Sacramento State freshman forward Summah Hanson set the program’s Division I single-season freshman scoring record in Saturday’s road loss against the Northern Colorado Bears in Greeley, Colorado.
Hanson has had a remarkable freshman season, establishing herself as the team’s primary scorer from the jump. She entered Saturday’s contest just eight points away from the record after rising up the scoring ranks all season.
A layup that came late in the third quarter is what gave Hanson 345 points on the season and put her ahead of former Sac State guard Gigi Hascheff who set the record in the 2013-2014 season. Hanson will be able to add even more to her total with four games left on the season.
“It’s pretty surreal,” Hanson said. “Coming into the season I really wasn’t expecting the achievements I’ve accomplished.”
Sac State head coach Aaron Kallhoff said Hanson works hard every day and he’s proud of her for accomplishing the record.
“She’s a joy to coach but she’s also a joy in the chemistry and the culture we’re building,” Kallhoff said.
Hanson started her record-breaking day early by grabbing an offensive rebound and scoring a pair of second-chance points.
These two teams were trading blows the whole game, ending with a total of 17 lead changes.
Freshman forward Lina Falk was the top scorer for the Hornets in the first quarter. She drained an early three-pointer and spun around to hit a tough jump shot as the shot clock expired.
Sac State was able to knock down back-to-back triples before Northern Colorado converted on three straight trips to the charity stripe, tying the game at 20 points each to end the first quarter.
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The Hornets’ swarming defense got Sac State off to an early second-quarter lead after they forced six turnovers, which resulted in a 10-0 run.
Redshirt sophomore guard Benthe Versteeg was contributing on every step of the run, assisting teammates, scoring inside and forcing turnovers, which led to her scoring nine points and seven assists.
The Hornets weren’t able to capitalize on their separation though, only scoring one point for the remainder of the quarter which allowed the Bears to cut the deficit to two points at halftime.
Northern Colorado’s ability to get to the line in the first half and shoot a perfect 9-9 on free throws kept them in the game despite giving up 10 points off turnovers.
“It felt like we had control of it but we only went into halftime up two,” Kallhoff said. “There was quite a big disparity between the two ends on getting able to get fouls and that was a big part of it.”
Bears senior guard Hannah Simental started the second half with a quick five points. Simental was a problem for the Hornets all day, scoring a game-high 20 points.
Sac State only shot 26.9% from three-point range in this contest but senior forward Solape Amusan got an important triple to fall as Northern Colorado was gaining momentum.
Hanson followed this up by tying the game with the layup that gave her the single-season freshman scoring record.
“Records like that don’t come around often,” Hanson said. “It was something I’ve never really dreamt of doing, so to have done it is pretty cool.”
A game that was tied at 20 points at the end of the first quarter had become a defensive stalemate by the fourth quarter with Northern Colorado leading 47-45.
After the Bears extended their lead early, they made the costly mistake of fouling Amusan on a three-point shot where she made two free throws. Amusan continued to make plays from deep and connected on a big three-pointer to tie the game at 54 with six minutes remaining on the game clock.
Northern Colorado would step up defensively and not allow Sac State to make another field goal from that point on. Bears sophomore forward Aniah Hall played a crucial role in this by affecting the game on both sides of the court.
Hall swung the game in favor of the Bears after she blocked a shot on one end and scored a layup on the other to give the Bears an eight-point lead with less than three minutes remaining.
Sac State needed timely baskets but the shots were not falling. The Hornets had to foul and the Bears knocked down their free throws to secure the 65-59 victory.
“Winning on the road is always hard to do,” Versteeg said. “Because it was such a close game, it makes it exciting to play them again.”
The Hornets will return from their road trip to face the Montana Grizzlies at The Nest on Thursday at 6:30 p.m.
