SACRAMENTO — Let the (conference) games begin! The Sacramento State women’s basketball team rides a three-game winning streak into the Rose City this weekend, taking on Portland State at 2 p.m. on New Year’s Eve to officially tip-off Big Sky Conference play.
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.
DEAN DOMINATES, EARNS BIG SKY HONORS: Senior guard Kahlaijah Dean has been named the Big Sky Conference Player of the Week for the second time this season following a career game in the green and gold at Cal State Fullerton to close out non-conference play. The Bakersfield, Calif., native tallied her fourth 20-point performance of the season in the Hornets’ 67-55 victory over Cal State Fullerton, finishing with a game-high 28 points on nine baskets and a perfect 8-for-8 from the line — the latter tied for 10th on the school’s Division I single-game free throw percentage list. Read the complete release at HornetSports.com.
WHAT IS THE JOUEUR DE LA SEMAINE?: It’s the player of the week. That’s sounds good, we’ll have that. Thanks to Dean’s award, a Hornet has been named Big Sky Player of the Week four times in the last six weeks (Isnelle Natabou took home honors on Nov. 29 and Dec. 13, while Dean won her first on Nov. 22) — the most in the league this season while matching the team’s total from last year and marking the most since the 2013-14 squad had five players of the week.
ABOUT THE VIKINGS: Portland State enters the start of Big Sky play with a 5-5 overall record, matching its entire win total from all of 2021-22 (5-24 overall)… The Vikings posted an 83-45 win over NAIA member Evergreen State College on Dec. 20 in their non-conference finale to snap a three-game losing streak… Portland State also has wins over Fresno State, Utah Valley, Seattle U, and Warner Pacific… The Vikings are 4-2 at home, winning three of their last four… Sophomore guard Esmeralda Morales leads the team in scoring at 15.5 ppg, shooting .446 from the field and .468 from three-point range… Senior guard Jada Lewis is also in double figures, averaging 13.6 ppg to go with 4.4 rpg, shooting .429 from the floor and .410 from beyond the arc.
SERIES NOTES: Portland State leads the all-time series with Sacramento State by a 33-21 count; however, the Hornets swept the regular season series from the Vikings last season by the scores of 70-58 in Portland and 73-62 at home to snap a three-game series skid… Prior to those two wins, Portland State had won eight of the previous 10 meetings… The Hornets are 10-17 on the road against the Vikings, winning two of their last three trips to the Rose City… Sacramento State won five straight in the series from 2014-16, part of a larger run that saw the Hornets win 10 of 11 beginning in 2012.
3… 2… 1… HAPPY NEW YEAR!: Saturday marks the ninth time — and the first since the 2016-17 season — that the Hornets will play a game on New Year’s Eve, the last two coming against Big Sky foes Weber State (W, 78-60) in 2011 and North Dakota (L, 94-71) in 2016… Sacramento State is 2-6 in its previous eight chances, posting its only other win against New Mexico State (W, 46-39) in 2004… Saturday will be the fourth time that the Hornets will be on the road for New Year’s Eve, playing at Saint Mary’s in 2005, at Louisville in 2006, and at North Dakota in 2016… Sacramento State has played on New Year’s Day only four times: 1976 vs. San Jose State (W, 82-55), 1988 at North Dakota State (L, 89-53), 1993 vs. Idaho (L, 64-59), and 2015 at Northern Arizona (L, 64-60).
FOR OPENERS… BIG SKY STYLE: Since joining the Big Sky Conference in 1996-97, the Hornets are a combined 7-19 in league openers… Saturday marks the third consecutive season that Sacramento State will begin its conferene schedule on the road, playing at Idaho (L, 97-73) and Montana (75-59) in the last two seasons… The Hornets have lost their last six conference openers, last winning at home against Portland State on Jan. 2, 2016 by a 132-91 score… The 132 points in that game were a school and Big Sky record… Sacramento State has opened conference play against Portland State six times, with the Vikings holding a 4-2 edge in those contests… The Hornets are just 3-10 when opening league play on the road, dropping their last six dating back to a 69-65 win at Montana State on Dec. 20, 2012.
