Sacramento State’s final tuneup for its Big Sky Conference season failed to go as planned.

On the final possession of regulation, the Hornets missed two straight shots by center Megan Kritscher and forward Kylie Kuhns that led to a 72-67 overtime loss to Eastern Illinois.

After winning four straight games, Sac State has lost two in a row, including a loss to Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville last Wednesday.

“I think the way we played our last game on Wednesday showed how we can get back to our game and compete,” Kuhns said, who finished with 18 point and 10 rebounds. “This team was better than (Southern Illinois, Edwardsville) and we know we can play with anybody if we play hard.”

Sac State started the game with Kuhns scoring the first five points followed by pair of shots behind the arc by Alle Moreno and Se’ynce Parrish that would extend the lead to 13-7 with 12:12 remaining in the first half.

However, the Hornets shooting cooled off and Eastern Illinois would go on a 12-0 run led by Panther guards Ta’Kenya Nixon and Sydney Mitchell.

Sac State’s 3-point shooting struggles continued as the Hornets finished the game 4-28 and have shot 11-51 in their last two games.

Despite this, Kuhns said she is really excited to come home after playing four games in eight days and that rest will surely help her team in the games to come.

“We need to get back in the gym to give our shooters confidence,” Kuhns said. “I really think it will come around. They hit shots in practice and we have faith in them.”

From the start of the season, the Hornets have been committed to their swarming defense and forced 24 turnovers.

“We want to shoot more shots than our opponent and one way to do it is forcing turnovers,” Kuhns said.

With less than two minutes remaining in the second half, Sac State held the lead until the Panthers tied the game, hitting two free throws with 41 seconds left.

During the overtime, however, Sac State’s struggles continued as the Hornets scored only two points and missed three 3-pointers to give Eastern Illinois the win.

Sac State continues their road trip as the Big Sky Conference season starts on Dec 20 at Montana State. Tip off is at 6 p.m.

Ryan Kuhn can be reached on Twitter @rskuhn