A team coming off a season in which its record was 1-15 in conference play is not expected to turn around the following year and achieve the greatest conference accomplishment in its program’s history. 

But that is what Sacramento State’s women’s basketball team did this season. 

The Hornets notched the first win in school history for a Sac State women’s basketball team in the Big Sky Conference Tournament when it upset No. 3 Eastern Washington University in the opening round on March 7

“When it first happened, we were all kind of in shock like, ‘Wow, we pulled this off,’” said sophomore guard Alle Moreno. “We had a good season.” 

Sac State made it into the tournament by finishing the regular season on a four-game winning streak. Two of the four victories included its first ever victory at Montana State University and another road win at Portland State University. Head coach Jamie Craighead said these were both huge accomplishments in their own right for a team holding a road record of 4-24 over the past two seasons. 

“Winning on the road is about toughness,” Craighead said. “Those big wins down the stretch are what got us to where we were.” 

During the tournament game against Eastern Washington, Sac State got off to a quick start and built an early 12-2 lead. Senior forward Emily Christensen led the way with 12 first-half points for the Hornets.

 “Emily is an extraordinary leader on and off the court. So when our only senior goes off like that, it’s amazing to watch,” Moreno said.

 Junior forward Kylie Kuhns, who finished the game with her Big Sky Conference-leading 21st double-double of the season, said it was Christensen’s spark setting the tone early.

 “When anyone plays a good first half it just takes a load off of everyone else,” Kuhns said. “It helped us relax for the rest of the game.”

 Craighead said another crucial part of the Hornets’ success was holding senior guard Chene Cooper scoreless during the first half. Cooper had already helped the Eagles hand the Hornets a pair of tough losses earlier in the season with two of her best performances of the year . 

“We were just so locked in mentally,” Craighead said. “I just really believe we thought we were the better team and it didn’t matter what they did we were going to win the basketball game. And I’m not so sure (Eastern Washington) felt that way.”

 The Hornets never trailed during the first half and maintained a 32-28 lead going into the break. But the Eagles came back and tied the game for the first time with 8:46 left in the second half.

Moreno said tying the game didn’t faze her team.

 “We’d already lost to Eastern Washington twice, and we weren’t ready to lose to them for a third time,” Moreno said. “We were absolutely set in our minds that the season was not over for us.”

 Moreno proceeded to go on a run of her own, scoring five points in the next four minutes and helped Sac State build their lead back to 10 with 3:24 to go in the game. The Eagles would never come close to taking the lead again.

 “When she came out and went on that run I was thinking, ‘This is it. They’re not going to have another push in them,’” Craighead said. 

Sac State went on to win the game 71-61 but lost to No. 1 seed Idaho State in the next round. Still, the Hornets said they are proud of what the team accomplished. 

“We were picked to finish last (in conference),” Craighead said. “For our kids, it’s just a reminder that (they) belong.”

 Moreno said it is not only a reminder they belong but also a testament to how far the program has come.

 “In high school, I’ve won state championships and things were exciting,” Moreno said. “But I love this team that we had this year, and to accomplish that and to see the joy on our coaches’ faces – everything was just perfect. It wasn’t the championship game, but we had done something that no other team had done at Sac State. I mean, we were a part of history and that’s just an amazing feeling.”

David Somers can be reached at [email protected].