SACRAMENTO — Winners of five straight and off to a 2-0 start in Big Sky Conference play for only the third time in school history, the Sacramento State women’s basketball team closes out a brief two-game homestand on Saturday (Jan. 7) at 2 p.m., welcoming Eastern Washington to The Nest.
IN THE RANKINGS: For the first time since late in the 2013-14 campaign, Sacramento State stands among the top 25 in College Insider’s Mid-Major poll (https://collegeinsider.com/womens-mid-major-top-25), making its season debut at No. 24 after earning votes over the past five weeks — including a season-high 30 votes on Dec. 27. The Hornets have faced, or will face, four teams listed in this week’s poll this season in No. 19 UC Irvine, Eastern Washington, UC Santa Barbara, and Montana State — the latter three all among those receiving votes. During that 2013-14 season, the Hornets were ranked in the top 25 for eight consecutive weeks following an 8-1 start, reaching as high as No. 13 in early January.
NATABOU ON MID-MAJOR AWARD WATCH LIST: One season after showing she’s one of the best in the West, junior post Isnelle Natabou is garnering national attention heading into the 2022-23 campaign, named as one of 25 players to the watch list for the 2023 Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Award presented by Her Hoop Stats on Oct. 19. The first Big Sky Conference student-athlete ever to be named to the list for this particular award, Natabou is joined by 24 of her peers on the initial watch list and is only one of four from the West Coast named to the list along with Gonzaga’s Brynna Maxwell, Portland’s Alex Fowler, and San Francisco’s Ioanna Kimili. For more details, 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.
WHAT IS THE “JOUEUR DE LA SEMAINE?”: It’s the player of the week. That’s sounds good, we’ll have that. Thanks to Kahlaijah Dean’s award on Dec. 27, a Hornet has now been named Big Sky Player of the Week four times in the last seven weeks (Isnelle Natabou took home honors on Nov. 29 and Dec. 13, while Dean won her first on Nov. 22) — the most of any school in the league this season. The four awards matches the team’s total from all of last year and marks the most since the 2013-14 squad had five players of the week.
ABOUT THE EAGLES: Eastern Washington enters with an 8-5 overall record and a 1-2 mark in Big Sky play after defeating Portland State, 65-56, on the road to pick up its first league win of the year… The win over the Vikings was only the Eagles’ second in their last five games, snapping a two-game skid following conference-opening losses against Montana and Montana State… EWU is 3-2 on the road, but has won two of its last three away from home with the only loss coming against nationally ranked Oregon before the holidays… Sophomore Jaydia Martin leads a trio of players in double figures, averaging 14.1 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 2.3 apg, and 1.8 spg, while shooting .391 from the floor… Junior guard Jacinta Buckley leads the team on the glass at 7.7 rpg while averaging 11.5 ppg and graduate guard Jamie Loera is the third Eagle in double figures at 10.5 ppg.
SERIES NOTES: Eastern Washington leads the all-time series with Sacramento State by a 36-22 count, but the Hornets swept the regular season series from the Eagles in 2021-22 and have won five of the last eight meetings… Sacramento State is 10-19 against EWU at home, winning two of the last three at the Nest following a 59-49 victory last year… Saturday marks the fifth time in the last six meetings that the two teams will play in Sacramento… The 22 wins against EWU are tied for the most against any current Big Sky member after the Hornets claimed their 22nd win in the series against Portland State to open league play.
OH, YES, THEY CALL IT A STREAK: Thursday’s win over Idaho extended Sacramento State’s winning streak to five games overall, giving the Hornets two winning streaks of at least five games in the same season for the first time since the 2014-15 campaign when the Hornets had runs of seven straight wins (Jan. 3-17) and five consecutive victories (Feb. 21-March 11).
STREAKY STATS: Over the course of their last five victories, the Hornets are averaging 66.6 ppg and 36.0 rpg, shooting .446 from the floor. At the other end of the court, the Sacramento State defense has clamped down, allowing just 54.8 ppg and 26.8 rpg while holding opponents to .388 shooting from the floor — including a 29 percent clip from beyond the arc.
HOME, SWEET HOME: Sacramento State made its first home game in nearly a month a celebratory affair winning its fourth straight at The Nest and improving to 4-1 on its home court this season. The four-game winning streak is its longest since winning four straight in late January and early February last year. A win on Saturday against Eastern Washington and Sacramento State will have its first five-game home winning streak since the end of the 2014-15 season, which included a WNIT second-round victory over the Eagles as the fifth victory in that stretch.
