Coming off back-to-back defeats for the first time this season, the Sacramento State women’s basketball team looks to bounce back with two more on the road this week, heading to the Pacific Northwest to take on Eastern Washington on Thursday (Feb. 2), before taking on Idaho two days later on Saturday (Feb. 4).
IN THE RANKINGS: After two weeks ranked among the top 25 in the College Insider mid-Major poll, Sacramento State slipped back into the ranks of those receiving votes for the third consecutive week, picking up 16 votes… The Hornets made their debut in the top 25 back on Jan. 3 at No. 24, then jumped two spots to No. 22 in the Jan. 10 ranking… Those two rankings followed five consecutive weeks among those receiving votes beginning on Dec. 1… The No. 22 ranking on Jan. 10 was the highest for the program in the poll since they stood No. 22 on Feb. 11, 2014 — a season that saw them among the top 25 for eight consecutive weeks following an 8-1 start that year, reaching as high as No. 13 in early January.
NATABOU MAKES MID-MAJOR AWARD MIDSEASON CUT: Initially named as one of 25 players to the preseason watch list for the 2023 Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Award presented by Her Hoop Stats back on Oct. 19, junior center Isnelle Natabou got word that she has made the midseason top-15 cut on Jan. 18. The first Big Sky Conference student-athlete ever to be named to the list for this particular award, Natabou is one of only four from the West Coast named to the list along with Gonzaga’s duo of Brynna Maxwell and Yvonne Ejim as well as Portland’s Alex Fowler. Read the complete release on HornetSports.com.
NATABOU NAMED TO BIG SKY’S PRESEASON TEAM: In addition to her national honor, Natabou was also named to the seven-member preseason all-conference team, joining Montana State’s Darian White (who was selected the MVP), Idaho’s Beyonce Bea, Montana’s Carmen Gfeller, Northern Colorado’s Hannah Simental, Montana State’s Kola Bad Bear, and Weber State’s Daryn Hickock. The native of the Czech Republic became only the third Hornet to earn preseason all-league honors in the process, joining former standouts Kennedy Nicholas (2019-20) and Brianna Burgos (2016-17).
BUT WAIT… THERE’S MORE!: The accolades continued to roll in for Natabou, who was also named the Big Sky’s Preseason Player of the Year according to ESPN.com, which made its picks for all 32 Division I conferences on Oct. 25.
ABOUT THE EAGLES: Eastern Washington enters the week with a 13-7 overall record and a 6-4 mark in Big Sky Conference play, standing a half game behind Sacramento State in the standings… The Eagles had won five straight after their earlier loss to the Hornets before falling at Weber State last Saturday, 68-65… EWU is 8-3 at home this season having won its last three at Reese Court… Sophomore forward Jaydia Martin leads four Eagles in double figures, averaging 16.1 points and 5.1 rebounds per game, shooting 42 percent from the field… Jacinta Buckley, who is averaging 11.1 ppg (second on the team) leads the squad at 7.3 rpg and is shooting a team-high .485 from the floor… Aaliyah Alexander (10.9 ppg) and Jamie Loera (10.3 ppg) are also in double figures, with Lowera averaging 4.65 apg.
SERIES NOTES: The Eagles lead the all-time series with the Hornets, 36-23, but Sacramento State has won the last three meetings following an 82-76 victory at The Nest earlier this year… The Hornets are 10-15 all-time in Cheney, Wash., winning their last three trips to Reese Court following a 67-58 victory last year… Head Coach Mark Campbell is a perfect 3-0 against EWU in his career with Sacramento State… In a closely contested series, nine of the last 10 meetings between the two programs — including the last three straight — have been decided by 10 points or fewer… The 23 victories over the Eagles are the most by the Hornets against any current Big Sky member, breaking a tie after defeating Portland State for the 22nd time to start league play.
MILESTONE APPROACHING: Sacramento State needs only seven more victories to reach 300 in its Division I history.
