Nevada women’s basketball player, Dom Phillips, engages with two Cal Poly players during a game on Dec. 28, 2019. The team’s most recent game against San Diego State University, Phillips led the team in rebounds, with seven.
Nevada women’s basketball survived a thriller, earning a 70-69 victory over the San Diego State Aztecs on Saturday, Jan. 18.
The Wolf Pack gathered 16 offensive rebounds on the game, with the biggest one coming late in the contest.
Down 69-68 in the final seconds, Nevada’s Da’Ja Hamilton cleaned up a Imani Lacy miss, giving the Pack a second chance. Hamilton then hit the game-winning layup—arguably the sophomore’s biggest bucket of her career—with three seconds left.
Saturday’s nail-biter victory pushes Nevada to 9-9 with a 2-5 conference record this season.
Nevada shot 40 percent from the floor, including 42.1 percent from deep on the afternoon. The eight three-pointers made are tied for the second-most this season.
The Wolf Pack had two double-digit shooters on the night. Marguerite Effa led Nevada with 17 points on 6-9 shooting from the field. Effa is now averaging 18.8 points on 68.9 percent shooting, hauling in 6.5 rebounds per game in her last four games. Essence Booker added 14 points on 5-15 shooting.
SDSU shot 50.0 percent from the floor. Taylor Kalmer led the Aztecs with 19 points on 7-19 shooting. Sophia Ramos added 16 points with team-high eight rebounds.
The Aztecs were unable to close it out on top, especially on the defensive glass. Nevada out rebounded the Aztecs 42-35, including 16-7 on the offensive glass. SDSU also surrendered 15 second-chance points.
SDSU’s Zayn Dornstauder put the Aztecs up 8-4 after a layup with 5:13 remaining in the first quarter. The Wolf Pack missed eight of its first ten shots.
The Pack jumped ahead 17-16 with 49 seconds left in the quarter after a layup from Nia Alexander, their first lead of the game. Sophia Ramos’ layup gave the Aztecs a 18-17 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Nevada went on a 10-3 run in the first 3:50 of the ensuing quarter—making five of its first seven shots—giving the Pack a 27-22 lead. The Wolf Pack extended its advantage to 36-27 after a three-point basket from Booker, its biggest lead of the first half.
Nevada led at halftime 36-32. The Pack shot 44.1 percent and 27.3 percent from deep. SDSU shot 44.8 percent from the floor and 50.0 percent from beyond the arc.
The Pack earned a 45-36 advantage with 5:53 remaining in the third quarter after an Alexander layup. The Aztecs cut the lead to 53-52, after a steal-and-score from Ramos at the buzzer.
A layup from Kalmer gave the Aztecs a 54-53 lead with 8:44 left. The two conference foes traded the lead for the remainder of the contest.
Booker’s three-point basket gave Nevada a 68-67 lead with 2:58 remaining. The Aztecs were unable to complete the comeback after being down by as many as 12 points in the second half.
The Wolf Pack begin a two-game road trip, starting Wednesday with a trip to take on in-state rival UNLV. Tip off will be at 6 p.m.
Matt Hanifan can be reached at rfreeberg@sagebrush.unr.edu and on Twitter @SagebrushSports.