ROAD WARRIORS: The win at Portland State last week improved the Hornets to 7-1 in games played away from the friendly confines of The Nest and 5-1 in true road games this season. The five road wins are just two shy of last year’s total (7-7), which were the most since the 2015-16 team also won seven games away from home.
NOT IF, BUT WIN: Sacramento State earned its 11th triumph of the season with its victory against Idaho, moving to within three wins of last year’s overall total. The 11 wins in their first 13 games ties the best start in school history, matching the 2013-14 squad which also opened 11-2.
TWO AND OH MY!: Our apologies to the 2013-14 Hornet squad, which was left out of our last note when it came to 2-0 starts in Big Sky play. Thursday’s win over the Vandals gave Sacramento State its THIRD 2-0 start since joining the Big Sky Conference, joining that year’s Hornets and the 2011-12 team. Sacramento State has never started 3-0 in Big Sky play.
NINE TIMES? NIIIIINE TIMES.: Wake up and smell the coffee, Hornet fans, it’s already a record-setting season and we’re only halfway done. Sacramento State clinched its ninth non-conference victory of the season 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.
GETTING BUCKETS: The 71 points in the win over Idaho marked the second-highest total for the Hornets this season — trailing the 73 scored in a win at Santa Clara in the second game of the campaign on Nov. 14 — and only the fourth time that Sacramento State has scored 70-or-more points in a game this year.
ONE IS THE LONLIEST NUMBER: But 60 is the winningest number for the Hornets. Thanks to its 71 points in the win Thursday, Sacramento State improved to 11-0 this season when scoring 60-or-more points and 4-0 when topping the 70-point plateau.
IN GOOD HANDS: The Hornets gobbled up nearly every wayward carom on Thursday against Idaho, finishing with a season-high 47 rebounds against the Vandals. It was the fifth time this year that Sacramento State has grabbed at least 40 rebounds in a game while the 47 boards are the most since collecting 49 at Eastern Washington on Feb. 1, 2020. At the other end, the Hornets limited Idaho to only 21 rebounds in the game — the fewest by a Sacramento State opponent in the program’s Division I era.
HIT ME!: After scoring only eight points in the first quarter against Idaho, the Hornets kept hitting and came up winners in the final three periods against the Vandals, scoring 21 points in each of those quarters. The 21-point third quarter was their highest-scoring third period of the season, while the 21-point fourth quarter matched their output in the win over UC Davis before Thanksgiving. Coming off its highest-scoring second quarter with 24 points at Portland State, Sacramento State shined in the middle two periods on Thursday night, hitting 17-of-28 (.607) before “cooling off” in the fourth to the tune of “only” 46 percent in the fourth.
THE PENEUETA IS MIGHTIER: One of four players in double figures against Idaho, sophomore Katie Peneueta collected her third double-double of the year in the process, adding a career-high 11 rebounds against the Vandals, 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 shots against San Francisco State on Feb. 21, 1983.
WAIT… WAS THAT A TWO-POINTER?: No… it was THREE two-pointers. Peneueta, who has made a living from beyond the arc in her 34 career games as a Hornet (more on that in a minute), was a force inside for her team against Idaho making three of her four baskets from closer than her usual 22 feet after entering the game having made just five two-point baskets in her career.
THREE IS MORE THAN TWO: Trust us… Peneueta has certainly done the math. In 34 career games with the Hornets, the Vancouver, Wash., native has made a living from long distance, sinking 91 of her 99 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. Entering this week’s games, her last 23 consecutive makes have all been from three-point range until she scored in the paint two minutes into the first quarter against the Vandals.
THIS GIRL IS ON FIRE: Kahlaijah Dean was off doing Kahlaijah Dean things on Thursday against Idaho, notching her fifth 20-point performance of the year with her 26-point outburst in the win over the Vandals. Draining double-digit baskets for the third time this season, Dean has reached double figures in each of her last four games since being held to a season-low nine points against CSU Bakersfield, averaging 22.3 ppg, 5.8 rpg, and 4.3 apg, while shooting 41 percent from the floor and 89 percent from the line during that stretch.
HERE’S A QUARTER: Of Dean’s 26 points against the Vandals, 12 of those came in the second quarter alone, marking the seventh time that the senior has posted double-digit points in a single quarter this season — trailing only a 14-point third period at Santa Clara. Three of her seven double-digit quarters have come in the first period.
