 points per game in the conference, tallied a team-high 16 points.

“I can’t say enough about (Gatson’s) play, and how much she is sacrificing right now,” Jenkins said.

Only nine Hornets found minutes against Montana State, while only six put points on the board.

The Hornets’ winless road trip puts their record at 0-18 for the season and 0-5 in the Big Sky Conference.

Sac State has struggled to find a consistent line-up with only four players playing in all 18 games, and Danielle Iceman being the only player to have started all 18 games.

Sac State looks to snap their five-game conference losing streak, as well as their 18-game overall losing streak on Friday, Feb. 1 at 7:05 p.m. against Portland State University. The game will be held in Hornet Gym.