Nevada Women’s Basketball (1-0, 0-0) opened their season with a resilient 70-53 victory against the Cal State San Marcos Cougars (0-1, 0-0). The Wolf Pack welcomed nine new players to their roster over the offseason, including five freshmen and four transfers, with only seven returning players. Guards Ahrray Young and Skylar Durley were the only newcomers to start.
“Just playing with this new group of girls is so fun,” Young stated following the win. “I think we bring it every day in practice. We’re pushing each other to be better and I think that showed today.”
The scoring opened with Cougar’s guard Kristan Yumul hitting a jumpshot. Nevada answered back as forward Imbie Jones made a layup on their first possession. After a three from San Marcos guard Tatum Tamashiro extended their lead, Nevada guard Izzy Sullivan evened the score with a three of her own.
Nevada entered the half up 32-28, only shooting 30% from the field. The Pack’s offense came almost entirely from put-back shots and a few mid-range jumpers, missing four three-point attempts and seven free throws. On the other side, San Marcos took 15 threes, over half of their total field goal attempts; They made six of these shots.
The second half began with an 8-2 Wolf Pack run before a timeout halted play. Shortly after the timeout, Young netted her first three of the contest to extend Nevada’s lead 45-33.
From there, Nevada continued their hot streak, scoring nine more before the third quarter ended. The third quarter was characterized by defense, as the Pack only allowed the Cougars to score eight points.
“I thought our team did a great job of just being intense,” Head Coach Amanda Levens commented. “They were getting a lot of open looks in the first half that I thought we took away in the second half.”
The fourth quarter started on a much different note, though, as Nevada allowed six points before Jones scored the Pack’s first points of the quarter. However, Nevada was able to close out the match with the same defensive success that gave them their lead, highlighted by a vicious block from Young to all but seal the Cougars’ fate.
Nevada’s next challenge will come against Sacramento State (1-0, 0-0) on Nov. 6 in Sacramento, California.
