The Weber State Wildcats hosted the Sacramento State Hornets on Jan. 11 for a Saturday afternoon women’s basketball matchup between interconference rivals. Despite a competitive first half, Weber couldn’t keep up as the Hornets pulled away during the second half, defeating the Wildcats 91-67.
Both teams came out of the gate firing as the first quarter was an offensive showcase. The Hornets won the quarter 26-20 thanks to a barrage of threes falling for them despite good defense from the ‘Cats.
Three-pointers were the name of the game for the first half, as Sac State let it fly under chants of “Let’s Make it Rain” from a passionate section of Hornet fans. Sacramento shot 8-19 from three for the first half.
Not to be outdone, freshman Guard Ula Chamberlain was an early spark for the Wildcats on offense, slashing to the paint and breaking down the defense. Chamberlain would finish with 10 points on the afternoon.
The first half of the game was a battle between opposing play styles; a quicker, three-point oriented offense from the Hornets versus a more traditional, swing the ball around until the best shot is created, style of offense for the Wildcats.
Sac State Senior Camariah King led all first half scorers with 15 points. She would finish the game leading all scorers with 23 points.
WSU’s top first half performance came from Freshman guard Daryn Hickok with 12 points on 5-6 shooting to go along with five rebounds off the bench. Weber went into the half down 57-48.
The third quarter is when things began to go south for Weber State. The back and forth game soon became one sided as the Wildcats only mustered 12 points throughout the quarter.
The baskets that the ‘Cats were able to make came at an inefficient rate as Weber shot 25% from the field during the third. WSU also had eight turnovers to pile onto their offensive woes.
“We tried to play the game like they play the game…we did not stay disciplined” Head Coach Velaida Harris said about her team’s performance in the second half.
The third quarter ended on a 14-2 run by the Hornets who led 80-60. The 20 point lead all but ensured that no amount of fourth quarter heroics would jeopardize their imminent victory.
The fourth quarter was a formality, as a total of 18 points were scored between both teams. Weber State now falls to 3-11 and 1-4 in conference play.
Weber showed the brilliance that this roster is capable of, but unfortunately, a bad third quarter sunk them.
The Wildcats next game is Thursday evening against middle of the pack team Idaho State. The ISU Bengals enter the game on a two-game skid and are only 2-8 on the road.
With a lot of basketball left this season, the Wildcats will look to get their groove back and begin to climb the ranks of the Big Sky as conference play wears on.
