by RENO, Nev. – Despite its best offensive performance of the season, the Nevada women’s basketball team suffered a tough 75-74 loss to Boise State Wednesday night at Lawlor Events Center.
On her first made basket of the game in the first quarter, senior Jade Redmon registered her 1,000th collegiate point. Redmon, who played two seasons at Eastern Washington before transferring to the Pack, needed just one point heading into this game to hit the milestone. For the game she scored 16 points and was clutch from the free throw line, hitting 6-of-6.
It was fellow senior Terae Briggs (Crow Tribe) though that led the team in scoring, producing 17 points and was near perfect from the foul line, making 9-of-10. She added a career-high four steals to her night and was one rebound shy of recording her seventh double-double of the season. Briggs also hit a milestone in the game, eclipsing 800 points in her Wolf Pack career.
Nevada had two additional players reach double figures for a total of four, a season high. Junior Camariah King knocked down three 3-pointers and registered 11 points to get back into double figures for the first time since Dec. 20. Freshman Emma Torbert also hit double digits, scoring 10 points and grabbed seven rebounds.
The Wolf Pack (5-11, 1-4 MW) connected on 52.2 percent of its shots from the field, setting a season high. It was the Pack’s first offensive performance above 50 percent this season, and it included shooting just 10 percent in the second quarter. Nevada’s top quarter came in the third when it shot an incredible 83.3 percent, missing just two shots the entire period.
After that 10 percent offensive output in the second quarter, the Pack found itself trailing the Broncos (13-2, 4-0 MW) by 10 after halftime and with work to do in the second half. The Pack was able to start chipping away at the deficit midway through the third, cutting it to eight on a jumper by Da’Ja Hamilton with 4:23 on the clock. The Broncos, however, were able to stretch their lead out to 13 with just over two to play in the period. Nevada ended the quarter on a 10-2 run though, capped off by a triple by Torbert with seven seconds left that made it a five point game with one quarter remaining.
After a pair of free throws by Redmon, Nevada trailed by just three points with 7:07 still to be played. The Boise State defense shut down the red hot Wolf Pack offense for the next few minutes, building the lead back up to eight with under five to play. Things really got interesting with 1:08 on the clock as Briggs was fouled and sunk both of her free throws to make it a two point game.
The Broncos held off the initial charge from the Pack though and quickly built up a five point lead with just 24 seconds to play, but the Pack did not go away quietly. Redmon hit a layup with 13 seconds on the clock that brought the Pack into it, trailing by three. Boise State’s Jayde Christopher was sent to the foul line after that and hit both, but King sprinted down the floor on the Pack’s ensuing possession and hit a 3-pointer that made it a two-point contest with seven seconds left. Nevada had to foul to get the ball back, sending Braydey Hodgins to the line with six seconds to go. Hodgins hit both, ultimately sealing the win for Boise State. King, however, wasn’t done yet, hitting a deep triple with time expiring to send the game final at 75-74 Broncos.
