by ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The Nevada women’s basketball team dropped a 59-50 road contest to New Mexico Saturday night at WisePies Arena.
The Wolf Pack (8-12, 2-7 MW) got a team-high 12 points out of sophomore Terae Briggs (Crow Tribe) and 12 rebounds from sophomore AJ Cephas but shot just 27.9 percent (19-of-68) from the field. Nevada, which ranked second in the Mountain West in free throw shooting, struggled from the line as well, hitting 8-of-14. The Lobos (11-9, 7-3 MW) also struggled on offense but outscored the Pack 13-7 in the fourth quarter to seal the win.
New Mexico held the lead early as the game started but a steal from senior Stephanie Schmid and 15-foot jumper gave the Pack its first lead of the game with 6:22 left in the first. That sparked a 9-0 run by Nevada. The Lobos cut the deficit after holding the Wolf Pack to a scoring drought of over two minutes. It was not a clean first quarter as both teams combined for 16 turnovers.
New Mexico reclaimed the lead three minutes into the second quarter on a three-pointer by Mykiel Burleson and took a 17-15 lead. With the Lobos still leading, a steal off of a defensive rebound by UNM led to two free throws by junior T Moe, which got the Pack within one. A long range two-point shot by sophomore Riana Everidge with just over two to play in the first half gave Nevada the lead once again. The two teams traded buckets and found themselves tied at 29 with 29 seconds left in the half. With time expiring, UNM’s Alex Lapeyrolerie hit a shot from beyond the arc that sent the Lobos into halftime with the 32-29 lead.
The Lobos came out to start the third quarter hitting two of their first three shots, forcing Jane Albright to call a timeout. Nevada erased the deficit and embarked on an 8-0 run midway through the third quarter, capped off by a Schmid three that gave Nevada a 41-40 lead. Nevada went cold shooting the ball after that run, finishing the quarter with just one made field goal in 10 attempts.
New Mexico began the fourth quarter the way it did the third with two quick baskets that forced a timeout call by Nevada. After a Briggs layup cut it to just a five point deficit, a three by New Mexico extended the Lobos’ lead out to eight with 2:15 to play. After another two points by Briggs brought the deficit to six once again, a layup by the Lobos on the other end pushed the lead back out to eight with 25 seconds remaining, all but sealing the win for New Mexico. It was cold shooting for Nevada in the quarter, making just 3-of-17.
Nevada will be back at Lawlor Events Center this Wednesday, Feb. 1 to battle Utah State at 6:30 p.m.
