RENO, Nev. – Behind a complete team effort, the Nevada women's basketball team earned a dominant 91-63 Mountain West win over visiting San José State Wednesday night.
The Wolf Pack improved to 10-7 overall and evened its MW record at 3-3 with the victory. Nevada needs just one win with at least 13 games remaining to tie its win total from last season. Of the 10 players that saw time on the floor for Nevada, eight scored at least eight points and were led by junior
Terae Briggs. Briggs was perfect from the field, hitting 8-of-8 en route to posting a season-high 18 points. She fell one rebound shy of notching her second double-double.
One player who did manage a double-double was junior
AJ Cephas, her second of the year, as she finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds, including eight on the offensive glass. The Wolf Pack was unstoppable on the offensive boards with a 23-6 advantage and overall led the rebounding game, 57-25. Senior
Teige Zeller also was one rebound shy of a double-double as she scored 10 points, her sixth straight game in double figures.
Also registering points in double figures were sophomore
Camariah King (13) and senior
Halie Bergman (10). Three others could have easily reached double digits as well as senior
T Moe and junior
Jade Redmon notched nine points and freshman
Janelle Sumilong scored a season-high eight points. Nevada's 91 points are the second-most it has scored in a game this season and the 28-point margin of victory was its largest of the year.
The Wolf Pack led wire to wire and led by as many as 31 midway through the fourth quarter. Nevada started hot right from tipoff, stretching out an early 11-2 lead. The Spartans (6-12, 3-4 MW) showed some fight in the first quarter embarking on an 8-0 run to cut it to a one-point game. The Pack managed to stay ahead though and never faltered the lead. SJSU once again kept the game close and made it a one-point game with 59 seconds left in the first quarter but that is as close as it would get.
Nevada began to stretch the lead out in the second quarter, reaching its first double digit advantage at the 7:30 mark when Zeller connected on a 15-foot jumper. The Pack kept adding to its lead as the period went on, outscoring the Spartans 30-14 in that 10 minute span. With time expiring in the first half, King heaved up a shot from beyond the arc that swished in, sending Nevada into the locker room with a 21-point lead.
The Spartans mounted a bit of a comeback in the third, winning that quarter by a 22-17 margin after shooting 81.8 percent (9-of-11), including knocking down 3-of-4 from the three-point line. The Wolf Pack was able to put the game away for good though in the final quarter, outscoring the Spartans 22-10 to secure the 28-point victory.
Nevada is back on the road this weekend for a Saturday, Jan. 20 game at Boise State at 1 p.m. PT.
Postgame notes
-Nevada's 52 first half points are the most it has scored in the first half this season.
-The Wolf Pack's 28-point margin of victory is its largest of the season and its 91 points scored is the second most it has scored in a game. This is the third-largest win for Nevada against a Mountain West opponent since joining the league in 2012-13.
-Nevada is now just one win shy of tying its win total from all of last season.
-Senior
Teige Zeller scored in double figures for the sixth straight game and 13
th game this season, finishing with 10 points.
-Junior
AJ Cephas recorded her second double-double of the year with 14 points and 12 rebounds.
-Junior
Terae Briggs posted a season high of 18 points and fell one rebound shy of her second double-double of the season. She finished a perfect 8-of-8 from the field.
-Nevada had two others finish with points in double figures as
Halie Bergman scored 10 and
Camariah King finished with 13. King has scored in double figures in nine of her last 10 games.
-Nevada had five score in double figures for the fourth time this season.
-The Wolf Pack outrebounded the Spartans by a 57-25 margin, including 23 to six on the offensive glass.
-Freshman
Janelle Sumilong notched her best game of the season, scoring a season-high eight points on 3-of-5 shooting.
-Junior
Jade Redmon earned her second start of the season and first since the season opener at Utah on Nov. 10.
-The all-time series between Nevada and San Jose State now stands at 24-23 in favor of the Spartans.