NOT IF, BUT WIN: Everything else is gravy in the win column for Sacramento State, which earned its 15th victory of the season against Weber State on Jan. 21, already surpassing last season’s win total with nine regular season games remaining. It is the most wins in a single season since the 2014-15 squad won 18 games, and stands just four wins away from the school record of 19 wins shared by the 1990-91 (19-7) and 2012-13 (19-12) teams.
SHOOTER!: Someone get a hand in the face of the Hornets. Sacramento State enters the weekend as one of the most efficient shooting teams in the Big Sky, leading the league in both field goal (.459) and three-point (.373) percentage, while ranking third in free throw (.772) percentage. The Hornets lead second-place Eastern Washington by 33 points in the field goal category, has a 23-point lead in three-point shooting over Portland State, and stands behind Northern Colorado (.791) and Montana State (.784) the line.
NOTHING BUT NET: In addition to the above rankings, the Hornets also stand among the top 30 in the NCAA in all three shooting categories, ranking 15th in three-point, 26th in field goal, and 28th in free throw percentage as of Jan. 30.
SAFE AT HOME: The Hornets are starting to make winning at home a habit as their victory over Weber State improved them to 7-1 at The Nest this season — including a seven-game winning streak. It is the longest home winning streak since Sacramento State opened the 2013-14 campaign with an 8-0 record en route to an 11-1 start overall, while the seven home wins are the most since the 2014-15 squad finished 11-3 within the friendly confines.
ROAD WARRIORS: The win at Northern Colorado on Jan. 12 was the Hornets’ sixth win in true road contests this season, standing just one shy of last year’s total (7-7) which were the most since the 2015-16 team also won seven games away from The Nest. The six road wins are tied with Montana State for second in the Big Sky (as of Jan. 30), trailing only Northern Arizona (7-5) for the most in the league following last week’s games.
AMUSAN’S ALL IN: Nearly everything that Solape Aumsan threw in the direction of the basket last week went in as the senior continued to light up the stat sheet since joining the starting lineup. Amusan averaged 18.5 ppg — including a collegiate best 19 points at Montana (previous high was 15 against Northwestern while at Illinois) — and drained 12-of-20 (.600) from beyond the arc in two games last week, averaging 6.0 rebounds per game to boot. Her eight rebounds at Montana State were also a collegiate best for the Minnesota native, besting the six she grabbed against Wisconsin in 2021.
FIRE STARTER: In her four starts, Amusan is averaging 14.0 points and 5.0 rebounds per game, adding four steals and four blocked shots while shooting 39 percent from the floor (17-for-44) overall. Of those 17 makes, 15 of those have come from beyond the arc as Amusan is shooting .405 from three-point range as a member of the starting lineup.
DEEP SIX: Katie Peneueta did it at CSUN, Kahlaijah Dean accomplished the feat against Weber State, but Amusan did them both one better by doing it in back-to-back games last week. Amusan sank six three-pointers in each of the contests against the Montana schools — tying her for fourth on the Big Sky’s single-game list this season and making her one of only two players in the league (along with Northern Arizona’s Emily Rodabaugh) to sink at least six in a single game twice this year.
TOP GUN: Thanks to her big week in Montana, senior Kahlaijah Dean moved into the top spot on the Big Sky Conference’s scoring list, averaging 21.9 ppg and ranking No. 8 in the nation. Her 437 points stand No. 12 overall in the NCAA and are closing in on the school’s single-season lists: putting her just 67 shy of Terri Lugert (1990-91) for 10th on the school’s all-time single-season list and 25 behind Kylie Kuhns (2010-11) on the Division I chart.
THREE’S FALLING: Just two days after tying a season high with 13 three-pointers at Montana, the Hornets went ahead and stayed hot from beyond the arc at Montana State, sinking 12 more from distance and shooting 40 percent from three-point range for the third consecutive contest. It was the fourth time in the last six games that Sacramento State has hit 10-or-more three’s in a game — after doing so just three times previously — shooting .429 (63-for-147) from long distance in that stretch.
