RENO, Nev. - The season came to an end for the Thunderbird women's basketball team on Monday night in the first round of the Big Sky Conference Tournament, as Sacramento State was able to top SUU 102-89 in the Reno Events Center.

The game was very up-tempo and fast paced, as the Hornets attempted 96 field goals and the T-Birds put up 71 shots.

“Tonight Sacramento State deserved that win,” SUU head coach Chris Boettcher said. “They out worked us, not that we didn't work because I think the girls played really well and worked really hard, but when you play them you've got to be able to play the three-point shot or you've got to get offensive rebounds, and tonight they out worked us in both of those categories.”

The Thunderbirds came out and matched the speed of the Hornets, which led to a successful first quarter as they led 23-18 after the first 10 minutes. Boettcher said they thought they would have success running a more up-tempo style.

“We've had success when we've been able to break their press and get high-percentage shots at the basket, so mid-way through the third quarter we were very successful doing that,” he said.

In the second quarter the Thunderbirds were leading by four with just under seven minutes to go, when the Hornets went on 8-0 run, which turned into a 14-2 run which swung the momentum into the favor of the Hornets.

CSUS had a 53-46 advantage over SUU going into the halftime break.

The Hornets kept rolling in the third quarter building their lead to as many as 19. However, the Thunderbirds kept fighting and used an 8-0 run to close out the third period and only trailed by 11 going into the fourth quarter.  

Unfortunately for SUU, 11 would be the closest they would get for the remainder of the contest as the Hornets continued to knock down shots and eventually took the contest 102-89.

Sacramento State was able to pull in 30 offensive rebounds, which Jessica Richardson said makes them a difficult team to grab boards against.

“I think it's harder because they shoot so many outside balls,” she said. “So you're not really used to chasing the balls down, so I think the problem with our girls is we would come in and then the balls would go out so we would try to chase them down.”

Richardson led the T-Birds in scoring with 20 points, and had double-double numbers by pulling in 12 boards.

SUU senior Ashleigh Munns finished the game with 15 points, which all came from three-point baskets. Munns said the Hornets brought up their defensive intensity as the game progressed.   

“I feel like for the most part I was open when I had shots to take, but then as I started to hit one or two they narrowed that a lot, so you have to find other ways to score and sometimes that was pretty difficult for us,” she said.  

Hornet Maranne Johnson led all scorers with 31 points, hitting seven shots from behind the three-point line. Four players finished in double-digits for Sacramento State.

The Hornets were also able to take advantage of SUU's turnovers, as they had 31 points off SUU's 21 TOs.

Three freshman played significant minutes for the Thunderbirds on Monday, as Dari Frandsen finished with 14 points and seven rebounds, Breanu Reid had eight points and seven assists, and Tiarra McDonald played 22 minutes and dropped in six points. Fellow freshman Maren Herrud also saw eight minutes for SUU.

Despite the loss, Boettcher was very pleased with what the freshman were able to accomplish on Saturday and is very optimistic about his team moving forward.

“I'm really excited about our young kids, our freshman class, and the future of our program,” he said. “As tough as it is to take a loss in the first round of the tournament, I'm happy with the way that we finished and I'm excited for the future as we continue to build and keep the kids on the right track.”

Photo Courtesy of Skyline Photo - Brooks Nuanez