Photo by Rachel Jackson. Da’Ja Hamilton shot a team high of 20 points.
The Nevada women’s basketball team lost a close game to Saint Mary’s on Nov. 10, with a final score of 66-61. Nevada showed promise in their first game, but a poor fourth quarter ended their possible upset.
It was a standout performance from senior guard Da’Ja Hamilton. She dropped a team high 20 points on an effective 8-17 shooting from the field. Hamilton added a modest four rebounds and one assist to her explosive scoring debut. Senior guard Nia Alexander was second in scoring with 10 points and she led the team with six rebounds. The rest of the starters had good games as well, with senior forward Megan Ormiston finishing with eight points and two rebounds. Senior guard Amaya West ended the game with seven points and two rebounds, and senior guard Kylie Jimenez finished with five points and a team high four assists. Nevada had some scoring off the bench with freshman guard Audrey Roden shooting six points and sophomore guard Alyssa Jimenez shooting five points.
Nevada started the game off slow, shooting 35 percent from the field in the first quarter and 22 percent from the three point line. However, their tough defensive pressure kept the score close as they went down 21-18 at the end of the first. The Wolf Pack would come back strong in the second quarter as they shot 38 percent on field goals and an impressive 40 percent from three. This skillful scoring paired with great defense allowed them to outscore Saint Mary’s 20-12 in the second quarter. Nevada would take a 38-33 lead into halftime.
The Wolf Pack came out after halftime and picked up where they left off ,shooting 41 percent from the field and continuing to make Saint Mary’s work for their buckets. Although Nevada was creating turnovers and holding Saint Mary’s to zero threes for the second quarter straight, they let the Gaels hang around by giving them 12 free throws. Nevada collapsed in the fourth quarter as they shot 2-16 on field goals. This was only made worse as they were unable to consistently stop Saint Mary’s offense on the other end of the floor. The Wolf Pack was out scored 17-6 in the fourth quarter. Nevada let the game slip away within the last minutes of the fourth quarter, and they lost 66-61.
Photo by Rachel Jackson. Amaya West gained seven points for Nevada and also had two rebounds.
Nevada looked good for stretches throughout the game. They were extremely efficient from the free throw line and had an impressive eight steals. They were able to create an immense 21 turnovers while being careful with the ball themselves, only forfeiting eight turnovers. They were successful moving the ball as they finished with 13 assists.
Overall, an unfortunate outcome overshadowed a solid performance from the Nevada women’s basketball team. However, the Wolf Pack will look to build off their challenging first game when they play Santa Clara on the road on Nov. 14.
Anthony Miranda can be reached at kelseymiddleton@sagebrush.unr.edu or on Twitter @NevadaSagebrush