TRIPLE THREAT: Of those 12 makes against Montana State, four different players combined to make seven of those in the first quarter against the Bobcats — the most made three’s in a single quarter by the Hornets this season, surpassing the six made against Montana, Northern Colorado, and Cal Poly. Of those seven, four came off the hand of the hot-shooting Amusan, setting a new individual single-quarter best by a Sacramento State player this year.
GIMMIE FIVE!: One of the steadiest shot-makers in the nation continues to rank among the top five in the country in an ever-changing national ranking for field goal percentage as Natabou enters the week at No. 5 in the NCAA. Natabou’s .644 from the field trails only Liberty’s Mya Berkman (.706), Indiana’s Mackenzie Holmes (.684), Iowa’s Monika Czinano (.664), and Kansas’ Taiyanna Jackson (.648).
BOXING OUT AND CLOSING IN: Following a year in which she grabbed the fourth-most rebounds in a single Hornet season, Natabou has crashed her way into the Sacramento State record book with her seven rebounds at Montana State, surpassing Emily Christensen for 10th on the school’s Division I career list with 534. Natabou trails Maranne Johnson (2014-18) by one for ninth and Summer Menke (2018-22) by two for eighth on the list, while 12 boards separate her from Atty Boyer (2005-09) in seventh. Overall, Natabou ranks 36 shy of the all-time top 10, where Linda Simmons (1977-81) stands 10th with 570.
NO SUCH THING AS A FREE LUNCH: But there are such things as free points, and senior Kahlaijah Dean is taking full advantage. Ranking third in the Big Sky with 104 makes from the line and eighth with an .825 free throw percentage, Dean finished a perfect 7-for-7 at the line against Idaho State on Jan. 19 (her third “perfect” game with at least six attempts this year), and has moved to within eight makes of the school’s all-time single-season top 10 list (Shelby Boudreaux is 10th with 112 made in 1995-96) and only two away from the program’s Division I top 10 (Julie Wastell with 106 made in 1998-99).
BUILDING BLOCKS: Thanks to her block at Montana, Isnelle Natabou has held on to eighth place on the school’s all-time blocked shots list with 61, swatting 36 last season and adding 25 more this year. Her total passed Hannah Friend (2017-19) for the spot and trails Sephora Scoubes (1999-01) by six for seventh. Natabou isn’t the only one climbing the list as sophomore Katie Peneueta and her 50 career blocks — 29 of those this season — are just six shy of Atty Boyer (2005-09) and her 56 blocks for 10th.
SHE’S A WALKING BUCKET: It’s truly a sight to see. Dean’s 28 points at Montana State on Saturday marked her 11th game overall — and her seventh in the last eight outings — with at least 20 points this year, while her 31 points against both Eastern Washington (Jan. 7) and Weber State (Jan. 21) were the most by a Hornet since Lianna Tillman finished with 35 at Idaho on Feb. 24 last season en route to Big Sky MVP honors.
THIS GIRL IS ON FIRE: Kahlaijah Dean is still out there doing Kahlaijah Dean things, notching her 11th straight double-digit scoring performance with her 28-point night at Montana State after being held to a season-low nine points against CSU Bakersfield on Dec. 10. In that stretch, Dean has been a machine, averaging 25.0 ppg, 4.5 rpg, and 4.2 apg, while shooting .464 (90-for-194) from the floor — including a run shooting .541 (20-for-37) from beyond the arc in the last five games after hitting just eight in the six games prior to that — and .882 (67-for-76) from the line during that stretch.
QUARTER MASTER: Give Kahlaijah Dean 10 minutes and she’s going to do some damage. Give her four of those and watch out. The senior from Bakersfield, Calif., scored 12 points in the third quarter on Saturday at Montana State, her 16th double-digit quarter this season out of 21 by a Hornet this year (Natabou has done it three times, Kaylin Randhawa did so against Montana, and Amusan scored 12 in the first against Montana State). All told, Dean has accomplished the feat seven times in the third, four times in the first, three times in the fourth, and twice in the second.
