SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Despite holding their opponent to just 24 points in the second half, a rough first quarter kept the SUU women's basketball team from staying perfect in the Golden State as they dropped their fourth straight Big Sky matchup 81-69 to Sacramento State.

“It was really the first quarter that got us. If we would have been able to weather the storm a little bit better with the way we played the next three quarters we could have had a great comeback,” head coach Chris Boettcher said.

The Hornets got off to a fast start dropping 34 points in just the first quarter. They cooled off slightly in the second quarter, but were still able to reach halftime with 57 points compared to just 34 for the Thunderbirds.

The Thunderbirds came out strong in the second half as they were able to outscore the Hornets in both quarters. A 10-2 run allowed the T-Birds to cut the Hornet lead to just 11 late in the game, but they were never able to fully recover from their slow start. The win was just the first one in conference play for the Hornets.

Despite the loss, two Thunderbirds were able to post double-doubles Thursday night. Sophomore Darri Frandsen led all scorers with 19 points while grabbing 10 rebounds. Junior Whitney Johnson led all rebounders with 14 and also put up 10 points of her own. Senior Jessica Richardson finished with 18 points and seven rebounds.

“Their [Frandsen and Richardson] play gives the team and the coaching staff some players to rely on. It was also good to see Whitney step up in the rebound category,” Boettcher said of the trio. “It was nice to have her 14 boards along with the consistency on offense.”

The Lady T-Birds will be back in action Saturday afternoon as they take on the Portland State Vikings in Portland.