LAS VEGAS, Nev. – For the first time in program history, the Nevada women's basketball team will be playing for a Mountain West Championship. The No. 7 Wolf Pack defeated No. 3 Wyoming, 67-63, Wednesday night to advance to Friday's title game against No. 1 Boise State.
 
Since joining the Mountain West in 2012, the Wolf Pack has never played in the conference championship game. Its previous best appearance was a semifinals run in 2014. Among program history this will be Nevada's first appearance in a conference championship game since it played Fresno State in the 2009 WAC title game, suffering a loss to the Bulldogs. Nevada has done all of this as a No. 7 seed and will become just the third seven seed to reach the MW Championship game.
 
The victory is Nevada's fifth in a row, which ties a season high. Nevada improved its overall record to 17-15 and is closer to securing its first winning record in four years. With one more win, head coach Amanda Levens will tie Jane Albright as the winningest first year head coach in program history. The Pack has now knocked off the tournament's No. 2 and 3 seeded teams and gets a chance to knock off No. 1 on Friday.
 
As has been the trend all week, Wednesday's game came down to the wire. Both teams shot the ball well throughout the game, each posting shooting percentages of above 46 percent. The Cowgirls (21-10) had a marginal advantage on the glass, outrebounding the Pack 33-20, but Nevada played its cleanest game of basketball all season. The Wolf Pack committed just three turnovers in the contest, which set a program record, and forced the opposition to turn the ball over 10 times. With mostly even statistics, the game came down to the last few possessions.
 
Down by six entering the fourth quarter, the Cowgirls made a charge for the lead in the last period of play. The Pack did a good job though in holding off that charge, getting key buckets to extend its lead out to as many as nine points as the quarter went on. From the 5:12 mark to the 3:33 mark the Cowgirls embarked on a 6-0 run, which cut it to just a three-point game. Needing a bucket to halt that run, senior Teige Zeller scooped in a reverse layup to extend the Pack's lead out to five with 3:13 to go.
 
On the next Wyoming possession, Liv Roberts drew a foul call and sunk a pair of free throws to bring it back to three points. Sophomore Camariah King though knocked down a crucial three ball on Nevada's next trip down the floor, stretching the lead back out to six with 2:29 on the clock. King finished the game 3-of-4 from beyond the arc. The Cowgirls were not done yet as the MW Sixth Player of the Year Marta Gomez got a contested layup to fall with 57 seconds on the clock. Gomez sunk her foul shot and cut it to just a one-point game. On Nevada's next possession, senior T Moe heaved up a desperation three-point shot with the shot clock expiring that bounced off the side of the rim and into the hands of Wyoming's Sladjana Rakovic with 25 seconds left. However, tenacious defense by King caused Rakovic to give the ball back to the Wolf Pack.
 
With so little time remaining, the Cowgirls needed to start fouling. Now with 14 seconds on the clock, Moe went to the line where she made 1-of-2, giving the Pack a two-point advantage. On the miss of Moe's second free throw attempt, a Wyoming player went up to grab the rebound but the ball rolled off of her arm and out of bounds, keeping possession with Nevada. Next up junior Jade Redmon went to the line for a pair and also hit 1-of-2, making it a three-point lead for the Pack. With one more chance to tie things up, the three-point attempt by Wyoming's Selale Kepenc did not fall, sealing the win for Nevada.
 
Moe led the Wolf Pack in scoring for the third straight night, finishing with 17 points and was near perfect from the free throw line, going 7-of-8. Zeller notched 16 points in the win and King posted 11.
 
Nevada will face No. 1 Boise State this Friday, March 9 at 12 p.m. in the Mountain West Championship game from Thomas & Mack Center. The winner will receive an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament.
 
Postgame notes
-No. 7 Nevada pulled another upset this week as it defeated No. 3 Wyoming, 67-63, Wednesday night at Thomas & Mack Center, sending the Wolf Pack to the Mountain West Championship game.
-Nevada will face No. 1 Boise State this Friday, March 9 at 12 p.m. in the championship game. The winner receives an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament. For the Wolf Pack, it would be the program's first trip to the big dance.
-Friday's championship game will mark the first conference title game for the Pack since it played in the WAC Championship game in 2009 and its first ever appearance in the title game since joining the Mountain West six years ago.
-With the win over Wyoming, Nevada improved its overall record to 17-15. With one more win, head coach Amanda Levens will tie Jane Albright as the winningest first year head coach in program history.
-The Wolf Pack committed just three turnovers in the game, which sets a single game program record.
-For the third straight game Nevada was led in scoring by senior T Moe, who notched 17 points and went 7-of-8 from the free throw line.
-Senior Teige Zeller finished with 16 points, her 27^th game in double figures this season. Sophomore Camariah King also reached double figures with 11 points.
-The all-time series between Nevada and Wyoming stands at 15-10 in favor of the Cowgirls.