Nevada women’s basketball (7-13, 3-7) suffered a close 62-57 loss against rival UNLV (14-6, 9-1) on Saturday, Jan. 24.
The scoring started quickly as Rebel guard Destiny Leo laced a three just seconds after tip-off. Nevada quickly evened the score when forward Makayla Carter sunk a three of her own on the following possession.
From there, both teams took turns trading baskets until a UNLV foul prompted the first timeout of the game. Coming out of the break, Nevada took their first lead of the afternoon when guard Skylar Durley nailed a mid-range jumper to make the score 13-12.
The scoring only accelerated from there, as each team went on hot streaks of their own. Then, as the first quarter came to a close, UNLV’s Aaliyah Alexander hit an 8-foot runner as the buzzer sounded to knot the score at 21 points.
The Pack opened up the second quarter with a score with guard Britain Backus shaking the defense for an easy layup.
Though the scoring continued, neither team was able to build a lead of more than a few points.
Then, with just over a minute left in the first half, Backus drilled a three to put Nevada up 30-28.
From there, both teams scored a basket before a layup from Rebel forward Meadow Roland tied the match at 32 going into the half.
Nevada’s offense began to falter and their defense continued to struggle, allowing for a 10-2 UNLV run before Wolf Pack Head Coach Amanda Levens called a timeout.
Not much changed after the timeout, though, as Roland netted a turn-around jumper on the first possession following the stoppage.
From there, the Pack began to come back, going on a 6-point run to bring the score to 40-44.
Then, with 1:38 left in the third quarter, Nevada guard Izzy Sullivan sank a three to give the Pack their first lead of the second half, 46-45.
“I knew that they were probably going to start off going underneath on my screens,” Sullivan said in a postgame press conference. “Just to know that if an open shot is there, don’t even hesitate. My teammates got me the ball at the right time, so credit to them.”
The third quarter concluded after each team scored another basket, making the score 48-47.
The fourth and final quarter began with three straight baskets from UNLV, giving them a 5-point lead.
From there, the Rebels continued to pull away, extending their lead to 8 points.
The Pack was unable to fight back from there, with the game ending in a score of 62-57.
“I loved the way that we battled today,” Levens said. “We just went out and believed in ourselves. We were right there most of the way.”
The Wolf Pack’s next challenge will come in San Diego when they square off against the conference-leading San Diego State Aztecs (14-3, 8-0) on Jan. 31.
