Nevada Game Notes

Friday, Nov. 27:
Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders (1-2) vs. Alabama Crimson Tide (4-0) - 2 p.m. - Lawlor Events Center
Utah Valley Wolverines (5-1) at Nevada Wolf Pack (0-4) - 4 p.m. - Lawlor Events Center

Saturday, Nov. 28:
Utah Valley Wolverines (5-1) vs. Alabama Crimson Tide (4-0) - 2 p.m. - Lawlor Events Center
Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders (1-2) at Nevada Wolf Pack (0-4) - 4 p.m. - Lawlor Events Center

It's time to gear up for this year's Nugget Classic women's basketball tournament, hosted by Nevada. This year's lineup features the Wolf Pack, along with Alabama, Middle Tennessee and Utah Valley. Different in this year's tournament, there will be no championship game, all of the games and opponents are already set.

Nevada will face Utah Valley on Friday and Middle Tennessee on Saturday, both in the second game of each day. The remaining games will feature Middle Tennessee vs. Alabama on Friday and Utah Valley vs. Alabama on Saturday.

The Wolf Pack's starting lineup has been stifled with injuries and the team has had a rough start at 0-4. Things appear to be on the up though as the team statistically has been improving from game-to-game. Senior Nyasha LeSure leads the team, averaging 16.0 points per game, and has scored in double figures in each of the first four games.

Utah Valley enters the tournament with the most wins of any of the teams at 5-1, while Alabama sits at 3-0 and Middle Tennessee is currently 1-2 after taking down SEC member Ole Miss during its last game.

QUICK HITS
-Jane Albright is four wins shy of 500 career victories and is one away from 100 wins at Nevada
-Senior Nyasha LeSure has scored in double figures in each of the first four games, the longest streak of her career
-Sophomore Halie Bergman posted the first double-digit scoring game of her career Sunday against Loyola Marymount (11 pts)
-Friday's game will be the team's annual N7 game in its partnership with Nike and in celebration of Native American Heritage Month
-The Pack will be without junior T Moe and senior Julia Shelbourn for the duration of the season (injury)
-Nevada committed a season-low 13 turnovers on Sunday vs. LMU

COUNTDOWN TO 500
Coach Jane Albright is 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.

SENIOR WISDOM
Senior Nyasha LeSure is off to a great start for her final collegiate season. The Sparks native has scored in double figures in each of the first four games, the longest streak of her career. Her previous best was a streak of two, which occurred during the middle part of last season. During this streak, LeSure has posted games of 11, 20, 18 and 15 points and added a double-double (18 pts, 10 rbs) during the Washington State game. Thus far, she is leading the Wolf Pack by averaging 16.0 points per game.

BY THE NUMBERS
0 - Previous meetings between the Pack and Blue Raiders
4 - Wins shy of 500 career victories for Jane Albright
4 - Consecutive games in double figures for Nyasha LeSure
11 - First double-digit scoring performance for Halie Bergman on Sunday
4,998 - Total miles traveled to get to Reno between the three visiting teams

LAST TIME OUT
On the final day of the Bank of Hawaii Rainbow Wahine Classic, the Nevada women's basketball team closed its stay on the islands with a 69-58 loss to Loyola Marymount Sunday afternoon.

The Wolf Pack (0-4) were led for a third straight game by senior Nyasha LeSure, who totaled 15 points. LeSure has posted points in double figures in four consecutive outings, the longest streak of her career. Sophomore Halie Bergman also reached double digits with 11 points, the first double digit game of her early career.

Nevada fought and clawed its way to remain in the ball game after being down by as many as 15 in the second quarter. LMU's (1-3) Andee Velasco hit for seven straight points during the middle of the second to reach that 15-point lead, 31-16. The Pack, and more specifically Bergman, was able to bring it to an 11-point Lions' lead at halftime after she ended the second with seven consecutive points.

The third quarter was the Pack's chance to really do some damage and take over the lead, but the team could only get to within one. After being down 11 heading into the third, Nevada used a 9-0 run capped off by a Teige Zeller layup to cut it to a 42-41 LMU lead and forced the Lions' head coach to call a timeout.

Coming out of the timeout, Loyola Marymount hit its next four shots to stretch its lead back out to eight. Both teams struggled to make shots during the closing minutes of the period but a Lions' last second layup gave them a 55-46 lead as the final quarter began.

Behind nine points to start the fourth, not much changed in terms of the lead as it remained near nine for the remainder of the game. Freshman MorningRose Tobey knocked down her first career three-pointer with 1:45 to play which brought the Pack within seven. After a LMU layup on the other end, Kelsey Kaelin was sent to the free throw line and hit both, bringing her team back to within seven with 1:21 remaining, but that would be as close as the Wolf Pack would get.

The Wolf Pack did cut down on its turnover numbers from the last couple of games, finishing with just 13 overall. Additionally, Nevada posted season-highs in steals (11) and assists (10).

INJURY BUG
Unfortunately for the Wolf Pack it has already been bitten by the injury bug, losing two players for the season. During the preseason, 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 team also lost senior forward Julia Shelbourn for the season after she suffered a knee injury as well during the Pack's second game against Montana State.

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.'