The Nevada women’s basketball team took the third-best team in the Mountain West in Wyoming on Saturday, Feb. 22 for its breast cancer awareness and senior night game. The Pack held a strong lead for the first three quarters, but a fourth-quarter collapse resulted in a close 45-42 loss.
Nevada put up the first points of the game rather quickly, with a three-pointer made by forward Imbie Jones within the first 30 seconds. It only took a few minutes for Wyoming to tie the game with its own deep shot.
Wyoming quickly took the lead, but a three-point shot from forward Olivia Poulivaati put Nevada on top 7-6 at the five-minute mark of the first quarter. Those would be the only points for Poulivaati, who took a fall in the second quarter and had to be helped up.
“Pretty sure she’s going to be done for the year, unfortunately,” head coach Amanda Levens said. “She’ll get an MRI on Monday, but we’re thinking that’s what’s happening.”
The end of the first quarter was a close 11-8 lead for Nevada, but the second quarter favored the Pack. After a dead scoring period for the first four minutes, Nevada finished the first half on a 15-8 drive to take a 26-16 lead into the half.
Jones and forward Lexie Givens lead the Pack in the first half with eight points each. The team shot 45.5 percent from the field and 66.7 percent from three. Wyoming could also muster five made shots from the field and only two from beyond the arc.
The second half began with Nevada’s defense on lockdown. Wyoming didn’t score its first point until the five-minute mark of the third quarter. Nevada’s offense also stalled a bit, only scoring six points until the two-minute mark of the third quarter.
Nevada carried a nine-point lead into the fourth quarter and quickly scored on a layup from Jones. She ended the night with 10 points on 4-8 shooting from the field. Nevada guard Victoria Davis hit her first three in the fourth quarter to extend Nevada’s lead to 12.
Wyoming turned it up late in the fourth quarter, going on a seven-minute, 14-0 run. During that time, the Cowgirls tied the game at 42-42. A three-pointer gave Wyoming a 45-42 lead with 48 seconds left.
With 10 seconds left and down by three, Davis took a shot beyond the arc to tie but missed. After a dominant three quarters, the Pack lost it in the fourth by only scoring five points.
“I think for us, the focus is remaining a good defensive team,” Levens said. “And I thought for three-quarters today we were a very good defensive team.”
Nevada held Wyoming to eight points in the first and second quarters, but the Pack was outscored 17-5 in the fourth quarter. In the aforementioned quarter, the Cowgirls shot 58.3 percent from the field, compared to the Wolf Pack’s 14.3 percent.
Nevada (11-18, 6-10) will stay home to face Colorado State on Wednesday, Feb. 26 at 6:30 p.m.
Dominic Gutierrez can be reached via email dominicgutierrez@unr.edu or via X @d_m_g_16