NINE TIMES? NINE 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. That kind of start bodes well for the Hornets, who won 18 games during that 2013-14 campaign — which rank tied for the third-most in a single season in school history.
START ME UP: Despite having its six-game winning streak snapped with a loss at San Diego State, the Hornets are still off to its second-best start in the program’s Division I history with nine wins in their first 11 contests, trailing only the 10-1 start — one that eventually ballooned into an 11-1 start — to open 2013-14.
MMMM… TURNOVERS: Apple? Cherry? Basketball flavored? We don’t know about that last one, but what we do know is that the Hornets did well to take care of the ball in the win at Cal State Fullerton, committing a season-low eight turnovers against the Titans. It was Sacramento State’s fewest miscues in a game since it had only seven at Weber State on Jan. 29 of last season and broke the previous season low of 13 set at Santa Clara back on Nov. 14 on the road.
MIND IF WE JOIN YOU?: Sacramento State may not only be challenging for a Big Sky title this season, but the Hornets may also be making a play for a Big West Conference crown as well if it were possible. The win at Cal State Fullerton improved Sacramento State to 6-1 against Big West schools, suffering its only loss on a buzzer beater to UC Irvine in the regular season opener.
ONE IS THE LONLIEST NUMBER: But 60 is the winningest number for the Hornets. Thanks to its 63 points at CSUN and 67 more at Cal State Fullerton, Sacramento State improved to 9-0 when scoring 60-or-more points.
DIZZYING DEAN: After doing a little bit of everything (16 points, seven rebounds, six assists) in a win at CSUN to kick-off the team’s Southern California trip, senior Kahlaijah Dean put on her scoring shoes and lit up Titan Gym to the tune of 28 points in the Hornets’ victory over Cal State Fullerton. The 28 points were the most in Dean’s Hornet career, besting the back-to-back 27-point performances against Santa Clara and UC Santa Barbara earlier in the year, while she scored the most points by a Sacramento State player since last year’s conference MVP Lianna Tillman scored 35 at Idaho on Feb. 24 last season.
20-20-20-20 VISION: Dean’s 28 points against the Titans marked her team-best fourth 20-point performance of the season and the 15th of the collegiate career overall when you include her eleven 20-point games in her four years at Oakland University.
LINE ‘EM UP… KNOCK ‘EM DOWN: A good part of Dean’s 28-point outburst came from the line against the Titans, where she finished the day a perfect 8-for-8 from the stripe in the win. The performance is tied for the 10th best single-game showing from the line by an individual in Sacramento State’s Division I history alongside 21 other such performances. The single-game record is held by Shelby Boudreaux, who was a flawless 14-of-14 from the line against Shippensburg on Jan. 5, 1996.
HERE’S A QUARTER: Of Dean’s 28 points against the Titans, 10 (of the Hornets’ 17 total points in the period) came in the fourth quarter alone, marking the fifth time that the senior has posted double-digit points in a single quarter this season — including a 14-point third period at Santa Clara.
17 AND COUNTING: Natabou’s 15 points at Cal State Fullerton gave her double-digit points in her last 17 consecutive games dating back to last season, averaging 16.9 ppg (287 total) in that stretch while shooting .692 (119-for-172) from the field.
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 six games and her seventh of the season overall — ranking eighth in the NCAA in that category as of Dec. 27. 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.
DEEP THOUGHTS: By Katie Peneueta. The Hornet sharpshooter — whose 14 makes from distance over her last three games are more than in her previous seven games combined (13) — had only three-pointers on her mind in Sacramento State’s win at CSUN on Monday, draining 6-of-11 from distance in the Hornets’ two-point win. The six makes (overall and from distance) were both season high’s, while the six three’s tied Peneueta’s career high set at Northern Arizona on Feb. 3, 2022. The six makes from distance are also tied for the third-most in a single-game by a Big Sky player this year as Peneueta is one of only six players to hit at least six in a game.
THREE IS MORE THAN TWO: Trust us… Peneueta has certainly done the math. In 32 career games with the Hornets, the Vancouver, Wash., native has made a living from long distance, sinking 87 of her 92 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 game, her last 20 consecutive makes have all been from three-point range.
