University of Nevada Athletics

Nevada Game Notes
Boise State Game Notes

Who: Nevada Wolf Pack (2-13, 1-3 MW) at Boise State Broncos (8-6, 1-2 MW)
When: Wednesday, Jan. 13 - 6 p.m. PST
Where: Arguinchona Complex - Boise, Idaho
Live Stream: NevadaWolfPack.tv
Radio: NBC Sports Radio 1060 AM
Audio: NevadaWolfPack.com/audio
Play-by-Play Announcer: Don Marchand
Live Stats: NevadaStats.com

It's back to the road for the Nevada women's basketball team as the Wolf Pack travels to Boise, Idaho for a Mountain West contest against Boise State.

Nevada snapped a five-game losing streak during its last time out, a 68-57 win over Air Force. The Pack posted a season-high in points scored and are only at a -4.0 scoring margin for league play. Sophomore Teige Zeller has been playing some of the best basketball of her career over the last three games. Zeller has scored in double figures in each of the last three and has a steady increase in points scored (10, 12, 14).

Boise State enters Wednesday's game with an overall winning record at 8-6 but is coming off of a 62-57 loss at Fresno State. Prior to that game, the Broncos had won four of their last five games. Boise State is led by MW preseason all-conference selection Brooke Pahukoa, who ranks fourth in the league in scoring (16.3 ppg). The Broncos have two others who average in double figures as well in Shalen Shaw (12.6 ppg) and Miquelle Askew (11.7 ppg).

At 48 games, the all-time series between the Wolf Pack and Broncos is the longest in Nevada women's basketball program history. Boise State has the overall edge, winning 33 of 48 games. However, Nevada is 7-6 against the Broncos in the past eight years under Jane Albright.

QUICK HITS
-Since MW play has begun, senior Kelsey Kaelin has dished out 16 assists to just nine turnovers
-Sophomore Teige Zeller has posted three straight games in double figures (10, 12, 14)
-Nevada has collected its best two shooting percentages of the season in the last two games
-The 68 points scored against Air Force are a season-high for Nevada
-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 two wins shy of 500 career victories

COUNTDOWN TO 500
Coach Jane Albright is now just two wins shy of eclipsing 500 victories for her career after the Pack's 68-57 win over Air Force. 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.

CAN SHE DO IT AGAIN?
Sophomore Teige Zeller is playing some of the best basketball of her career as of late, averaging 12.0 points per game in the last three. Starting with the Wyoming game, Zeller established a new career-high of 10 points and followed that up with another career-high of 12 points against Fresno State. She wasn't done yet with a 14-point performance during the win over Air Force. Through those three games, Zeller is knocking down 64 percent (16-of-25) of her shots and has made all of her free throw attempts. She has also added two assists, four blocks and six steals.

BY THE NUMBERS
2 - Wins shy of 500 career victories for Jane Albright
10 - Players who have started a game this season for the Pack
21 - Blocked shots by AJ Cephas, ranks fifth in the MW
30 - Made three-pointers by Stephanie Schmid, fifth in the MW
420 - Miles to get from Reno, Nev. to Boise, Idaho

THROWN INTO THE FIRE
With three season-ending injuries to members of the starting lineup, coach Jane Albright's freshmen have had the opportunity to see a lot of minutes, and what better way to learn the college game than to get out there on the court. Of the 10 scholarship players on the roster, only three (Kaelin, LeSure, Zeller) had played in a college basketball game prior to this season.

LAST TIME OUT
Trailing at halftime, the Nevada women's basketball team outscored Air Force 34-19 in the second half to earn a 68-57 Mountain West win Saturday afternoon, the first league win of the season.

The Wolf Pack (2-13, 1-3 MW) got a combined 28 points from sophomores Halie Bergman and Teige Zeller, each with new career-highs of 14 points. Bergman posted seven points in each half and went 3-of-4 from beyond the arc. For Zeller, she has scored in double figures in three straight and has established a career-high in each of those three.

Down by five in the opening quarter, the Pack finished the period on a 10-2 run to take the first quarter lead 19-16. The second quarter belonged to the Falcons (0-14, 0-3 MW) after they scored nine straight points to stake a 10-point lead, 38-28, with two to play. From there however, the final minute of the period went in favor of the Wolf Pack. Three different players scored for Nevada as it was able to cut the halftime deficit to just four.

A much different Nevada team came out for the third as the defense held its opponent to just three points six minutes into the quarter. On the other side of the ball, the offense used 12 points to end the period to stake a four-point lead as the final quarter approached. Léa Favre grabbed an offensive board and added the put back as the buzzer sounded to end the third.

As the team's had traded winning each of the three quarters, the game would come down to who would win the fourth. The final quarter was dominated by the Wolf Pack as it scored the first 13 points of the period. A layup inside that rattled around and in for Bergman put Nevada ahead by 10, 57-47, its first double digit lead of the game. The Pack maintained a double digit lead for the remainder of the contest.

SENIORITY
Senior Nyasha LeSure is seemingly back on track after a career performance at Wyoming. The Sparks produced a career-high 24 points against the Cowgirls on 10-of-19 shooting, her second 20-point game of the season. Prior to the Wyoming game, she had scored just 13 points total in her last two contests. LeSure has now scored in double figures in 10 of 15 games. She now needs just eight points to reach the 700-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.

NEW SEASON, NEW TEAM
Since the start of conference play, it's been a new-look Wolf Pack. Despite being 1-3 through the first four MW games, Nevada overall has been playing much better than its nonconference season. The Pack has gotten its scoring margin down to just -4.0, where it was at -15.4 after non-league games. The offense is now hitting 41.2 percent of its shots after making 36.9 percent during November and December. The defense is much improved as well, limiting its opponents to 39.1 percent shooting when opposing offenses were knocking down 45.6 percent before.

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)

HOLY SCHMID
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. With 30 made three-pointers, she ranks fifth in the conference in that category.

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.

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.'