The Nevada women’s basketball team played UC Santa Barbara in Southern California on Thursday night. The teams battled through an overtime thriller, which went in favor of the Pack, as the team won 80-73.
It didn’t appear this game would favor the Pack after the first quarter. UC Santa Barbara outscored Nevada 20-8 and held the Wolf Pack to 15.4 percent from the field. Nevada also had issues with the personal fouls early on, racking up eight through the first ten minutes.
The second quarter was a complete turnaround for Nevada, who scored 24 points and shot 47 percent from the field and 50 percent from three. It also included a buzzer-beater layup from guard Audrey Roden, which gave her 1,000 career points.
Head coach Amanda Levens credited Roden for the long-lasting impact she’s had on the program and how much of a competitor she is.
” I feel like she’s really helped elevate our team since she’s been here,” Levens said. “We bring recruits in, and they’re like, gosh, I love how number 4 plays, she definitely stands out. So, not just the fans, not just our program, but her legacy. If we’re getting recruits that are influenced by the way we have a current player playing, that impact is long-lasting.”
Guard Izzy Sullivan led the second quarter with eight points and a perfect 2-2 shooting from the three. Sullivan finished the night with a team-high 24 points, shooting 5-8 from beyond the arc. Levens said Sullivan scoring early was a good sign after a slow start to her season.
“I think once she saw the ball go in, you could just kind of see her relax a little bit,” Levens said.” So I was glad she got that bucket early, and it just got her going.”
Nevada went into halftime with a slim 32-31 lead. Nevada’s offensive surge carried into the third quarter, once again shooting 47 percent from the field and 50 percent from the three. Nevada took a 53-49 lead into the fourth quarter, which was the most back-and-forth quarter of regulation.
Both teams were aggressive in this one, combining for a total of 43 personal fouls. That included 10 in the fourth quarter, which saw Roden foul out. Nevada had two other players (Dymo Maxie and Rakiyah Jackson) reach four fouls.
The two teams fought deep into the fourth quarter, with some momentum shifting after Nevada forward Lexie Givens scored her first points from the field with a three-pointer to give Nevada a 61-60 lead. Levens said Givens hurt her ankle in the Colorado loss, but the fifth-year senior was still able to compete and saw the court for 35 minutes.
With 32 seconds left, Sullivan hit a three-point shot to tie the game at 66. A missed layup by UC Santa Barbara in the final seconds sent Nevada to its first overtime game of the season.
The quarter continued to be a dogfight, with Sullivan once again leading the quarter with six points. With 1:48 left, she made a layup to push Nevada’s lead to three, and a few seconds later, hit a three to begin a 7-3 run to end the game in OT.
After playing four games in nine days including two road games and a neutral site game, Levens said the team’s ability to show toughness in quick turnarounds was a great response.
“I think on the road, it’s often ugly,” Levens said. “You don’t have as much flow or whatever, and I thought our team just stuck together and found ways to make enough plays to win.”
She also pointed to last year’s matchup against UC Santa Barbara, which also went to overtime but resulted in a 73-66 loss for Nevada. Levens said it was a unique situation and felt good to flip the script in another overtime match.
After a busy two weeks, Nevada won’t suit up for its next game until Friday, Nov. 22 against Weber State. Work will still be done, but much needed rest will come along as well.
“We’ve had some people a little bit banged up that we need to get healthy, and this gap time in between, I think will be good for that,” Levens said. “Also, it’s some time just to focus on ourselves and not be preparing for a game. We can really tone in on the things these first four games that we’ve seen. Try to get better at them, and then use the later part of the week to try to get ready for the game.”
Tip-off against Weber State is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. PST at the Lawlor Events Center. The Wildcats sit at 1-2 overall as the Wolf Pack are now 2-2.
Dominic Gutierrez can be reached via email dominicgutierrez@unr.edu or via X @d_m_g_16
