Sacramento State had nine wins before the Hornets left the state of California this season.
Sac State has played a total of 20 games in the Golden State this season. The Hornets are 17-3 in their home state, including 6-1 in games played in California not at The Nest on the Sac State campus.
On Sunday evening, Sacramento State’s women’s basketball team learned its postseason fate in the first-ever NCAA Tournament for the program. And the Hornets will not have to leave their home state again.
The Big Sky Conference tournament champions drew a 13 seed. The Hornets will play fourth-seeded UCLA on Saturday (tip time TBD) at Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles.
Sac State enters its first NCAA Tournament on a nine-game winning streak, including a 76-63 beat down of fellow regular season co-champion Northern Arizona in the league title game.
The Hornets bring a 25-7 overall record into the matchup with UCLA. Kahlaijah Dean has led the charge all season for Sac, earning regular season and Big Sky Tournament MVP honors. The point guard is averaging 21.1 points, 5.1 assists and 5.8 rebounds per game in her first season at Sac after transferring from Oakland for her final season.
Sac also boasts a formidable talent in the frontcourt in the form of 6-foot-5 Isnelle Natabou. The native of the Czech Republic averaged nearly 16 points a gam on 64.2 percent shooting and grabbed 9.3 rebounds per game to lead the Big Sky.
UCLA is coming off a 65-61 loss to Washington State in the Pac 12 Tournament championship game. The Bruins are 25-9 overall, including 13-3 at Pauley Pavilion.
Charisma Osborne leads the Bruins by averaging 15.5 points and 5.6 rebounds per game.
Last season, Montana State represented the Big Sky Conference. The Bobcats drew No. 1 overall seed Stanford and lost 78-37 in Stanford, California. In 2021, Idaho State received a No. 13 seed and competed well in a 71-63 loss to fourth seeded Kentucky.
The last time a Big Sky women’s basketball team won a tournament game game in 1995 when the Montana Lady Griz beat San Diego State 57-46.
