RENO, Nev. – The Nevada women's basketball team is ready to open up Mountain West action this week as it hosts New Mexico for a two-game series.

In the new conference format this season, Nevada will host New Mexico for both games against the Lobos this week. Game one will tip at 2 p.m. this Thursday, Dec. 31, while game two of the series will be played on Saturday, Jan. 2 at 1 p.m. This will be the first set of league games for both teams. The Wolf Pack finished its non-conference season with a 4-1 record, and the Lobos are 3-0 heading into the pair of games this week.

Nevada has gotten strong play this season for a couple of its juniors in Da'Ja Hamilton and newcomer Megan Ormiston. Ormiston, who was recently cleared for competition this season after receiving an NCAA waiver, is averaging 17.0 points and 8.0 rebounds per game after her first two games in a Wolf Pack uniform. The UC Santa Barbara transfer led the Pack in scoring its last time out at Saint Mary's as she totaled a career-high 18 points. Hamilton on the other hand is currently ranked in the top 10 in the Mountain West averaging 16.4 points and 4.2 assists per game through five games. She posted the first 20-point game of her career in the win over Fresno Pacific, totaling a career-best 24 points.
 
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 for both games. 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.

SERIES HISTORY
Nevada and New Mexico have squared off in women's basketball 16 times in program history, with the Lobos ahead in the all-time series 11-5. Last season the Wolf Pack snapped a nine-game losing streak to the Lobos earning an 86-78 overtime win in mid-February. Nevada followed that up with its second consecutive victory over New Mexico in the opening round of the 2020 Mountain West Tournament. Head coach Amanda Levens is now 4-2 against the Lobos in her tenure with the Wolf Pack.

QUICK HITS
• Nevada begins Mountain West play this week
• Da'Ja Hamilton is in the top 10 in the MW in points and assists per game
• With eight wins, Levens will reach 100 victories in her Division I career
• Nevada is 1st in the MW, and 15th nationally, in free throw percentage
• Megan Ormiston is averaging 17.0 ppg and 8.0 rpg after her first two games

ORMISTON AND CARSTENS SUIT UP FOR THE PACK
After an NCAA waiver cleared them for competition this season, transfers Megan Ormiston and Bethany Carstens have made an immediate impact for the Wolf Pack. Carstens made her debut against Fresno Pacific but made her presence known in the team's last game at Saint Mary's. The Alaska native connected on two 3-pointers and finished the game with eight points.

Ormiston has been one of the Pack's best players the last two games, and the numbers speak for themselves. The UC Santa Barbara transfer is averaging 17.0 points and 8.0 rebounds in her first two games, and earned a start in the game at Saint Mary's. She tallied 16 points and tied her career-high of nine rebounds in her debut against Fresno Pacific and followed that up with a career-best 18 points and seven rebounds against the Gaels. She is shooting 50 percent from the field through her first two games as well.

HAMILTON OFF TO HOT START
Da'Ja Hamilton, who has started all five games this season, is off to a hot start in her junior season. Hamilton currently leads the team with 21 assists and ranks second averaging 16.4 points per game. She ranks in the top 10 in the Mountain West in each of those two categories as well, asserting herself as one of the top players in the league. In the win over Fresno Pacific she produced the first 20-point game of her career, finishing with a career-high 24 points. She has scored in double figures in nearly every game this season, with the exception being a nine-point game at Sacramento State on Dec. 13. She is shooting 40 percent from the field and boasts a 2.1 assist to turnover ratio through five games.

MILESTONE WATCH
Nevada has a few players who are approaching milestones, some of whom could hit those numbers over the span of the next two games.

• Amaya West - 30 points shy of 300
• LaPraisjah Johnson - 41 points shy of 100
• Megan Ormiston - 43 points shy of 200
• Alyssa Jimenez - 82 points shy of 200
• Bethany Carstens - 53 points shy of 400

20 POINT OUTBURST
In the first game of the two-game series at Sacramento State, newcomer Eliska Stebetakova posted a breakout game in just her second Division I contest. The Czech Republic native notched 20 points to record the first 20-point game of the season for the Wolf Pack. Stebetakova was lights out from the field, connecting on 10-of-13 shot attempts. She also added six rebounds, two blocks and a steal to an impressive outing.

ROOKIE PROWESS
Just five games into the 2020-21 season, Nevada has already seen some key contributions from some of its rookies. Reno native Kenna Holt has impressed with her tenacious defense and keen eye on the court. In five games Holt leads Nevada with 12 steals and second on the team with 16 assists. She is averaging 2.4 steals per game, fourth-best in the Mountain West and in the top 100 nationally. Lexie Givens has seen a fair amount of playing time as well and posted her best game so far in the second contest at Sacramento State where she scored six points and grabbed six rebounds in a season-high 18 minutes on the court. Gabby Rones made her collegiate debut in her hometown of Sacramento, playing in both games at Sacramento State. In the second game she scored her first collegiate points, hitting a jumper with the shot clock about to expire.

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, were recently granted eligibility to play this season after the NCAA announced a blanket waiver for all transfers. 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.
 
UP NEXT: SAN DIEGO STATE
Nevada will host another two-game conference series at Lawlor Events Center next week as the Aztecs of San Diego State pay a visit to Reno. The first game will tip at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 7 and the second game will start at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 9.