After upsetting Big Sky Conference powerhouse Idaho and climbing to sixth place in the conference, Sacramento State went into their 2-game road trip hoping to carry that momentum into crucial games against Northern Colorado and Northern Arizona.
Prior to the win on Saturday Feb. 8., the Hornets had lost four straight and a common theme began to emerge. They allowed several “avalanche” runs, offensive runs that create an insurmountable gap, burying the Hornets early in games.
These avalanches are easy to attribute to the defense, but it’s more often a result of the Hornet offense failing to find a rhythm. In previous games, Montana State and Eastern Washington rode 15-4 and 15-3 runs to wins.
Recently, teams have successfully defended the paint and forced the Hornets to work the perimeter more. They’ve been middle of the pack in terms of 3-point percentage, but 3-point shooting comes and goes.
In Greeley, the Hornets faced exactly this problem. In front of a raucous “Kid’s Day” crowd, Northern Colorado was able to lock down the paint, limiting them to just two baskets within the arc in the first 17 minutes.
The Bears forced the Hornets to try and beat them with the three, and despite a season-best 64% 3-point shooting performance, the Hornet offense couldn’t find a consistent rhythm.
Senior forward Jaydia Martin had an efficient 20 points, but Northern Colorado grabbed a big lead early from a 17-6 run and never let it go, winning 75-60.
In Saturday’s game, it happened again. Northern Arizona opened the game with a first-quarter explosion that left a reeling Sac State in a 24-4 hole. This scoring run included a rare 5-man substitution from Sac State head coach Aaron Kallhoff, who needed to do something to revive the team.
“I hadn’t had to do that this year,” Kallhoff said. “I’m under the understanding that if you don’t address things you see over and over, then that’s not coaching.”
The Hornets responded well with a 10-0 run of their own, but the Lumberjacks rattled off another backbreaking 21-4 run to end the half. This would be a crushing blow that even a strong second half could not overcome.
The real perimeter issues stem from the facilitation. As teams deny the Hornets in the paint, limiting layups and early shot clock opportunities, they’ve been forced to hold the ball longer.
For a team with only a handful of players that can comfortably handle and run the offense, this results in an abundance of turnovers. Sac State is ranked second in turnovers in the conference, averaging a staggering 16.9 a game.
The absence of redshirt freshman guard Sofia Alonso leaves nearly all the playmaking responsibility for redshirt junior guard Benthe Versteeg.
Versteeg is one of, if not the best passers in the conference, but she can’t do it alone. Her 123 assists make her the conference leader, and her 6.8 per game average ranks as the fourth highest in the NCAA.
Points off of turnovers are momentum swingers, and Sac State has given them up en masse. They’ve allowed 19.7 a game over the last seven games.
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The Hornets desperately needed a win from this trip to escape the bottom of the conference. Having come up empty-handed, every game going forward will be crucial with the Big Sky tournament looming on March 8. Sac State has only won one of their last seven games, a brutal tailspin they need to right at home.
The lowest four seeds in the conference play an extra round in the tournament in Boise, something Kallhoff said they need to avoid.
“It’s huge. It’s absolutely huge,” Kallhoff said. “The most pivotal series of games is this Thursday and Saturday.”
If the season ended today, the Hornets would face Northern Colorado in the first round, with the winner of that game advancing to play Northern Arizona.
How we currently sit
Women’s ️ https://t.co/DZJmG9uOS3 pic.twitter.com/iMIBr0yALe
— Big Sky Conference (@BigSkyConf) February 18, 2025
The unsuccessful road trip sets up a dramatic homestand for the Hornets this week versus Weber State and Idaho State.
Weber State started off their season rocky but have bounced back, with big wins over Montana and Eastern Washington under their belt. They’re ranked fourth in the conference.
A win over them would break a valuable tiebreaker from their prior loss in Ogden and a major boost in the standings for Sac State.
Idaho State is tied with Sac State for eighth place after last week’s action, but Sac State owns the tiebreaker. The Bengals have proven to be plucky despite their record, taking down both Idaho and Montana.
“It’s two teams that I feel like we match up well against, so these next two games are pivotal,” Kallhoff said. “I’m just going to take it one game at a time. We’ve got to get consistent.”
The Hornets have an opportunity to right the ship when they welcome Weber State to The Nest on Thursday at 6:30 p.m.
