The Sacramento State women’s golf team placed fifth at the conclusion of the Big Sky Championships Wednesday. Although the team rallied to post its best round score on the final day of the tournament, it wasn’t enough to close the 17-hole lead held by eventual champion Portland State.

Unable to defend their title and secure a first place finish, the Hornets ended their season early and will not be participating at the NCAA Western Regional on May 8, although they will still be hosting the event at the Lincoln Hills Golf Club.

The first two days of the tournament saw the team securely holding on to sixth place with the University of Montana a sizable 11 strokes ahead. Despite posting the second best team score on the second day, the tenacious play of the top five teams made sure that Sacramento State still trailed behind the University of Montana by the same 11 strokes.

The team delivered its best effort on the final day by shooting four strokes under every other team for the round, but that was only enough to propel the team to a fifth place conclusion.

Individually, the Hornets performed admirably. Freshman Samantha Saffold kept her scores in the 70s for all three rounds and finished in fourth place with a score of 226. Sophomore Brooke Green swung an 80 for the first round, but scored a 73 and a 77 in her last two rounds to tie for 10th with a 230.

Justin Tejada can be reached at [email protected]