Nevada Women’s Basketball (3-2, 0-0) won 57-52 in a back-and-forth match against Alabama A&M (1-4, 0-0) on Friday, Nov. 21.
The tip-off went in the Bulldog’s direction as guard Coriah Beck missed a three-point attempt. Nevada failed to score on their following possession. Scoring opened when Wolf Pack forward Chloe Williams made good on a turnaround jumper in the paint. Alabama A&M was quick to even the score as guard Aniya Palmer made a layup just seconds later. Williams led the team in scoring with 12 points.
From there, the scoring continued for both teams before Nevada guard Skylar Durley made a jumpshot to give her team a 10-7 lead. The Pack held their small lead for the remainder of the first quarter as it ended with a score of 16-14.
Alabama A&M tied the game on its first possession of the second period as Palmer lost the Nevada defense for an easy layup. The Pack got their first points of the quarter off a layup from guard Ahrray Young. From there, the Nevada offense went cold, missing their next five shots and allowing the Bulldogs to take the lead 18-19. The Pack’s scoring drought ended, though, as forward Kendra Hicks made one of her free throw attempts to tie the score. Then on the next possession, Hicks shook the Alabama A&M defense for an uncontested layup, giving her her third straight point.
Though the Wolf Pack offense continued to struggle, their defense made up for it as they forced four turnovers in the next three minutes, highlighted by a steal-and-score from guard Gabby Ramos. Alabama A&M turned the ball over 22 times vs. Nevada.
“I thought our team did a really good job of playing together on the defensive end,” Head Coach Amanda Levens noted. “We really just tried to key in on their bigs. I thought both of their bigs are really good and they’re difficult to guard one on one as well.”
Alabama A&M brought themselves back into the game when guard Rakiyah Beal laced a three to put her team up 23-25. The first half ended with Ramos making a layup to even the score before the Bulldogs regained the lead off a Palmer free throw.
The second half kicked off with Alabama center Moses Davenport converting an and-one opportunity to give her team a four-point advantage. The momentum quickly swung in Nevada’s favor, though, when a steal from forward Makayla Carter led to Ramos sinking a free throw after being fouled.
The Wolf Pack’s hot streak continued as a 6-0 run followed, giving Nevada the lead 36-31. The Pack forced 5 turnovers on this run.
Nevada kept their two-score lead for the rest of the third quarter as it concluded with a score of 40-36.
The final period began as forward Tahj-Monet Bloom scored her first points of the night to extend the Pack’s lead. From there, the Nevada offense went cold, not scoring for nearly three minutes, until Durley made a free throw. The Pack’s next score came off a jumper from Williams to extend Nevada’s lead to 48-39.
“I was really connected to my guards today. I made sure that before I called for the ball, I was making eye contact with them,” Williams said. “I think just aggressively posting up and sealing [off the defender] was one of the ways I was most successful.”
A late 6-0 run from the Bulldogs brought the game within three points until back-to-back baskets from Hicks and Carter put the Pack back up by seven as the game clock slid below two minutes.
Despite the Wolf Pack’s lead, Alabama A&M would not go quietly as three trips to the line brought the score to 53-50 with just under 30 seconds to play. Lawlor Events Center erupted when Wolf Pack guard Izzy Sullivan fought through contact to score a layup and draw a foul. She then made her subsequent free throw attempt to put Nevada up 56-50.
After another foul and an intense final possession, Nevada forced a turnover, and time expired to cement the victory.
The Wolf Pack’s next challenge will come at home on Nov. 24 against Utah Valley University (5-1, 0-0).
