Sacramento State closed their last game against Idaho State with seven scoreless minutes and it was deja vu as the offense failed to launch early on the road versus Montana, scoring their first field goal after six minutes of play.

However, the resilient Hornets clawed their way back, led by a record-setting triple double from redshirt junior guard Benthe Versteeg, the first in Sac State women’s history.

Versteeg finished Thursday night with 14 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists, finally notching the school’s first triple-double after missing it by one assist in the prior game against Idaho State.

“She’s becoming a leader,” Sac State head coach Aaron Kallhoff said. “She takes pride on both ends of the floor, with an extremely good work ethic.”

The Lady Griz and the Hornets traded blows in the second half, but Montana’s signature 3-point barrage was too much to handle as time expired and sunk Sac State 63-71.

HISTORY: With her 14-12-10 performance in a loss to Montana tonight, redshirt junior guard Benthe Versteeg (@VersteegBenthe) has recorded the first triple double in Sacramento State women’s history! pic.twitter.com/tkICtojpJZ

— Jack (@JackDannKF) February 28, 2025

The game got off to an inauspicious start, with the Hornets missing six consecutive threes to open the affair. They’d have to shoot effectively to take down Montana, who leads the Big Sky Conference in 3-point makes.

Kallhoff said Sac State was getting plenty of open looks from deep, but didn’t convert, making just four of their 23 attempts, with none in the second half.

The Lady Griz have an arsenal of 3-point weapons at their disposal, boasting five players shooting above 36% from deep in conference play. They made seven of their 18 attempts in the first half, a shooting display that kept them in the driver’s seat and up nine rolling into halftime.

For the second game straight Sac State was without senior forward Jaydia Martin, the team’s leading scorer. To make up for her absence the Hornets needed to get contributions up and down the roster.

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Senior forward Katie Peneueta and junior forward Fatoumata Jaiteh were excellent on both ends of the floor. The pair combined for 18 of Sac State’s 21 third quarter points, commanding a 13-4 run with scoring and tough interior defense that willed the Hornets ahead by two going into the final period.

Jaiteh’s 18 points is the most she’s scored since the Big Sky opener against Portland State, and she scored them at an impressive rate, needing only eight attempts to get there. She was a vector for contact down low, drawing five fouls and shooting 10 free throws.

By the fourth quarter, the well had run dry for the Sac State offense. The lead changed hands several times as Montana’s offense began to come back to life.

Montana began to push the pace against a Sac State group that had played nearly the entire game. They managed to get several paint touches in transition, building a lead while settling into their defense on the other end.

A three from the Lady Griz’s leading scorer, junior guard Mack Konig put the game out of reach and extended the Montana lead to eight with a minute and a half to go.

Outside of the trio of Peneueta, Jaiteh and the record-setting Versteeg, the rest of the Hornets had a disappointing outing. They combined for 15 total points.

This was another quiet night for sophomore guard Lina Falk, who hasn’t looked the same since missing a stretch of games due to illness in early February. At one point this year she averaged over 13 points a game, but she’s only managed 6.1 over her last seven games.

“She’s playing hard, there’s plenty in the gas tank,” Kallhoff said. “It was nice to see her attack the basket. She needs to find her driving opportunities a little bit more, so she’s not so reliant on just the perimeter shot.”

Thursday night’s loss continues a devastating streak for Sac State, who fall to 1-30 while playing in Dahlberg Arena, with the lone win coming in 2017.

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The first round of the tournament is all but guaranteed at this point, but the Hornets can still avoid the dreaded 9/10 game, a funnel to the undefeated buzzsaw of Montana State.

They’d have to win both Saturday’s matchup and their home finale against Portland State, and even then would be dependent on other results.

The Hornets face that same buzzsaw on Saturday afternoon when they take on Montana State in Bozeman at 1 p.m.