The Sacramento State women’s basketball team advanced to the second round of the Big Sky Tournament after beating Idaho State 73-55 on Saturday.
Following a dominant 28-point fourth quarter, senior forward Solape Amusan put the Sac State sticker on the board, marking the Hornets matchup against the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks on Sunday.
Sac State jumped out to a 14-5 lead midway through the first quarter, led by freshman guard Lina Falk and freshman forward Summah Hanson.
The Hornets’ suffocating defense was constantly putting the pressure on the Bengals and holding them to tough shots that weren’t falling.
Idaho State was able to get their offense in rhythm after redshirt sophomore guard Cam Collman was fouled on a three-pointer and converted the four-point play to end the first quarter.
The Bengals’ defense was more physical in the second quarter, making it tough on the Hornets to score inside. Both teams were fighting for loose balls and diving on the court.
“You always know when you’re playing a Idaho State team coached by [Seton Sobolewski], you’re gonna have to be tough and you’re gonna have to be resilient,” Sac State head coach Aaron Kallhoff said.
It was tied up at 14 before redshirt sophomore guard Benthe Versteeg ended the Bengals run with a layup and found sophomore guard Kaylie Edge for three as the shot clock expired.
The Hornets got off to a 7-0 run in the second quarter but the Bengals kept clawing back.
Collman, who averaged only one point off of the bench during the regular season, was fouled from distance again and knocked down every free throw to give herself 10 points in the second quarter.
Versteeg took advantage of the space Idaho State was giving her from deep and knocked down a three-pointer but the Bengals answered with a layup to give themselves a 29-28 lead at halftime.
Two of the youngest teams in the Big Sky looked evenly matched and the third quarter was much of the same back-and-forth action.
“We were just really trying to get through our game plan and play disciplined,” Hanson said. “We knew it was going to be a grind.”
Both teams were trading buckets in the paint with sophomore guard Irune Orio leading the way for the Hornets. Orio had seven points in the quarter and finished with a game-high 19 points.
Idaho State sophomore forward Halle Wright was getting the looks she wanted and scored seven points in the final minutes of the quarter to put the Bengals up 46-45 heading into the fourth quarter.
It came down to the final frame to determine who was heading home and who was moving on.
A jumpshot by sophomore guard Kacey Spink got the Bengals on the board first but Amusan responded with a deep three-pointer to tie the game.
The triple from Amusan started a downpour of seven three-pointers and Idaho State could not weather the storm.
Sac State made four shots from deep, all from different players, over the course of a three minute span to take a 61-52 lead.
“It was so exciting to see everyone have success,” Versteeg said. “Everybody was doing their job.”
The Hornets’ defense was swarming the Bengals, forcing them into five turnovers and limiting them to only nine points in the quarter.
“As much as we were good offensively, I’m really proud of our defensive effort to hold them to single-figures,” Kallhoff said.
Sac State closed the game out on a 12-3 run behind their rhythm from three and lockdown defense to take a whopping 73-55 victory.
“I think that was the most fun I’ve ever had playing basketball,” Hanson said. “This season’s been a roller coaster and to have a game like that where everyone truly enjoyed it, it meant so much.”
Four starters finished in double-digit scoring and the Hornets will look to replicate their performance when they face the second seeded Northern Arizona Lumberjacks on Sunday at 1:30 p.m.
