University of Nevada Athletics

Nevada Game Notes
Montana State Game Notes

Who: Montana State Bobcats (1-0) at Nevada Wolf Pack (0-1)
When: Sunday, Nov. 15 - 2 p.m.
Where: Lawlor Events Center - Reno, Nev.
Live Stream: NevadaWolfPack.tv
Live Audio: NevadaWolfPack.com/audio
Radio: NBC Sports Radio 1060 AM
Play-by-Play Announcer: Ryan Radtke
Live Stats: NevadaStats.com

The Nevada women's basketball team continues its two-game homestand Sunday afternoon as it welcomes the Bobcats of Montana State. Fans can enjoy $1 and $2 sodas during the game.

It was a rough season opener for the Wolf Pack Friday night at Lawlor Events Center, dropping an 84-47 decision at the hands of San Diego. Nevada did shoot well from the free throw line however, a stat that it struggled with last season. The Pack connected on 71.4 percent (15-of-21) from the foul line after averaging 60 percent a season ago. In her first game with the Wolf Pack, junior Stephanie Schmid led the team with 12 points and hit 5-of-6 of her free throws.

Montana State, who was picked to finish fifth in the Big Sky, routed Seattle during its season opener, 80-51. The Bobcats added NBA Hall of Famer John Stockton to their coaching staff in the offseason.

The Wolf Pack and Montana State have met 11 times in program history but have not faced one another since the 1991-92 season. The last time these two schools played each other, they were both members of the Big West Conference.

QUICK HITS
-Nevada blocked 10 shots during the exhibition game, which tied its single-game season-high from last year
-The Pack will be without point guard T Moe for the duration of the season
-The new-look roster features eight new faces, 11 guards and five post players
-This is the first time the Wolf Pack and Bobcats have played one another since the 1991-92 season
-Jane Albright is four wins shy of 500 career victories and is one away from 100 wins at Nevada
-Trips to Hawaii and Chicago highlight the team's 11-game non-conference schedule

COUNTDOWN TO 500
Coach Jane Albright enters the season just four wins shy of eclipsing 500 victories for her career. Over the years she has established herself as one of the NCAA's winningest active coaches in Division I. At the start of the season, Albright ranked 30th among active head coaches in college women's basketball by victories. As part of the celebration to this milestone, a special ticket promotion will be in place until win No. 500. For each home game, game tickets will be the same price as the number of wins Albright needs to get to 500.

HIGH EXPECTATIONS
As if being a 41 percent shooter from the three-point line and scoring over 1,000 points in two seasons at junior college weren't enough to raise the bar, Stephanie Schmid has other accolades to hype up her arrival to the Pack. Schmid was tabbed as the Mountain West Co-Newcomer of the Year when the conference announced its preseason poll and awards. The 5-10 guard transferred to Nevada from Arizona Western College where she hit more than 200 shots from three-point range and connects on nearly 91 percent of her free throws. In needing help to generate more points, Nevada has its expectations on Schmid being the person to deliver.

BY THE NUMBERS
4 - Wins shy of 500 career victories for Jane Albright
8 - New players to officially suit up for Nevada this season
10 - Where Nevada was picked to finish in the Mountain West
11 - Number of guards listed on the Wolf Pack roster (16 total players)
63.0 - Pack's scoring defense last year, ranks seventh all-time

LAST TIME OUT
The Nevada women's basketball team opened its 2015-16 season with an 84-47 loss at the hands of San Diego Friday night.

On the team's 'We Back Pat' night, 1,119 fans paid a visit to Lawlor Events Center which means coach Jane Albright will donate $1,119 to the Pat Summitt Foundation.

The Toreros (1-0) were able to capitalize on 21 Wolf Pack (0-1) turnovers and turn those into 36 of their 84 points. USD also used its rebounding abilities to get the most out of its opening night, outrebounding the Pack by a 44-28 margin. For the game, San Diego shot 51.5 percent from the field and took 17 more shot attempts than Nevada.

The Wolf Pack did boast two scorers in double figures as first-year guard Stephanie Schmid totaled a team-high 12 points and senior Nyasha LeSure collected 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting. Schmid was near perfect from the free throw line, hitting 5-of-6 from the stripe. Overall the Pack had a solid night from the foul line, connecting on 71.4 percent (15-of-21).

Nevada hung with its opponent through the first quarter and only trailed by six heading into quarter two. The Toreros used a couple of runs however to stretch its lead to 16 points at halftime. A 12-0 outburst by USD to begin the third is when the team really began to pull away. San Diego used 61.3 percent (19-of-31) shooting in the second half to outscore the Pack 44-23.

GET TO THE LINE
Even though the season is just one game in, there has already been improvement from the Wolf Pack on the free throw line. During its season opener, Nevada hit 71.4 percent (15-of-21) from the foul line. Last season the Pack averaged just 60 percent from the charity stripe and only had three games above 71 percent all season.

INJURY BUG
Unfortunately for the Wolf Pack it has already been bitten by the injury bug. During the preseason, just a couple of weeks out from beginning the regular season, Nevada lost starting point guard T Moe for the duration of the year. Moe, who missed 26 games last year due to a knee injury, will again have knee surgery and begin rehab, cutting her season well short. The California native hopes to be ready to go for the 2016-17 campaign and possibly even further.

MOUNTAIN WEST PRESEASON POLL
The Mountain West released its 2015-16 women's basketball preseason poll with Nevada predicted to finish in the 10th spot in the 11-team league, as voted on by the league's head coaches.

1. Colorado State
2. New Mexico
3. Boise State
4. Fresno State
5. UNLV
6. San Diego State
7. Wyoming
8. San Jose State
9. Utah State
10. Nevada
11. Air Force

In addition to the preseason rankings, preseason awards were announced as well with Nevada junior transfer Stephanie Schmid earning Co-Newcomer of the Year honors. Schmid is a transfer from Arizona Western College where she posted over 1,000 points in her two years there.

2015-16 ROSTER BREAKDOWN
By Class: Senior (3), Junior (4), Sophomore (2), Freshman (7)

By State/Country: California (5), Nevada (3), New Mexico (1), Illinois (1), Washington (1), Oregon (1), Wisconsin (1), Montana (1), Missouri (1),
Switzerland (1)

By Position: Guard (11), Forward (5)

HISTORICAL TEAM INFORMATION
The University of Nevada women's basketball program began in the year 1899, when the team, coached by Ada Edwards, earned its first win over a varsity opponent, Stanford. Since its inception in 1899, records of the program's history have not accurately been kept up to date. For the purposes of all records, wins and losses and other statistical information related to the Nevada women's basketball program, the 1981-82 season will be considered the first for the program, the first year women's basketball was recognized by the NCAA.

WOLF PACK ORIGIN
In the 1921-22 athletic season, a local writer described the spirited play of a Nevada team as a 'pack of wolves'. The name stuck and soon almost every reference to the athletic teams was the Nevada Wolves. In 1923, the students officially designated 'Wolves' as the school's mascot.
Since all teams are a group of players, the word pack followed quickly. In 1928-29, the Nevada student handbook referred to the athletic teams as Wolf Pack and two school songs were adopted, entitled 'The Wolf Pack' and 'Here Comes the Wolf Pack.'