King criticized her game and her mentality in equal measures. She was down on herself in that moment, but her teammates disagreed with her harsh self-evaluation wholeheartedly.

“It’s been a blessing having Camariah on our team,” said sophomore point guard Milee Enger. “She’s definitely stepped up as a leader and definitely has brought our team closer (together).”

Senior guard Gabi Bade echoed her teammate’s sentiment about King.

“She’s like a sister to me,” Bade said, confirming King’s importance to the Hornets. “I know she wanted this win tonight, but we’ll get it back next game.”

Everyone present spoke about how King’s shot looked good coming out of her hands, it just always seemed to rim out. By the end of the game, no matter how accurate the attempt appeared, the whole crowd could sense that it wouldn’t fall. It was just that type of night for King.

Even Levens said she expects King to bounce back in a major way.

“She had a tough shooting night today, but I coached her for two years and she’s a great shooter,” Levens said. “I think once she gets a rhythm with the team she’s going to be really, really dangerous.”

After the game, Coach Harkleroad focused most of his comments on King’s leadership off the court.

Harkleroad said that the team was only given access to the gym for a 7 a.m. shootaround that morning, which meant that the team would have to get up very early if they wanted to sneak in one more practice before they faced the Wolf Pack. 

He told his team to sleep in and get some rest, but King wasn’t having it. She asked that he make the practice optional, and Harkleroad agreed. When he arrived at the gym Saturday morning, he was surprised to see that every healthy player was present alongside King, getting in an extra hour of work.

After the game, as she stood in her old gym for the last time, drying her eyes and nodding her head, King appeared to be trying to literally shake off a difficult six months.

RELATED: Sac State women’s basketball team shakes up its strategy for new season

While she may not have gotten the end that she wanted for her story with the Wolf Pack, the book on Camariah King as a Hornet has yet to be written. This was merely the first of 29 regular season games for Sac State this season.

“It’s only up from here,” King said, finally letting out a laugh and a smile. “Good basketball players work through their emotions.

“I’m never going to have one of these games again.”

Camariah King and the Sac State women’s basketball team look to bounce back against California State University, Maritime Academy in their first home game of the season at 7:05 p.m. Wednesday at The Nest.