Sacramento State’s best third quarter of the year was what put away the California State University, Fullerton Titans Thursday, culminating in the program’s best start to the season with a 4-0 record.
Offense was hard to come by for both teams this game, with the score being 30-22 in favor of Sac State at the halftime break.
Fullerton was aggressive out of the gate and applied a full-court press to start the game, disrupting any sort of rhythm Sac State tried to build.
Firing away the three-ball was not an option early on, due to the in-your-face defense the Titans were playing. The Hornets learned quickly after going 1-of-5 from deep in the first quarter and started attacking the rim in an attempt to find a crack in the Titans’ armor.
Sac State stumbled through the first half on the offensive side of the ball, trying to find their footing and knock down shots.
“We were trying to find rhythm and what works early on,” redshirt junior guard Benthe Versteeg said. “We just weren’t finding each other to begin the game.”
Sophomore guard Lina Falk was the first Hornet to get any sort of early momentum, dropping eight of her 13 points in the first half off contested buckets in the paint.
Whilst Sac State’s offense struggled, their defense was the opposite. They played suffocating defense on Fullerton, starting the second quarter with a steal by senior forward Jaydia Martin. The Hornets held them to nine second-quarter points on 30% shooting from the field.
Controlling the first half and entering the break with an 8-point lead, the Hornets needed a third-quarter push to put the Titans in an immense deficit.
“Every time we are at halftime, we say we need to come out strong,” Versteeg said. “We need to be the team to give the first punch.”
Sac State bolted out of the locker room with multiple fast break opportunities generating easy points.
RELATED: Stacking Days: Sac State’s new-look offense paves the way to unbeaten start
Versteeg burned the Titans in transition during the third quarter, finding shooters in the corner for three or taking it to the hoop herself.
An assisted fast break layup opened the floodgates, Versteeg began to drive and kick it out to the wing for easy threes for redshirt freshman guard Sofia Alonso and Falk.
Four straight assisted field goals from the guard swelled Sac State’s lead to 17 late in the quarter.
Alonso was a vital part of the Hornet bench that outscored the Titans’ 24-5 in the game. She finished with 13 points, five rebounds and five steals on 50% from the field.
“When she comes off the bench, I already know what she’s going to do,” Versteeg said of Alonso. “She’s locked in and has a great basketball IQ. I trust her.”
The 23-point quarter was capped off by a Versteeg buzzer-beating layup with 0.6 seconds to go and put Sac State in the driver’s seat, 53-36.
No mercy was given in the fourth as the Hornets continued to put pressure on the ball and shut down the Titans, holding them to a measly four points on 1-of-12 shooting.
The 67-40 victory over Fullerton marks four straight double-digit wins to start the season; their 40 points given up is the lowest allowed in a game since 2011.
Sac State head coach Aaron Kallhoff is already focused on their next matchup with Long Beach State but said he isn’t shocked by their hot start.
“This team gets along; they’re unified,” Kallhoff said. “I’m not surprised by the 4-0 start, but I wanna give the credit to this core group we have.”
The Hornets will aim to protect their unbeaten streak on Sunday, Nov. 17 as they welcome Long Beach to town for a 2 p.m. contest.