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 season in the green and gold. Entering the week with 445 boards to her name, Natabou stands 125 rebounds shy of the all-time top-10 list (Linda Simmons is 10th with 570 from 1977-81) and only 84 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 58.3 ppg allowed, the Hornets have also done work on the defensive glass, holding opponents to a league-best 29.7 rebounds per game. The 27 rebounds by Cal State Fullerton on Dec. 21 are the third fewest surrendered by Sacramento State this season (25 allowed to Cal Poly and Fresno State are the fewest), while the total against the Titans marked the eighth time in 11 games that the Hornets have allowed fewer than 30 rebounds in a game this season.
OFF AND RUNNING: Through 11 games, Sacramento State has put opponents in a hole quickly, shooting 50 percent (74-for-148) from the field in the first quarter and 46 percent (66-for-144) in the second en route to halftime advantages in nine of its 11 contests. The Hornets are shooting a combined .479 from the field in the first half compared to “just” .431 after the break.
“HARNESS. ENERGY. BLOCK. BAD.”: Sophomore Katie Peneueta is feeling the flow at the defensive end of the court, swatting a career high-tying three blocks in the win over Cal Poly on Nov. 25 and blocking at least one shots in all but two games this season. Her lone block at CSUN brought her season total to 16 — just five shy of her 22-game total of 21 blocks last year — while she enters the week second in the Big Sky behind teammate Isnelle Natabou in both blocks and blocks per game (1.45).
THE THEME FROM SWAT: The paint has not been a pleasant place to be for opposing shooters as of late as the Hornets have collected 37 of their 50 total blocks on the year in their last seven contests, averaging 5.29 blocks per game as a team in that stretch. Sacramento State leads the Big Sky in both blocks and blocks per game and ranks No. 43 in the nation in the latter.
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 nine performances in the green and gold, the Bakersfield, Calif., native has brought her total up to 1,631 career points, ranking No. 29 among active scorers across the country as of Dec. 27 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.
MINUTE WOMEN: There haven’t been many players in the Big Sky — let alone the entire country — who have seen more time on the court to start the year than the Hornets’ Kahlaijah Dean (35.92 mpg), Isnelle Natabou (35.57 mpg), and Katie Peneueta (35.57 mpg). The trio ranks second, third, and fifth, respectively, in the league in minutes entering the week and have combined to go the distance in regulation a total of seven times this season. Peneueta has done the most work, playing 40 minutes against Santa Clara, UTEP, and Cal State Fullerton, while also playing all 45 minutes in an overtime win against UC Santa Barbara. Dean and Natabou also played 43 minutes against the Gauchos, while Natabou went all 40 minutes in a win over UTEP.
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 ranks among the top 30 in the nation in three of the four major rebounding categories: rebounds per game (17th), offensive rebounds per game (25th), and total rebounds (26th).
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 rebounds. Nationally, the 20-rebound performance is tied for the 12th-highest in the NCAA for a single-game — and the most of any Big Sky player — as of Dec. 27, and stands as one of only twenty-one 20-rebound games in the NCAA entering the week.
THIS IS PERFECT! PERFECT, PERFECT, PERFECT!: They say that nobody’s perfect, but junior Isnelle Natabou was just that against Fresno State on Dec. 3, finishing 7-of-7 from the field and 2-of-2 from the free throw line en route to sharing team-high honors with 16 points in the win. The shooting performance is the best of the season by a Hornet, surpassing teammate Kahlaijah Dean’s 5-for-5 showing against UTEP on Nov. 26, and is the best single-game showing in the program’s Division I history, besting Margaret Huntington’s 6-for-6 from the floor against Montana on Feb. 16, 2017.
MIND THE GAP: The 22-point margin of victory over Causeway rival UC Davis on Nov. 22 marked the largest against an NCAA Division I opponent in head coach Mark Campbell’s tenure at the helm of the Sacramento State program and was the largest since a 23-point win over Sonoma State on Nov. 16 of last year.
