Dec. 31, 2015
Nevada Game Notes
Wyoming Game Notes
Who: Nevada Wolf Pack (1-11, 0-1 MW) at Wyoming Cowgirls (7-4, 0-1 MW)
When: Saturday, Jan. 2 - 1 p.m. PST
Where: Arena Auditorium - Laramie, Wyo.
Live Stream: NevadaWolfPack.tv
Radio: NBC Sports Radio 1060 AM
Audio: NevadaWolfPack.com/audio
Play-by-Play Announcer: Don Marchand
Live Stats: NevadaStats.com
The new year brings the first Mountain West road game for the Nevada women's basketball team as the Wolf Pack heads to Wyoming. Both the Pack and Cowgirls suffered a loss in their conference openers Wednesday night.
For Nevada, the Wolf Pack lost a close, low scoring affair to New Mexico, 51-47, that came down to the wire. Junior Stephanie Schmid tallied a game-high 19 points in the loss and came up with a few key shots. Schmid has scored in double figures in six of her last seven games and is averaging nearly 15 points per game.
For Wyoming, the Cowgirls were beat at home by San Diego State, 84-77. Despite the loss, four of Wyoming's five starters posted points in double figures. The Cowgirls were led by Marta Gomez, who tallied a game-high 27 points and knocked down six three-pointers. MW preseason Player of the Year Marquelle Dent notched an unconventional double-double with 10 points and 11 assists.
The series history heavily favors Wyoming as the Cowgirls have an 11-5 advantage and have won nine of the last 10 meetings.
QUICK HITS
-Senior Nyasha LeSure has scored in double figures in eight of 12 games this season
-Junior Stephanie Schmid is averaging 14.9 points per game in her last seven outings
-New Mexico's 51 points from Wednesday is the lowest given up by the Pack since it's 50-44 win over SDSU last season
-10 different Wolf Pack players have started a game through the first nine
-The Pack will be without juniors T Moe and Ashlee Jones and senior Julia Shelbourn for the duration of the season (injury)
-Jane Albright is three wins shy of 500 career victories and got her 100th win at Nevada last Tuesday
COUNTDOWN TO 500
Coach Jane Albright is now just three wins shy of eclipsing 500 victories for her career after the Pack's 57-51 win over San Francisco State last Tuesday. 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.
ROOKIES MAKE PLAYS
Freshman Camariah King has started to put it together for the Pack in her last couple of games. King has dished out 17 assists during the last three contests, including a career-high nine at Pacific. Along with those 17 assists she has turned the ball over just eight times.
BY THE NUMBERS
3 - Wins shy of 500 career victories for Jane Albright
10 - Players who have started a game this season for the Pack
14.9 - Stephanie Schmid's scoring average in the last seven games
906 - Miles to get to Laramie from Reno
7,200 - Laramie's elevation
THE LONG BALL
Nevada has struggled with shooting from beyond the arc this season, that is until the team's game against San Francisco. The Wolf Pack tied the single-game school record with 11 made three-pointers in the game and compiled the best three-point shooting percentage (54.2 percent) since 2009. The Pack got a lot of help in the area from junior Stephanie Schmid, who hit seven three's.
LAST TIME OUT
For the Nevada women's basketball team, the Mountain West opener resulted in a 51-47 loss to New Mexico Wednesday night from Lawlor Events Center.
In a low scoring affair, junior Stephanie Schmid knocked down a few key shots and finished with a game-high 19 points. Most of the scoring for the Wolf Pack (1-11, 0-1 MW) came from Schmid as the next highest scorers were Teige Zeller, Nyasha LeSure and AJ Cephas, each with six points.
It was a slow start to the game as the first points were not scored until the 6:58 mark of the opening quarter on a three-pointer by New Mexico (8-4, 1-0 MW). It took Nevada some time to get points on the board as well, getting two from Cephas with just over three to play in the period.
The Pack endured cold shooting in the second quarter, hitting just 1-of-12 during a large chunk of that period, which helped the Lobos stretch their lead to a 10-point advantage, 21-11. A free throw by Zeller at the 1:34 mark snapped a 5:13 scoring drought for the Pack. Despite shooting just 25.9 percent in the first half, Nevada went into the locker room at halftime trailing by just six, 23-17, after senior Kelsey Kaelin knocked in an eight-footer at the buzzer.
New Mexico came out of halftime on a 6-0 run to start the third, forcing Nevada head coach Jane Albright to call a timeout under the seven minute mark. After the timeout the Wolf Pack scored the next seven points to cut it to a five-point game. Nevada was able to bring it to within two twice in the remaining minutes of the period, but UNM's Cherise Beynon's short jumper with eight seconds left made it a four-point New Mexico advantage heading into the final quarter.
A bit of drama ensued in the fourth as the game was in reach for both teams. With under five to play and the Pack down by three, Zeller hustled to the baseline to grab the offensive board and save the ball from going out of bounds. Zeller then rifled a pass to LeSure who quickly swung it out to Schmid who swished in the three, tying the game at 40.
After the Lobos hit a couple more shots to go back up by two, Zeller was sent to the free throw line with a chance to tie the game but made just one of her foul shots. On the ensuing UNM possession, Bryce Owens hit a three on the other end to extend the Lobos' lead back out to four with two minutes remaining.
With just over a minute to play, Schmid collected her 19th point of the game to bring the Pack within three. Cephas then forced a turnover on defense to give the ball back to Nevada with 31.6 on the clock and a chance to tie. Schmid's potential game-tying shot however, rung in and out of the basket, ultimately sealing the win for the Lobos.
Stephanie Schmid FOR THREE
Junior Stephanie Schmid put on the best display of three-point shooting by a Nevada player since the early 2000's versus San Francisco. Schmid knocked down seven shots from beyond the arc, the most since Ashley Bastian hit seven against Saint Mary's in 2001. She hit four alone in the first quarter and scored all 14 of Nevada's first quarter points. For the game, Schmid shattered her previous career-high of 12 points and finished with 25 points.
SENIORITY
Senior Nyasha LeSure is making a name for herself through the first 12 games of the season. The Sparks native has scored in double figures in eight of 12 games, including a career-high 20-point performance against Montana State. With 14 points against San Francisco, LeSure has broken into the 600-point total for her career.
INJURY BUG
The Wolf Pack has been bitten pretty hard by the injury bug, losing three starters for the season. During the preseason, Nevada lost 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 Julia Shelbourn and junior Ashlee Jones for the season after they both suffered injuries during games. Redshirt freshman Mariah Williams has also missed time this season still recovering from an injury she sustained last season.
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 (eligible players)
By Class: Senior (2), Junior (2), Sophomore (2), Freshman (7)
By State/Country: California (3), Nevada (3), New Mexico (1), Illinois (1), Washington (1), Oregon (1), Montana (1), Missouri (1),
Switzerland (1)
By Position: Guard (9), Forward (4)
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.'
