RENO, Nev. – The Nevada women's basketball team will conclude the 2019-20 regular season with a road contest at San Diego State this Thursday, Feb. 27 at 5:30 p.m. PT from Viejas Arena in San Diego.

Thursday night's game is a battle for the No. 6 seed in next week's Mountain West Tournament as the winner will claim that seeding. After winning four consecutive games, Nevada has lost its last two and looks to end the regular season on a winning note heading into the conference tournament. The Wolf Pack recently lost a road contest to the regular season champions Fresno State over the weekend and was defeated by another top five team in Wyoming Monday night at Lawlor Events Center. In that game against the Cowgirls, Nevada shot a season-high 53.3 percent from beyond the arc and committed a season-low four turnovers. The Pack was led in scoring by sophomore Essence Booker, who totaled 17 points on 8-of-15 shooting.

San Diego State won its last game, pulling out a 64-61 victory in overtime at Colorado State on Monday. The Aztecs enter Thursday's game with a 13-16 overall record and a 8-9 mark in Mountain West play. SDSU is led by newcomer Taylor Kalmer who averages 15.3 points per game, good for sixth-best in the conference. The Aztecs also have been getting all-around solid play out of Sophia Ramos this season. Ramos is averaging 14.0 points and 6.5 rebounds per game, while adding 109 assists on the year.
 
ON THE AIR
Doug Greenwald 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 Greenwald'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 San Diego State are a fairly new series with just 23 games between them. The all-time series began in 1983-84, but did not resume until the 2003-04 campaign. It's been a dead heat of a series but Nevada grabbed the upper hand, 12-11, in the series after its win over the Aztecs back in January. Under head coach Amanda Levens, the Wolf Pack is 4-2 over the Aztecs, including a Mountain West Tournament victory in 2017-18 in the tournament's opening round.

CAPTURE THE ESSENCE
Sophomore Essence Booker has been on fire in the last 11 games. The Las Vegas native has scored in double figures in those 11 and is averaging 15.0 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game in that stretch. She was near perfect from the free throw line in the OT win over New Mexico, knocking down 10-of-12 in the win over New Mexico. Booker enters Thursday's game leading the team and ranking ninth in the Mountain West having hit 45 3-pointers this season. To put that in perspective, she only made 14 3-pointers in all of last season. Additionally Booker hit 500 points in her collegiate career during the game at Fresno State.

WILD, WILD (MOUNTAIN) WEST
With just one game remaining in the regular season, the only seeds that have been secured are the No. 1, 2, 5 and 11. The remaining seven seeds are still up for grabs as teams will close the regular season on Thursday. 

What it means for Nevada:
-A win over SDSU would give the Pack the No. 6 seed. Nevada would then play No. 11 Utah State on Sunday, March 1 at 7 p.m.
-A loss to SDSU, coupled with a win over Air Force by Colorado State, would give Nevada the No. 7 seed. The Pack would then play either Air Force or New Mexico on Sunday at 4:30 p.m.
-A loss to SDSU, coupled with a win over Colorado State by Air Force, would give Nevada the No. 8 seed. The Pack would then play either New Mexico or Colorado State on Sunday at 2 p.m.

Control your own destiny. Win on Thursday and grab the No. 6 seed.

MAR OH MAR
Senior Marguerite Effa has really picked up her play as of late. The Los Angeles, Calif. native had the game of her career vs. SJSU. Effa totaled 31 points and 15 rebounds, both of which are career highs, to post her second double-double of the season. She was nearly unstoppable as she connected on 71.4 percent of her shots, hitting 15-of-21, setting career highs there too. Effa is just the sixth player in the Mountain West this season to score 30+ points in a single game. She is the only player to score 30+ points in a single game and record a double-double while doing so. Effa has now scored in double figures in 10 of her last 14 games and eclipsed 400 points in her collegiate career during the game against New Mexico.

CAN YOU ASSIST ME?
The Wolf Pack has been one of the best teams in the Mountain West in terms of sharing the basketball. Heading into Monday's game against Wyoming, Nevada ranks fifth in the conference in assists per game, averaging 14.50 per game. The Pack has dished out at least 10 assists in all but three of its 28 games, including two 20-assist games. Nevada has three players with at least 60 assists this season, all of whom are pretty close together with their totals. Junior Miki'ala Maio currently leads the team with 66 assists, but is followed closely by sophomore Essence Booker's 64 and freshman Jená Williams' 63.

HAMILTON SURGING
Sophomore Da'Ja Hamilton has been surging as of late and earned her first start of the season last time out in the home finale against Wyoming. In her last three games, Hamilton is averaging 13.3 points, 3.0 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game, while scoring in double figures in all three. She totaled a career-high 15 points on the road at Fresno State, where she hit 3-of-5 from beyond the arc. Speaking of her 3-point shooting, Hamilton is shooting 50 percent from long range in this three-game stretch. Additionally, she has dished out 10 assists to just five turnovers, including a career-high six assists in the win over New Mexico.

MILESTONE WATCH
Nevada has a few players who are approaching milestones, some of whom could hit those numbers Thursday evening at San Diego State.

• Jacqulynn Nakai - 22 points shy of 100
• Jená Williams - 17 points shy of 100
• Alyssa Jimenez - 18 points shy of 100
• Nia Alexander - 22 points shy of 600

DON'T FORGET ABOUT IMANI
Sophomore Imani Lacy has quietly been one of the most consistent Wolf Pack players through 28 games this season. In the Pack's home game against Boise State, Lacy posted the second 20-point game of her career, and first this season, after scoring a game and career-high 28 points. Lacy was terrific in that game, hitting 8-of-14 from the field and 12-of-14 from the free throw line, both which were career highs. She has been especially impressive this season with her free throw shooting and shot blocking. Lacy currently ranks fifth in the conference in blocks per game at 1.25, and ranks seventh in the league in free throw shooting, hitting 68.2 percent.

UP NEXT: MOUNTAIN WEST TOURNAMENT
The 2020 Mountain West Tournament, which begins this Sunday, March 1, awaits the Wolf Pack. As of right now though, Nevada could still be in any of the three games scheduled for Sunday. With many scenarios as a possibility, the Wolf Pack will either be the No. 6, 7 or 8 seed in next week's tournament.