The Nevada women’s basketball team took on Morgan State on Sunday, two days after a rough 66-62 loss to Weber State. This one ended in a win for the Pack, taking down the Bears 66-56.
The starting five was a bit different, as Audrey Roden and Rakiyah Jackson got the starting nod. It started fast for Nevada, as Roden scored in the paint in the first few seconds of the game.
Morgan State responded, but Roden quickly drove back into the paint for her second basket of the game to make it 4-2 early on. Nevada continued to be aggressive in the paint, finishing with eight points from the inside in the first quarter.
The Pack finished the first 10 minutes of the game up 14-7, with Roden leading the team with four points. She would finish the game with eight points and three rebounds after fouling out in the fourth quarter. Nevada guard Rakiyah Jackson and forward Lexie Givens also got into foul trouble in the end with four fouls each, something head coach Amanda Levens continues to be frustrated with.
“I think we have to adjust sooner than game to the way the game’s being officiated,” Levens said. “But we talk about it all the time. We have to keep practicing it. But I hate stopping the clock and giving away free points. I hate when teams score, when the clock stop, and so I need to continue to drill that in our players head, that’s the way that we want to play, so get them to buy into that. We’re going to keep working on them.”
The second quarter continued to be a blunder for Nevada, as the Pack was outscored 23-16. Nevada only shot 31.3 percent from the field in the second quarter, but both teams traded fouls and free throws which allowed Nevada to slowly crawl back.
Jackson scored in the paint within the final seconds to bring the score to an even 30-30 at halftime. Jackson finished the first half with four points and two rebounds, as guard Victoria Davis led the first half for Nevada with seven points.
Nevada couldn’t score until three minutes into the second half, but the Pack only allowed the Bears to lead by as much as four points. Nevada was also held silent from beyond the arc in the first half, but Davis broke the cold spell with a second chance three pointer to make it 44-43 Nevada with two minutes in the third quarter.
Both teams traded shots as Nevada pulled away with a 48-44 lead, and with 16 seconds left, Davis hit her second three of the night to give Nevada a 51-44 lead into the final 10 minutes.
The fourth quarter was quiet for both sides, as a combined four points were scored in the first seven minutes of the game. Nevada was able to break the silence at the three-minute mark, with Givens hitting two free throws. Givens finished the day with 10 points, all of them coming from the free-throw line.
Most of Nevada’s points in the last quarter came from free throws, including six from Davis. She would finish with a career-high 23 points, shooting 7-15 from the field and 8-9 from the free throw line.
Fouling continued through the final minute, but Nevada was able to close it out for a 10-point win. After falling to the Wildcats, Davis said the Pack came out aggressive in this one.
“I feel like Friday was definitely a game that we should have won,” Davis said. “I feel like we came out even hungry to win this game, and we just wanted to focus on what we can control and focus on what we need to do to execute this win.”
Nevada gets back to .500 with a 3-3 record. The Pack’s next challenge will come this weekend as they’ll host the Nugget Classic Tournament at Lawlor Events Center. Nevada’s first game will come on Friday, Nov. 29 against Central Michigan.
Dominic Gutierrez can be reached via email at dominicgutierrez@unr.edu or via X @d_m_g_16
