Box Score Nov. 22, 2014
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PROVO, Utah - The University of Nevada women's basketball team came within one point of Brigham Young in the second half Saturday night but dropped a 65-60 decision at the Marriott Center.
It was a slow start for the Wolf Pack (1-2) offense in the first half as BYU (1-2) opened up a 19-10 advantage with 13:17 to play in the half on a 3-pointer by Lexi Eaton. To that point, Eaton registered 11 of the Cougars' 19 points and finished the half with 19 points. Eaton connected on 5-of-7 shots from beyond the arc.
With just over three minutes to play in the opening half, BYU held onto its largest lead of the period at 14 with a 38-24 lead. In the final few minutes of the half, Nevada began to chip away at the deficit beginning with a layup by Nyasha LeSure, who was fouled going to the basket. LeSure sunk her free throw attempt to bring it back to a 10-point deficit.
Senior Emily Burns tallied the final five points of the half to bring the Pack to within eight at the break. Burns nailed her first 3-pointer of the season in the waning seconds of the half that sent the teams into the break with BYU ahead 41-33.
Nevada made a game of it in the late goings of the second half, getting an important 3-pointer from junior T Moe that cut the BYU advantage to four with under five to play. A minute and a half later, Moe drove to the lane, drew the foul and went to the free throw line with a chance to tie. After hitting the first shot to bring the deficit to just one, Moe missed her second attempt, switching possession back to the Cougars.
With 1:19 to play and the Pack down by two, BYU's Morgan Bailey connected on a layup in the paint and drew contact on the play, sending her to the free throw line. Still trailing by a few with under 30 seconds remaining, Nevada was forced to foul. Eaton went to the line and iced the win for the Cougars by hitting both foul shots. Eaton led all scorers with 29 points and hit 6-of-9 shots from beyond the arc.
The Wolf Pack had three players finish in double figures with Moe leading the way with 15 points. Burns tallied 13 points and Aja Johnson recorded 11, two points shy of tying a career-high. Mimi Mungedi led the Pack on the boards, grabbing 10 rebounds.
Nevada remains on the road to play at San Francisco this Tuesday night at 7:30 p.m. to wrap up a season-long three-game road trip.
