University of Nevada Athletics

Nevada Game Notes

Who: Colorado State Rams (19-1, 9-0 MW) at Nevada Wolf Pack (4-16, 3-6 MW)
When: Saturday, Feb. 6 - 4 p.m.
Where: Lawlor Events Center - Reno, Nev.
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 Nevada women's basketball team returns to the floor after a week-long hiatus to host the Mountain West leading Colorado State Rams. National Girls and Women in Sports Day will be celebrated prior to the game with free attendance.

The Wolf Pack suffered its worst loss since Jan. 2 during its last time out, a 13-point defeat to Utah State. The Aggies posted a monster third quarter of 36 points that ended up being too much for the Pack to overcome in the final quarter of play. Nevada did have four players reach double figures, led by freshman Riana Everidge (16). Nyasha LeSure (11), Stephanie Schmid (10) and AJ Cephas (10) also reached double digits.

Colorado State remains the only undefeated team in the league after its 70-54 win over San Diego State on Wednesday and Fresno State's loss to San Jose State. The Rams only loss of the season came 17 games ago, a 49-48 loss on the road at Penn. CSU is far and away the best team in the MW on paper, leading the conference in scoring defense (51.8 ppg), scoring margin (+17.0), field goal percentage (43.7) and field goal percentage defense (33.5), among other categories.

Saturday marks just the 10th meeting between these two teams. Nevada won the inaugural matchup back in 1986, but since then the series has been all Colorado State, winners of the last eight.

NGWSD
National Girls and Women in Sports Day was celebrated nationally this past Wednesday, Feb. 3 but the Wolf Pack's formal celebration of the event will take place prior to the game against the Rams. An alumni reception will be held two hours before the game in Legacy Hall and will feature current female student-athletes and community members. All in attendance are then encouraged to make their way to Lawlor for the women's basketball game. Tickets for the game are free.

QUICK HITS
-Jane Albright captured career win No. 500 on the road at San Diego State (70-64)
-Senior Nyasha LeSure is 23 points shy of 800 career points
-Senior Kelsey Kaelin has produced 12 assists and no turnovers in her last two games
-Freshman Riana Everidge posted back-to-back 16-point games, establishing a new career-high
-The Pack's 70 points scored at SDSU is a season-high
-The Pack will be without juniors T Moe and Ashlee Jones and senior Julia Shelbourn for the duration of the season (injury)

500 WINS - A HISTORIC MILESTONE
Coach Jane Albright recorded career win No. 500 after the Pack's 70-64 win at San Diego State. Over the years she has established herself as one of the NCAA's winningest active coaches in Division I. Albright now ranks 31st among active head coaches in college women's basketball in victories. Now in her 32nd year as a Division I head coach, Nevada is Albright's fourth stop after beginning her career at Northern Illinois (1984-94) and moving on to Wisconsin (1994-2003) and Wichita State (2003-08) before coming to Reno. She has made nine NCAA Tournament appearances and won the WNIT in 1999-2000 with Wisconsin.

BY THE NUMBERS
2 - Conference rank for Kelsey Kaelin in assist/turnover ratio (1.7)
8 - Conference rank for Nyasha LeSure in scoring (13.6 ppg)
10 - Players who have started a game this season for the Pack
41 - National ranking for Stephanie Schmid in three-point shots attempted
970 - Miles to get from Fort Collins, Colo. to Reno, Nev.

NEW SEASON, NEW TEAM
Since the start of conference play, it's been a new-look Wolf Pack. At 3-6 in conference play, Nevada has won three of its last six games. Comparing nonconference to conference statistics, the Pack has gotten its scoring margin down to just -3.8, where it was at -15.4 after non-league games. The offense is now hitting 39.6 percent of its shots after making 36.9 percent during November and December. The defense is much improved as well, limiting its opponents to 38.8 percent shooting when opposing offenses were knocking down 45.6 percent before.

SENIORITY
Senior Nyasha LeSure continues to add to her career season. During the home game against Wyoming, LeSure established a new career-high of 29 points, her fourth 20-point game of the season. Her 29 points is the most by a Wolf Pack player since Tahnee Robinson scored 35 vs. Idaho in the 2011 WAC Tournament. LeSure has now scored in double figures in 15 of 20 games. She now looks to eclipse the 800-point plateau, needing 23.

LAST TIME OUT
Utah State scored 36 points in the third quarter to push past the Nevada women's basketball team, 79-66, Saturday evening at Lawlor Events Center.

The Aggies (10-10, 5-4 MW) produced just 22 points combined through the first two quarters but exploded for 36 in period three, giving them a 58-46 lead going into the final quarter. USU began its offensive upsurge with the quarter's first 11 points. During that 10-minute stretch, Utah State connected on nearly 70 percent (11-of-16) from the field, hit 4-of-4 from beyond the arc and was a perfect 10-of-10 from the free throw line.

The Wolf Pack (4-16, 3-6 MW) showed resiliency however during the final quarter. Down by as many as 15 in the period, Nevada used timely shooting and solid defense to bring it to just a five-point deficit. A good jumper by redshirt freshman AJ Cephas with 7:39 to play sparked what would turn out to be a 10-0 run by the Pack over the next 2:47.

A three-pointer by junior Stephanie Schmid took the Aggies' lead back down to single digits. After forcing a USU turnover, senior Nyasha LeSure drew a foul and hit both of her free throws to cut it to five with 5:27 to play. That is as close as the Pack would get though as the Aggies turned right around and posted a 10-0 run of their own to put the game out of reach with just over two minutes remaining.

Nevada saw four reach double figures in the game and was led by freshman Riana Everidge who tied her career-high of 16, which she had set the other night at San Diego State. LeSure posted 11 points before fouling out, her 15th game in double figures this season. Schmid and Cephas also eclipsed double digits with 10 points each. Senior Kelsey Kaelin had a strong night at the point dishing out six assists and no turnovers. In her last two games, Kaelin has combined for 12 assists and has not turned the ball over.

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.

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.

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, and did it again at UNLV. Schmid knocked down seven shots from beyond the arc in each of those games, the most since Ashley Bastian hit seven against Saint Mary's in 2001. At UNLV Schmid made all seven of her three's in the second half, and hit five alone in the fourth quarter. She finished the game with 23 points, two shy of tying her season-high. All of her points came in the second half. With 43 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.'