Photo courtesy of Nevada Athletics. Amaya West gained 13 points for Nevada.

Nevada was unable to keep its three quarter lead against the Lady Rebels on Jan. 22 at home, losing 78-75.

In the first quarter, UNLV tied with Nevada twice and had a one point lead at 8-7 and 10-9. Lexie Givens started the game off with a layup and Da’Ja Hamilton had the first 3-pointer. Desi-Rae Young gained most of UNLV’s points in the first quarter with 10 of the 19 points belonging to her. The score was tied at 19-19 after the first 10 minutes. 

Nevada did not let the Lady Rebels get a lead in the second or third quarter. Nia Alexander led Nevada in points in the second quarter, adding eight to the scoreboard. Sisters Alyssa and Kylie Jimenez totaled three steals in the second quarter. The largest lead the Wolf Pack had was eight throughout the first, and the quarter ended 41-37.

An even larger lead by Nevada was achieved in the third quarter. The women were up by 12 points and the smallest lead was by five points. The Jimenez sisters totaled 10 points of the 20 points scored in the third quarter. Natalie Lathrop was subbed in and added five points for Nevada. By the end of the third had the Wolf Pack up by five at 61-56.

The fourth quarter is where UNLV made an unexpected comeback. Nevada only got four points in the first five minutes of the quarter from Hamilton with an in-the-paint jumper and from Givens with a layup. Lady Rebel Kiara Jackson gained five points in 41 seconds to gain a three point lead, and Nneka Obiazor had six points in the last five minutes of the quarter. Nevada only put points on the board from two of Hamilton’s free throws and a layup and 3-pointer by Amaya West which happened in the last two minutes. 

With 21 seconds left of the game, Nevada was down 76-72. There was still hope for Nevada, but a foul by Kylie Jimenez led UNLV to gain two more points from free throws. Behind by six with 10 seconds left, West sank a 3-pointer. However, Nevada was unable to gain another three to tie the game. 

UNLV won 78-75. 

Kylie Jimenez and West were the lead point scorers of the game with 13 each. Alexander was right behind with 12. Nevada was consistent with making 55.6 percent of their 3-pointers and was 1.3 percent better than UNLV in field goals at 45.9 percent. UNLV’s Young had 19 points in her 21 minutes of play time. Free throws were a key component of UNLV’s success, making 16 of 18. 

Nevada women’s basketball is now 4-1 in conference play and 12-5 overall. Their next game is scheduled for Jan. 24 at Air Force who is 4-3 in conference.