The Sacramento State Hornets lost to the best team in the Big Sky Conference, the Montana Lady Griz, Thursday evening 75-63. It was the second game of a back-to-back or the Hornets.

“(Montana) knew we were tired, so they came at us,” said junior center Atty Boyer.

“Legs are definitely tired,” said freshman guard/forward Emily Christensen, who had 11 points on 50 percent shooting (4-8). “I don’t know about everybody else. I know mine are.”

“You don’t have a day of practice for the next game,” she continued.

The Hornets’ record dropped to 6-18, 4-8 in the Big Sky Conference, whereas Montana’s record improved to a conference-best 18-5, and 8-2 in conference.

“I thought it was an indicator of our fatigue from playing back-to-back nights,” said coach Dan Muscatell. “We didn’t crash the offensive glass as well as the first half.”

Although the loss by the Hornets lowers its chances of keeping their position in the Big Sky Tournament, they still have a chance to maintain the final spot in the tournament with four games remaining in the season.

The Hornets were able to start the game scoring eight quick points, which was also the largest lead they had, but their lead did not last long. They were out-rebounded by 14 by the end of regulation.

At halftime Montana had a one-point lead, and in the second half they scored six points to increase their lead.

The Hornets attempted to rally back from the deficit several times in the second half but Montana was able to respond by winning the game by 12 points.

Guard Mandy Morales of Montana led in scoring with 20 points, eight rebounds and six assists.

Boyer had her fifth straight double-double of the season with 16 points and 13 rebounds. Boyer was also playing with a torn lateral meniscus, which is torn cartilage in the knees.

“(Boyer) is playing at a very high level,” Muscatell said. “She’s undersized in height and from a weight standpoint, so those minutes really take a toll when they come back-to-back like that.”

Forwards Tamara Guardipee and Dvera Tolbert of Montana gave the Hornets trouble down in the post.

“They’re big.” Boyer said, “They are hard to get around. We have a small team.”

“I think that we did a pretty good job of limiting them for the most part during the game with their inside touches,” Muscatell said. “I thought Tolbert did just a tremendous job for them on the second half on the offensive glass. And those rebounds really hurt.”

Tolbert and Britney Lohman had seven rebounds apiece for Montana.

“(Tolbert) and Lohman gave them some critical second-chance opportunities,” he said. “They did a good job on converting those.”

The next game for the Hornets will be the last home game of the season against Northern Arizona on Feb. 23. Tip-off begins at 2:05 p.m.

Alexander Villanueva can be reached at [email protected]