THE DEAN OF SCORING: Dean brings with her a pedigree of knowing where the basket is, reaching the 1,000 career point milestone as only a junior at Oakland University and finishing her four years with the Golden Grizzlies with 1,425 points. Following her first 20 games in the green and gold, the Bakersfield, Calif., native has brought her total up to 1,862 career points, ranking No. 22 among active scorers across the country as of Jan. 30 and posting a total that would rank second on Sacramento State’s all-time scoring list, trailing only the 2,064 points by Kristy Ryan from 1990-94.
AND I’M REEEEEE…. RE-BOUNDING: With 10 rebounds at Montana on Jan. 26, Natabou posted her 11th double-digit rebounding performance of the season and her second straight after grabbing 18 as part of a double-double in a win over Weber State. Of her 10 rebounds against the Grizzlies, five came on the offensive glass — the eighth time this year that she has had as many, if not more, offensive rebounds than defensive rebounds. That included nine offensive boards against the Wildcats — tied for the second-most in her career and the most since she had 10 offensive rebounds as part of a career-high 22-rebound night at Portland State on Jan. 15.
NO SLEEP TILL…: Foot on the pedal for the Hornets as Natabou and Dean became the latest players to go all 40 minutes in a game this season at Montana. It is the third time that two Sacramento State players have played all 40 minutes in a regulation game and the first since Benthe Versteeg and Katie Peneueta did so against Cal State Fullerton on Dec. 21. For Natabou, it was her team-high fifth 40-minute performance of the year — and her second straight — while Dean posted her second, joining Katie Peneueta’s four games, and Benthe Versteeg’s game-long performance at Cal State Fullerton.
MINUTE WOMEN: Speaking of minutes, there haven’t been many players in the Big Sky — let alone the entire country — who have seen more time on the court this year than the Hornets’ Natabou (36.5 mpg), Peneueta (35.8 mpg), and Dean (35.4 mpg). The trio ranks second, third, and fifth, respectively, in the league in minutes and entered the week ranked among the top 60 in the nation at 22nd, 31st, and 43rd, respectively.
DOUBLE-DOUBLE DARLING: Natabou is one of 22 players in the NCAA averaging a double-double (as of Jan. 30), but one of only nine to average at least 15.0 points and 10.3 rebounds entering the weekend along with DePaul’s Aneesah Morrow (25.0 ppg-11.9 rpg), LSU’s Angel Reese (23.7 ppg-15.5 rpg), Virginia Tech’s Elizabeth Kitley (17.9 ppg-11.0 rpg), Youngstown State’s Lilly Ritz (17.2 ppg-10.7 rpg), South Florida’s Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu (16.7 ppg-12.5 rpg), and BYU’s Lauren Gustin (15.6 ppg-16.5 rpg), Northern Illinois’ A’Jah Davis (15.2 ppg-11.3 rpg), and Kansas’ Taiyanna Jackson (15.2 ppg-12.6 rpg).
I DOUBLE DOUBLE-DOUBLE DARE YOU: Keep on eye on your box scores. If Isnelle Natabou has a double-double, you may be in trouble. Thanks to her 17-point, 18-rebound effort in the win over Weber State, Natabou collected her 10th of the season overall — ranking No. 25 in the NCAA in that category as of Jan. 23. In her 10 double-double performances this year, the native of the Czech Republic is averaging 16.8 ppg, 13.6 rpg, and shooting 70-for-104 (.673) from the floor.
PUTTING THE “KAY” IN 1K: A picture is worth 1,000 words, but senior guard Kaylin Randhawa is now worth more than a 1,000 points in her career following her performance in the win over Eastern Washington on Jan. 7. The Turlock, Calif., native finished with 17 points, pushing her past the 1,000-point plateau in her collegiate career, which includes 524 points in three years at Pacific, 345 points last year at Utah State, and 189 points this season with the Hornets.
