SACRAMENTO—The Sacramento State Hornets used 19 3-point field goals on Saturday to send the Idaho Vandals packing, 92-84. The Vandals outshot the home team 46.2 percent to 39.8 percent on the day, there just ended up being no answer for the Hornet's long-range shooters.
Sacramento State (11-13, 9-4) jumped out to its largest lead of the game following an 11-0 run. Idaho trailed by 22 with 5:08 left in the game. A Christina Salvatore 3-pointer put an end to the Hornet run, trigging a 14-4 Idaho swing. Stacey Barr hit two three's down the stretch to close gap to 88-79 with 1:32 to play. The Vandals climbed all the way back cutting the lead to single digits. Geraldine McCorkell's layin with 10 seconds remaing closed the scoring, leaving the Vandals on the short side of the eight-point deficit.
“We talked in the locker room after the game about how this could have easily turned into a 40-point game,” head coach Jon Newlee acknowledged. “I loved our heart and the grit that we showed. We turned around and really got after them over that last stretch. I am really proud of my team to be able to do that on the road. We will build off this when we get back next week.”
Barr led Idaho offensively. She finished 10-of-17 shooting with five 3-pointers for a game-high 28 points. Saturday marked her 16th game of the season with 20 or more points. Karlee Wilson, making her second consecutive start, totaled a career-high 14 points. She added six assists and four rebounds. Ali Forde led the team with a game-high 13 rebounds. She added nine points and four assists to her day. McCorkell led the bench scoring with 10 points.
The Hornets 19 3-pointers were the second highest total in the NCAA this season. Sacramento State has hit the mark twice this season and owns the NCAA's top mark of 20. In two games this season Sac. State has hit 37 shots from behind the arc against the Vandals, averaging 18.5 per game. The Hornets led the NCAA with 12.1 3-point field goals per game at the start of Saturday. Hallie Gennett led Sac. State with five three's on the day, totaling all 15 of her points from long range. Gretchen Harrigan hit 4-of-7 from three, finishing with 20 points. Fantasia Hilliard was 4-of-5 from thee, leading the Hornets with 22 points.
“If we were just able to hold them to their average of 12 this game is over,” Newlee pointed out. “They had kids who were hitting 17 percent on the season come out and shoot 4-of-7 and another girl hit 50 percent today. We needed to contest a little better."
Idaho (10-13, 4-8) controlled the lead for two brief moments in the first half. The Hornets broke a 40-40 tie with a Hilliard three seconds before the first half buzzer. The Silver and Gold matched Sac. State early in the second half, cutting the lead to one at 47-46 less than a minute into the half. Four straight misses by the Hornets gave Idaho a chance at the lead. Wilson drilled her second 3-pointer of the half to boost Idaho to the 49-47 advantage. McCorkell hit a three of her own the next time down the court to go up by five with 17:12 left to play.
Sacramento State answered with a 10-0 run over the next 1:26, gaining the 59-52 lead. With the momentum in favor of the Hornets they would go on to outscore the Vandals 33-10 over a span of 10:26.
“We took some rushed shots over that run,” Newlee said. “We kind of played into their hand. I was disappointed that we got away from our game plan after we got up by five. The game really flipped quickly on us and cannot allow that to happen against a team that plays this style.”
Idaho returns home on for a crucial two-game homestand against Northern Arizona and Southern Utah. Idaho will take on the Lumbjacks on Thursday, Feb. 19. They will matchup against Southern Utah two days later on the 21st. It will be the only time Idaho plays either team this season.
Notes
Idaho has now hit a 3-pointer in its last 221 games…the team falls to 6-8 when wearing black this season…Idaho is 0-10 when trailing at halftime…Barr moved into fifth all-time in program history with 341 career free throws made.
