WALDRON GRAIN & FUEL

02/11 03:42 CST Picton and the Sacramento State Hornets host conference foe Northern Colorado Picton and the Sacramento State Hornets host conference foe Northern Colorado By The Associated Press Northern Colorado Bears (17-8, 8-4 Big Sky) at Sacramento State Hornets (11-13, 5-6 Big Sky) Sacramento, California; Thursday, 9:30 p.m. EST BOTTOM LINE: Tatum West and Northern Colorado take on Natalie Picton and Sacramento State in Big Sky action. The Hornets have gone 7-3 at home. Sacramento State ranks second in the Big Sky in team defense, giving up 60.1 points while holding opponents to 38.3% shooting. The Bears are 8-4 in Big Sky play. Northern Colorado is sixth in the Big Sky with 12.9 assists per game led by Gabi Fields averaging 3.8. Sacramento State is shooting 40.6% from the field this season, 0.9 percentage points higher than the 39.7% Northern Colorado allows to opponents. Northern Colorado averages 6.0 made 3-pointers per game this season, 0.6 more makes per game than Sacramento State allows. The Hornets and Bears meet Thursday for the first time in Big Sky play this season. TOP PERFORMERS: Keanna Salave'a is averaging 5.9 points and 5.5 rebounds for the Hornets. Rubi Gray is averaging 2.4 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games. Fields is averaging 6.8 points, 3.8 assists and 2.3 steals for the Bears. Heather Baymon is averaging 12.7 points over the last 10 games. LAST 10 GAMES: Hornets: 5-5, averaging 58.9 points, 33.1 rebounds, 10.5 assists, 8.8 steals and 2.3 blocks per game while shooting 38.5% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 60.5 points per game. Bears: 7-3, averaging 66.3 points, 32.0 rebounds, 11.3 assists, 9.8 steals and 2.8 blocks per game while shooting 39.6% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 59.6 points. ___ The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.