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Weber State guard Aloma Solovi (22) rises for a shot against Sacramento State's Lianna Tillman (3) during a women's Big Sky basketball tournament first-round game Monday, March 7, 2022, at Idaho Central Arena in Boise, Idaho.

BROOKS NUANEZ, For the Big Sky Conference

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Weber State center Emma Torbert, left, dribbles against a Sacramento State defender during a women's Big Sky basketball tournament first-round game Monday, March 7, 2022, at Idaho Central Arena in Boise, Idaho.

BROOKS NUANEZ, For the Big Sky Conference

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Weber State forward Daryn Hickok (21) plays against Sacramento State during a women's Big Sky basketball tournament first-round game Monday, March 7, 2022, at Idaho Central Arena in Boise, Idaho.

BROOKS NUANEZ, For the Big Sky Conference

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Early on, it looked like Weber State women’s basketball might face its sixth consecutive Big Sky tournament loss Monday night in Boise, Idaho.

No. 7 seed Sacramento State made nine of its first 11 shots while the No. 10 Wildcats were on their heels defensively and couldn’t buy a bucket, to boot.

But Weber State stifled the Hornets for multiple stretches and a career night from senior guard Aloma Solovi had the Wildcats soaring in the second half. She scored 20 points and lifted WSU to a 74-64, first-round win at Idaho Central Arena for its first tournament win since 2017.

“It means everything. Tournament time is the best time of the year and I think this is what our team has been working toward,” Solovi said. “There’s no better feeling than to go out there and to have a game like that, especially with his team, just because I love this team so much.”

Solovi added six assists to her 20 points. Daryn Hickok scored 19 points and Emma Torbert hustled to 15 points and 12 rebounds. Kori Pentzer scored 15 points and Jadyn Matthews pulled down 13 rebounds.

It was the first tournament win for fourth-year coach Velaida Harris, who looked back to two losses on the road trip to Montana and Montana State that came by a combined four points, with one essentially at the buzzer.

“For us to understand that we can play on a stage like that, I think that built confidence in us,” she said. “The team stayed together.”

Newly announced league MVP Lianna Tillman hit a few early shots and had Sacramento State up 20-8 through the first seven minutes.

After a Jadyn Matthews bucket, Hickok stole the ball in the backcourt for two points. She made four free throws on either side of the quarter break to cap an 8-0 run to make it 20-16 before Tillman hit a jumper to break a 5-minute Sac State scoring drought.

The team mostly traded baskets from there and the Hornets took a 32-27 lead into halftime when Katie Peneueta hit her second big 3-pointer of the half.

Sacramento State was 14 of 25 from the field and made three 3-pointers, while Weber was a cold 10 of 35 with one 3-pointer. The only reason WSU remained afloat was a whopping 14 offensive rebounds for 17 second-chance points and Hickok’s 6-of-6 shooting from the foul line.

Despite glass domination, it seemed an unsustainable hope that those trends could carry Weber State to a win, especially after a Tillman three-point play and a Jazmin Carrasco 3 put the Hornets up 38-31 with 8:30 left in the third quarter.

But, after Pentzer nailed a 3, Solovi — she of 3.8 points per game this season — nailed consecutive triples to give WSU its first lead of the game at 42-40.

Tillman briefly put Sacramento State up 44-42, but that was the last time the Hornets would lead. Weber State held them without a field goal for the next 7 minutes, 10 seconds of game time.

Meanwhile, Solovi drove for a bucket and later hit another 3 to keep the run moving. Hickok scored at the rim to cap a 17-2 run and put the Wildcats up 59-46 with 5:15 left in the game.

Carrasco made a 3 to end the Hornets’ drought and make it 59-49, but Torbert answered with a deep make from behind the arc. Weber State shot 6 of 9 from the 3-point line in the second half.

“We were ready to play, honestly,” Hickok said. “We have great shooters and we just showed up tonight.”

The next two minutes were a parade of 14 combined free-throw attempts as Sacramento State implemented a full-court press and tried to extend the game by adding possessions.

But WSU shot 19 of 22 from the foul line and maintained its double-digit lead the rest of the way. The Wildcats finished a 3-0 mark against Sacramento State for the season.

Tillman led Sac State with 23 points but shot 0 of 7 from the 3-point line and 10 of 25 overall. Harris said WSU’s ball-screen defense was off to start the game but, after that, they succeeded in the game plan to make Tillman feel like she was moving into walls and being contested wherever she went.

Skilled Sacramento State post player Isnelle Natabou totaled 10 points and six rebounds on 5-of-6 shooting but was limited with early foul trouble.

“She’s good, she’s a big body, so make sure she feels smothered all night,” Harris said. “(Torbert) did a good job smothering her all night.”

Carrasco’s 3 to make it 59-49 was the Hornets’ only field goal between Tillman’s made jumper with 2:05 left in the third quarter and a putback of her own miss with 2:02 left in the fourth quarter. In other words, Sac State went 10 minutes of game time with just two field goals before Tillman’s late putback.

Sac State shot 10 of 27 in the second half, but four of those made field goals came in the final 2 minutes with the game all but put away.

Up next for Weber State (11-19): a quarterfinal matchup against No. 2 Montana State (19-12), which will tip at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday and stream on ESPN+. Weber State went 6-14 during the Big Sky regular season with wins over four teams; one of those came against Montana State.

“I think it will be a good, really competitive game,” Harris said. “It will probably be pretty physical, too.”