The Sacramento State women’s basketball team suffered a loss at home Thursday to the University of Northern Colorado Bears by a score of 64-56 in a game that was a tale of two halves.

The Hornets got off to a fast start, using full-court pressure on defense and good ball movement and outside shooting on offense.

“That’s our system. We play full-court press and hopefully we get some steals, make the other team tired and get some easy buckets,” said junior forward Kylie Kuhns.

The Hornets’ system helped them jump all over the Bears in the first half, giving them a 29-13 lead with 7:55 to play. Full-court pressure was the key to the Hornets’ success, forcing 10 turnovers from the Bears in the first half.

The Bears’ late first half adjustment to a 2-3 zone helped them regain their composure to fight their way back into the game. The Bears went on a 16-1 scoring run to end the half down by one, 30-29.

Both teams shot 37.5 percent from the field in the first half. The Hornets made just 3-of-14 shots from beyond the arc and shot 50 percent from the free throw line.

The Hornets came out of halftime with the same intensity, forcing five Bears turnovers in six minutes of second half play. The Bears kept pace with the Hornets and finally managed to take their first lead of the game, going up 39-37 with 14:08 to play.

The Bears’ 2-3 zone forced the Hornets into a sloppy style of play. Sac State went cold from the field while the Bears took a 12-point lead, their largest lead of the game.

“When they went to a zone we really went cold and that’s not like us. So it was kind of frustrating, because when teams go zone we get open threes,” said Hornets’ head coach Jamie Craighead. “They did a good job though, they made an adjustment and we didn’t do very well handling it.”

The Hornets continued to force turnovers but could not get the big shots to fall at the end to steal a win.

“Us not hitting threes didn’t lose the game for us. There was a multitude of things that added to it, but it would have been nice if we hit some big shots like they did at the end,” Craighead said.

The Hornets blamed execution, rather than effort, on the loss. 

“I think it just came down to us not executing and not being able to knock down our shots. We were kind of our own worst enemies for a little bit,” said sophomore guard Alle Moreno.

The women’s basketball team looks to bounce back Saturday at home against the Eastern Washington University Eagles. Tip-off at the Hornets Nest is scheduled for 2:05 p.m.

Jonquil Williams can be reached at [email protected]