Box Score
LAS CRUCES, N.M. New Mexico State University didn’t take its first lead of the game until there was 23 seconds left in the game as the Aggies overcame a 13-point halftime deficit to beat the University of Nevada women’s basketball team 54-51 Friday night.
With the loss Nevada falls to 13-10 overall and 7-3 WAC while New Mexico State improves to 7-17 overall and 3-7 WAC.
Nevada jumped out to a 7-0 lead and held New Mexico State without a field goal until Madison Spence hit a jumper with 13:52 remaining in the half to bring the score to 9-4 in Nevada’s favor. Kayla Williams scored on three consecutive possessions for the Pack as Nevada went ahead 19-9 with 8:21 left in the half.
The Pack extended its lead to 17 on a layup by Marianne Lombardi with 4:21 left in the half as Nevada went into halftime leading by 13, 33-20.
Johnna Ward led the Pack at the half with 11 points while Jones had eight. Shavon Moore had five rebounds in the first half while Jones had four. As a team the Pack shot 39.4 percent from the floor (13-of-33) while the Aggies shot 22.2 percent form the floor (6-of-27).
New Mexico State cut Nevada’s lead to 10, 37-27, with 14:57 left in the game before Megan Cherry’s three pointer on the next possession put Nevada up, 40-27. New Mexico State went on a 16-5 run to pull to within three, 49-46, with 4:56 left in the game.
Ward ended the game with a team-high 12 points while Williams added 10. Jones finished with nine rebounds and eight points. As a team the Pack shot 33.3 percent from the floor (21-of-63).
Nevada will play at La Tech on Sunday in Ruston, La., at Noon PT.