THAT’S OFFENSIVE: And we mean that in a good way. Of Isnelle Natabou’s seven rebounds in the win over Idaho, five of those came on the offensive glass, upping her Big Sky-leading total to 53 offensive rebounds for the year (Idaho State’s Laura Bello is second with 35). It marked the seventh time in 13 games that Natabou has grabbed at least five offensive rebounds in a game and the fifth time she has had more offensive rebounds that defensive rebounds in a contest.
19 AND COUNTING: And the beat goes on. Natabou’s 14 points against Idaho gave her double-digit points in her last 19 games dating back to last season, averaging 15.8 ppg (301 total) in that stretch while shooting .677 (132-for-195) from the field.
1-2 PUNCH: Dean (19.3 ppg) and Natabou (16.8 ppg) are one of only two teammate tandems to rank among the top 10 in the Big Sky in scoring, joining Weber State’s Daryn Hickock (17.6 ppg) and Jadyn Matthews (13.7 ppg).
FOUR!: One of the most consistent and reliable shot-makers in the nation, Natabou entered this week’s contests ranked No. 4 in the NCAA in field goal percentage, shooting .667 on the season to trail only Ohio State’s Taylor Thierry (.712), Indiana’s Mackenzie Holmes (.682), and Liberty’s Mya Berkman (.680).
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 13 performances in the green and gold, the Bakersfield, Calif., native has brought her total up to 1,676 career points, ranking No. 26 among active scorers across the country as of Jan. 6 and posting a total that would rank third on Sacramento State’s all-time scoring list, passing Maranne Johnson’s 1,627 points from 2014-18 and trailing Heidi Carroll’s second-place total of 1,733 from 1982-86.
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 15-point, 10-rebound effort in the win over Cal State Fullerton, Natabou collected her fifth double-double in her last seven games and her seventh of the season overall — ranking No. 14 in the NCAA in that category as of Jan. 3. In her seven double-double performances this year, the native of the Czech Republic is averaging 17.4 ppg, 13.3 rpg, and shooting 51-for-72 (.708) from the floor.
NO SLEEP TILL…: No rest for the weary in the Hornets’ win at Portland State as Natabou became the latest to go all 40 minutes in a game this season — her third game this year playing all 40 minutes (or more) when you include the 43-minute performance in overtime against UC Santa Barbara and her 40 minutes against UTEP. It is the eighth time a Sacramento State player has played every minute, joining Benthe Versteeg’s 40-minute performance at Cal State Fullerton and Peneueta’s four games of 40 minutes or more (at Santa Clara, vs. UC Santa Barbara, vs. UTEP, 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 (36.1 mpg), Peneueta (35.9 mpg), and Dean (35.8). The trio ranks second, third, and fifth, respectively, in the league in minutes and entered the week ranked among the top 40 in the nation at 22nd, 31st, and 32nd, respectively.
BOXING OUT AND CLOSING IN: Following a year in which she grabbed the fourth-most rebounds in a single Hornet season, Natabou has her sights set on both the school’s all-time and Division I top-10 lists for career rebounds during her second year in the green and gold. Entering the week with 460 boards to her name, Natabou stands 110 shy of the all-time top-10 (Linda Simmons is 10th with 570 from 1977-81) and only 69 back of the Division I list (Emily Christensen is 10th with 529 from 2007-12).
BLOCKING IT OUT: Boasting the Big Sky Conference’s second-best scoring defense at 57.9 ppg allowed, the Hornets have also done work on the glass, holding opponents to a league-best 29.0 rebounds per game. The 21 rebounds by Idaho on Jan. 5 marked the 10th time in 13 games — and the fifth straight — that the Hornets have allowed fewer than 30 rebounds in a game this season.
PASSING THE CRASH TEST: Another 14 rebounds in the win over CSU Bakersfield (Dec. 10) is nothing new for Natabou, who owns four of the top seven single-game rebounding performances in the Big Sky this season, along with her 20 against UC Irvine (more on that in a minute) and 14 more against both UC Davis and UTEP. Natabou entered the week ranked among the top 50 in the nation in three of the four major rebounding categories: rebounds per game (18th), offensive rebounds per game (14th), and total rebounds (45th).
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 14th-highest in the NCAA for a single-game — and the most of any Big Sky player — as of Jan. 3, and stands as one of only twenty-six 20-rebound games in the NCAA entering the week.