THREE IS MORE THAN TWO: Trust us… Katie Peneueta has certainly done the math. In 37 career games with the Hornets, the Vancouver, Wash., native has made a living from long distance, sinking 97 of her 105 career field goals from behind the three-point line. At the media timeout of the second quarter on Nov. 22 against UC Davis, Peneueta’s previous 30 makes from the field had all been three-pointers until she posted up and found room inside for a lay-up at the four-minute mark of the period — her first two-point basket since scoring inside at Northern Arizona with 21 seconds left in a 76-62 victory on Feb. 3 last year — and she finished with a career-high three (out of four makes) two-pointers against Idaho on Jan. 5 as part of her third double-double this season.
THE PENEUETA IS MIGHTIER: One of four players in double figures against Idaho, sophomore Katie Peneueta collected her third double-double of the year, adding a career-high 11 rebounds, while hitting a perfect 4-of-4 from the floor. However, her most impressive performance may have been at the defensive end, where she finished with a career-high seven blocks — six of those against the conference’s leading scorer Beyonce Bea. The seven blocks are tied for third on the school’s single-game list and were the most since Kennedy Nicholas had seven at Weber State on Feb. 20, 2019. The record is held by Heidi Carroll, who swatted 10 against San Francisco State on Feb. 21, 1983.
NINE TIMES? NIIIIINE TIMES.: Wake up and smell the coffee, Hornet fans, it’s already a record-setting season. Sacramento State clinched its ninth non-conference victory of the year on Dec. 21 at Cal State Fullerton, breaking a tie with the 2013-14 squad (8-2 in non-conference games) for the most in the history of the program. Of the Hornets’ 11 non-conference opponents, seven finished with winning records and were a combined 64-50 (.561) in non-conference play. That kind of start bodes well for the Hornets, who won 18 games in 2013-14 — ranking tied for the third on the school’s single-season list.
BLOCKING IT OUT: Boasting the Big Sky’s second-best scoring defense at 59.2 ppg allowed, the Hornets have also done work on the glass, holding opponents to a league-best 28.5 rebounds per game. Sacramento State allowed only 21 rebounds to Idaho on Jan. 5, which stood as the fewest allowed by the Hornets in their Division I history for exactly a week until they gave up only 19 rebounds to Northern Colorado on Jan. 12. In the game at Montana, the Grizzlies wwere held to just 28 rebounds, marking the 15th time in 20 games that Sacramento State has allowed fewer than 30 rebounds in a game this season.
PASSING THE CRASH TEST: Another double-digit rebounding perfomance for Isnelle Natabou is nothing new for the junior, who owns six of the top 11 single-game rebounding performances in the Big Sky this season. Natabou, whose 18 rebounds against Weber State are the second-most in the league this year (see below), enters the week ranked among the top 25 in the nation in three of the four major rebounding categories: offensive rebounds (9th), rebounds per game (20th), and total rebounds (23rd).
ARE YOU BOARD?: Natabou clearly wasn’t in the Hornets’ opener against UC Irvine, as her 20 rebounds were the most since she had 22 against Idaho in an overtime win on Jan. 22 last year and was her third career game with 20-or-more. Nationally, the 20-rebound performance is tied for the 20th-highest in the NCAA for a single-game — and the most of any Big Sky player — as of Jan. 30, and stands as one of forty one 20-rebound games in the NCAA.
MIND THE GAP: The 32-point win over Northern Colorado on Jan. 12 marked the largest margin of victory in head coach Mark Campbell’s tenure, besting the 22-point win over UC Davis earlier this year. It was the program’s biggest win since a 59-point drubbing of NAIA member Pacific Union on Dec. 19, 2019, and the largest against a Division I foe since sinking Northern Arizona by the same margin in a 111-79 win over the Lumberjacks on March 4, 2016. Thus far, nine of Sacramento State’s 15 wins have been by double digits, while the 26-point win over Weber State on Jan. 21 marked the team’s fifth of 20-or-more points.
