Weber State University’s women’s basketball team completed a winning return home from the road on Jan. 25, beating the University of California, Sacramento, at the Dee Events Center 68–52 two days after beating Portland State University 62–48 at the Dee on Jan. 23.
Weber State vs. Portland State
Against the Portland State Vikings, the Wildcats outperformed offensively in no small part thanks to Taylor Smith’s 20 points, the most of any player on the court. Weber State shot 40% from the field, 86% from the free-throw line and had a total of 45 rebounds to the Vikings’ 25.
“I think we are a bit of a wildcard in the Big Sky, and people are starting to notice that,” head coach Jenteal Jackson said. “It’s a little scary to play us. No matter what’s going on around us in the Big Sky, we just keep getting better every single day as a group.”
Portland State kept up with the Wildcats on points in the first half but struggled to match them in the second half as Weber State pulled away on a 13-point scoring run in the third quarter. The Vikings’ Alaya Fitzgerald and Lana Wenger scored 11 points each, but it was not enough to keep Portland State’s record from falling to 4–11 overall and 1–5 in the conference.
Weber State vs. Sacramento State
Against Sacramento State, it was Kendra Parra who led the Wildcats with a dominant, career-high 30-point performance. Para made four out of her five 3-point attempts, shot 64% from the field and made all eight of her free throws.
Antoinette Emma-Nnopu recorded her seventh double-double of the season, finishing the game with 17 points and 15 rebounds. Emma-Nnopu’s dominance in the paint gave Weber the platform to control the flow of the game and ensure victory.
Sacramento State was able to match the 40 points the Wildcats scored in the second half, but that was not enough to offset their poor first half, in which they scored only 12 points to the Wildcats’ 28.
Benthe Versteeg was Sacramento State’s top performer in this game, scoring 11 points and notching three assists on the back of two rebounds. This, however, was overshadowed by the underwhelming nature of the Hornet’s shooting, only managing 30.4% from the field and 20% on 3-pointers. Vesrsteeg was also the player who was the most loose with the ball, tallying seven of the 16 turnovers committed by the Hornets.
After this result, Sacramento State’s record is now 10–10 overall and 3–4 in the Big Sky conference. They currently sit in fifth place in the conference. As for the Wildcats, their 7–10 overall and 4–3 conference record sets them in fourth place in the Big Sky.
With two straight wins, Weber State is set to take on a four-game road trip, with the first game against the University of Idaho on Jan. 30. The Wildcats will then play Eastern Washington University on Feb. 1, Northern Arizona University on Feb. 3, Idaho State University on Feb. 8 and will be back at the Dee Events Center on Feb. 13 against Montana State University.