LAS VEGAS, Nev. – A buzzer beating layup as time expired pushed No. 1 Boise State past No. 7 Nevada, 62-60, in Friday's Mountain West Championship game.
 
It was a heartbreaking finish to an otherwise impressive and resilient week by the Wolf Pack. After taking down the No. 10 seed San Diego State in overtime on Monday, Nevada pulled back-to-back upsets over No. 2 UNLV and No. 3 Wyoming to reach the championship contest against No. 1 Boise State. This marked Nevada's first appearance in the Mountain West title game and just its second ever appearance in a conference championship.
 
Nevada concludes this portion of the season with a 17-16 overall record in Amanda Levens' first season at the helm, winning five of its last six games. This is the Pack's first winning season since it won 18 games in 2013-14. In Friday's contest, senior Teige Zeller led the Pack in scoring, totaling 14 points. Junior Jade Redmon and senior T Moe also scored in double figures, posting 11 and 10, respectively. Zeller and Moe both earned a spot on the five-person MW All-Tournament team for their efforts this week.
 
Nevada looked poised for the win on Friday, leading for over 32 minutes of the game. The Broncos (23-9) opened the game's scoring on a three-pointer by Riley Lupfer but did not lead again until the final shot of the game. The Wolf Pack shot 50 percent in the first quarter and held the Broncos scoreless for the final 2:40 to take a five-point lead, 18-13, into the second quarter. Boise State closed the gap a bit in the second but the Pack defense held strong to keep the lead with them heading into halftime.
 
It was a strong start to the second half for Nevada as the Wolf Pack opened up on an 11-5 run and forced BSU head coach Gordy Presnell to call a timeout. Following the timeout, off of a feed from Redmon, Zeller layed it up and in to give Nevada its largest lead of the game at 10 points, 46-36, with 6:02 left in the third. Boise State then began chipping away at the lead, getting it back to a five-point deficit before both teams went on a four minute scoring drought. Boise State scored the final points of the period when A'Shanti Coleman got a layup to fall with 57 seconds left, bringing her team within three with one quarter remaining.
 
Again in the fourth the Wolf Pack showed its might against the No. 1 seed, stretching the lead back out to eight points twice with just over eight minutes to play. Both teams traded baskets back and forth until the Broncos made a dent in the deficit as the clock ticked under five minutes. A layup by Reno native Shalen Shaw with 2:32 on the clock tied things up at 58. Nevada came back and grabbed the lead once more on a make by Zeller in the paint but another layup on the other end by Coleman tied the score once again with under a minute to play. Redmon put up the go-ahead shot with 30 seconds on the clock but the ball bounced off the rim and out of bounds, giving possession back to the Broncos. Able to hold the ball for one final shot, the Broncos did just that. BSU's Marta Hermida missed a jumper with two seconds left but Coleman grabbed the offensive rebound and laid it up from there as time expired to send the Broncos home with the championship.
 
Nevada will now wait to see if it qualifies for any postseason tournaments next week.
 
Postgame notes
-Nevada finishes the season at 17-16 overall, its first winning season since the 2013-14 campaign.
-This was the Wolf Pack's first appearance in the Mountain West Championship game and just its second ever appearance in a conference title game.
-During its run at the MW Tournament, Nevada pulled upsets over No. 2 UNLV, No. 3 Wyoming and nearly knocked off the No. 1 seed in Boise State.
-Senior Teige Zeller led the Wolf Pack with 14 points, her 28^th game in double figures this season.
-Junior Jade Redmon posted 11 points in the game, her 15^th game in double figures, and senior T Moe added 10 points, her 50^th game in double figures in her career.
-Nevada shot the ball better than Boise State, hitting 44.1 percent to the Broncos' 41.4 percent.
-The all-time series between Nevada and Boise State stands at 38-17 in favor of the Broncos.
-The Wolf Pack will now wait to see if it qualifies for any postseason tournaments.