The Sacramento State women’s basketball team’s late rally fell short, as the Hornets were defeated by the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks 61-58 at home.

The Hornets lost their 9-8 lead after a series of missed jumpers turned into a run for the Lumberjacks. Northern Arizona built a 22-13 lead with 9:39 remaining in the first half. Sac State was able to cut the deficit by scoring inside the paint, with Northern Arizona’s lead down to 31-27 at halftime.

Charday Hunt cut the Lumberjacks lead to 54-53 in the fourth quarter with a three-pointer from the left corner, but the Hornets never got any closer. Hunt led the Hornets in scoring with 17 points and Atty Boyer added 16 points before fouling out with 2:22 left. Sade Cunningham led Northern Arizona with 20 points, using a mix of outside shooting and layups. Lauren Hoisington added 17 points, all from inside the paint, before fouling out. The Hornets missed five free throws in the second half and struggled with their outside shooting all game, going 18-of-55 from the field.

“Our inability to knock down shots, really from the line as well, hurt us,” said Head Coach Dan Muscatell. “One of those unfortunate days the ball doesn’t go in the basket for you. We felt like we got out-run getting some stops, we just didn’t convert when we got the opportunity.” “Today as a team, we didn’t hit shots,” said Tika Koshiyama-Diaz, who hit one of the Hornets four shots from beyond the three-point line.

Sac State overall went 4-of-18 in three-point attempts while Northern Arizona missed all nine attempts. Sac State is now 3-15 for the year while Northern Arizona rises to 5-13. The Hornets start a three-game road trip at Weber State on Thursday and return home to face Eastern Washington on Feb. 5.

Mitchell Wilson can be reached at [email protected]