RENO, Nev. – The Nevada women's basketball team will open the 2020-21 season this weekend with a pair of games at Lawlor Events Center in Reno.

The Wolf Pack will tip off the season this Friday, Nov. 27 with a 2 p.m. contest against visiting San Francisco, and follow that up the next day with another 2 p.m. game against NAIA member William Jessup. This weekend was originally scheduled to be played as a tournament, the annual Nugget Classic, but due to changes in schedules caused by COVID-19, the tournament format was dropped and Nevada will play a single game in back-to-back days.

Head coach Amanda Levens enters her fourth year at the helm of the program with a coaching staff that remains unchanged from last season. The Wolf Pack returned six players from last year's squad and welcomed in 10 newcomers to the program, including four transfers and six freshmen.

ON THE AIR
Josh Suchon will have the call in Northern Nevada on CBS Sports Radio 94.1 FM and 1450 AM with a 20 minute pregame show prior to tipoff. Fans can also tune in to listen to Suchon's broadcast online at TuneIn.com or via the TuneIn app.
 
The game will also be live streamed on the Mountain West Network.

NEVADA IN SEASON OPENERS
The Wolf Pack is 23-16 all-time in season opening games and sports a 19-6 record in season openers at home. Nevada is 1-2 in head coach Amanda Levens' tenure in season opening games.

QUICK HITS
• Nevada opens up the season at home for the third straight season
• The Wolf Pack returns six and welcomes in 10 newcomers
• Amanda Levens enters her fourth year at the helm
• With 12 wins, Levens will reach 100 victories in her Division I career
• Nevada will play a 20-game conference season in 2020-21

NEW LOOK PACK
The Wolf Pack will have a different look and feel to it this season with just six returners and 10 newcomers joining the program in the offseason. Of the six returners, senior Nia Alexander and Alyssa Jimenez each started in at least 28 games, with Jimenez starting in 30. Alexander leads all returners having averaged 5.5 rebounds per game in 2019-20, while Jimenez's 40 steals in her rookie season lead all returners.

Head coach Amanda Levens brought in 10 newcomers in the offseason, including four transfers and six freshmen. Two of the four transfers, Megan Ormiston from UC Santa Barbara and Bethany Carstens from Chicago State, will have to sit out the 2020-21 season under NCAA transfer rules. The other two transfers, Leta Otuafi and Eliska Stebetakova, join the Wolf Pack from junior colleges, making them eligible immediately. Otuafi, a native of nearby Fallon, transferred from Utah State Eastern, while Stebetakova joined the Pack from Northeastern Oklahoma A&M.

MILESTONE WATCH
Nevada has a few players who are approaching milestones, some of whom could hit those numbers Friday afternoon vs. San Francisco.

• Nia Alexander - 16 points shy of 600
• Da'Ja Hamilton - 65 points shy of 400
• Amaya West - 71 points shy of 300
• LaPraisjah Johnson - 87 points shy of 100
• Alyssa Jimenez - 97 points shy of 200
• Alyssa Jimenez - 5 rebounds shy of 100

SERIES HISTORY
Nevada and San Francisco will meet for the 18th time in program history on Friday, with the Dons ahead in the all-time series 11-6. Friday's contest will be the first meeting between the two programs since USF scored a 70-62 win in San Francisco in 2015. Friday will also be a reunion for Nevada senior Nia Alexander, who transferred to the Wolf Pack from San Francisco last season.

Nevada and William Jessup have not played an official game against one another in program history. The Wolf Pack and Warriors did meet in an exhibition contest though last season with Nevada earning a 102-56 victory in Lawlor Events Center.

CONFERENCE PLAY CHANGES
The Mountain West schedule will look slightly different this season than it has in the past. The conference schedule will go from 18 games to 20 games with Nevada playing each team in the league twice. In order to cut down on travel, the conference office announced that teams would play one another in a two-game series within a three-day time span in the same city. Nevada's first set of Mountain West games is right around the corner with a trip to Colorado Springs, Colo. to face Air Force in Clune Arena Dec. 4 & 6.

MEET THE NEWCOMERS
• #1 Andrea Jovicevic | 5-10 | G | Fr. | Podgorica, Montenegro/Bella Vista Prep
• #11 Kenna Holt | 5-8 | G | Fr. | Reno, Nev./Bishop Manogue HS
• #20 Bethany Carstens | 5-9 | G | So. | Kenai, Alaska/Chicago State
• #21 Alexis Elquist | 6-0 | F | Fr. | Elko, Nev./Elko HS
• #22 Gabby Rones | 5-5 | G | Fr. | Sacramento, Calif./West Campus HS
• #23 Lexie Givens | 6-0 | F | Fr. | Alameda, Calif./Alameda HS
• #31 Tiffany Siu | 5-6 | G | Fr. | Oakland, Calif./Oakland Technical HS
• #34 Leta Otuafi | 5-11 | F | So. | Fallon, Nev./Utah State Eastern
• #40 Megan Ormiston | 6-3 | F | Jr. | Murrieta, Calif./UC Santa Barbara
• #44 Eliška Štěbetáková | 6-2 | F | Jr. | Děčín, Czech Republic/NE Oklahoma A&M

ROSTER BREAKDOWN
By Class: Senior (2), Junior (4), Sophomore (4), Freshmen (6)
By State: California (5), Nevada (3), Arizona (2), Alaska (1), Washington (1), Texas (1), Colorado (1)
By Country: United States of America (14), Czech Republic (1), Montenegro (1)
By Position: Guard (10), Forward (6)

UP NEXT: MOUNTAIN WEST PLAY BEGINS
A little earlier than usual, but Nevada will open Mountain West action Dec. 4 and 6 when the team travels to Colorado Springs, Colo. to take on Air Force in its first set of league games of the season.