The Nevada women’s basketball team fell to the Colorado State Rams 61-45 in their final home game of the 2024-25 season.
“I thought we played a lot harder than we did in the Wyoming game,” Nevada women’s basketball head coach Amanda Levens said after the game. “We really focused in on some of the things we were trying to do defensively.”
Nevada and Colorado State started off hot, trading buckets back and forth through the first seven minutes of the game. Forwards Lexie Givens and Imbie Jones, as well as guards Audrey Roden and Charlotte Climenhage all contributed to the up-tempo play. However, over the final three minutes of the quarter, the Rams went on a 10-2 run, with only Jones scoring for the Pack in this time. After one, Nevada trailed 18-12.
The second quarter was not kind to either team at first. Rams guard Kloe Froebe scored the first three points for Colorado State, which Wolf Pack guard Victoria Davis evened out with a three-point make. Then, after Froebe and Davis traded jumpers, Colorado State went on a 8-0 run for the final six minutes, with neither team scoring in the final two and a half. Nevada made none of its 11 shots during this span, leaving them down 31-17 heading into halftime.
In the first twenty minutes, Nevada had only two players score five or more points, those being Jones (six) and guard Dymonique Maxie (five). The Pack shot a collective 26.7 percent (8-30) overall and 10 percent (1-10) from deep with no free throws.
“I’d have to watch the film. But by recollection, we got some good looks,” Levens said. “We got to hit shots; and when we don’t hit shots, we have to offensively rebound. I didn’t think we did a good job on the glass until the second half, offensively. And it was too little, too late.”
Nevada was unable to swing the momentum in their favor in the third. After Jones hit a layup to start the quarter, the Rams mounted a 12-0 run off of three layups by guards Marta Leimane, Brooke Carlson and Hannah Ronsiek as well as two three-pointers from guard Hannah Simental and forward Emma Ronsiek.
This time, however, Nevada answered back, ending the quarter on an 11-5 run off the backs of Roden (one pull-up jumper), Maxie (a jumper and a three) and forward Kendra Hicks (four free throws), cutting the Rams’ lead from 24 to 18. Heading into the final quarter, Nevada still trailed 48-30.
The Wolf Pack battled with Colorado State in the fourth, as Maxie, Climinhage, Davis and Hicks went back and forth with Froebe, Leimane and Hannah Simental. Maxie, who scored eight of Nevada’s 15 points, and Froebe, who scored nine of Colorado State’s 13 points, were the most prominent scorers in the quarter. In the end, the Wolf Pack was unable to pull ahead, losing 61-45.
“I think we came out very focused and played together,” Maxie said. “Like Amanda said, we just had those little mess ups. But, we just kept fighting to be who we were and get to where we needed to be.”
Despite the outcome of the night, Nevada’s shooting performance was efficient, going 18-54 (33.3 percent) from the field and a perfect 6-6 from the charity stripe. However, the Wolf Pack’s achilles heel was their turnovers, as they committed 15 turnovers to Colorado State’s seven, which the Rams turned into 20 points.
Maxie finished the game with the most points for the Wolf Pack with 13, while Givens had the most rebounds with seven and tied with Maxie for the most assists with three.
“(My offense) has been something I have been working on a lot because I am not really an offensive player,” Maxie said. “But, its been something Amanda has been pushing me to work on. I’ve been in the gym, taking those shots. So, when they go in, its always nice to see.”
With their final home game of the season over, Nevada (11-19, 6-11) will look to rebound in their final game of the regular season against the Utah State Aggies (3-25, 2-14) on the road on March 1.
Derek Raridon can be reached via email draridon@sagebrush.unr.edu or via X @TheBigCountry14
