by RENO, Nev. – In a third quarter that saw the Pack shoot 10-of-16 (62.5 percent) from the field, the Nevada women’s basketball came out on top of the Air Force Falcons, 65-58, on Wednesday night inside Lawlor Events Center. The Pack (10-14, 4-9 MW) outscored the Falcons (3-20, 1-12 MW) 23-8 in the third quarter, which allowed Nevada to extend its lead up to 21 points early in the final period.
On the night, the Pack was led by sophomore Terae Briggs (Crow Tribe) who posted a 7-of-9 shooting performance, to finish the matchup with a game-high 15 points to go along with her eight rebounds. Junior Halie Bergman finished the night with a game and new career-high nine rebounds to compliment her 11 points. She fell one rebound shy of her first career double-double.
After finishing the previous game with 23 points in the final quarter, senior Stephanie Schmid picked up right where she left off, scoring the Pack’s first four points of the night, giving Nevada an early 8-2 lead. However, the Falcons used a 9-0 run to close out the opening quarter to take a 15-14 lead into the second period. Schmid recorded eight points on 4-of-6 shooting in the first 10 minutes.
With the Pack down by as much as four points in the second quarter, Nevada climbed its way back into the game and reclaimed the lead at 23-22 with 3:39 remaining, after junior T Moe connected on the game’s first three pointer. Sophomore Ashlee Jones followed Moe, scoring the Pack’s next four points, including an and-one layup that she completed at the free throw line. Moe finished the game with a season-high 10 assists, one shy of tying her career high.
By the time the opening half was concluded, the Pack took a 29-25 lead into the locker room, marking the 12th time this season that Nevada led at half.
In the third quarter, the Pack’s offense exploded, shooting an astonishing 62.5 percent from the field, courtesy of Bergman and junior Teige Zeller, who combined to score 14 of Nevada’s 23 points. Zeller would finish the night shooting an efficient 4-of-7 from the field, while also pulling down seven rebounds in the process.
As Nevada took a 52-33 into the fourth quarter, the Falcons didn’t go down quietly as they outscored the Pack 25-13 in the final ten minutes of the game. Air Force would cut Nevada’s lead to only four points with just over a minute remaining but smart basketball from the Pack ultimately gave Nevada the 65-58 victory.
Up next, the Pack will travel to Logan, Utah and play Utah State on Saturday, Feb. 18. Tip-off for that matchup is scheduled for 1 p.m. PT and can be streamed on the Mountain West Network.
