RENO, Nev. – The Nevada women's basketball team begins its quest for the program's first Mountain West Championship this Sunday, March 1 at 2 p.m. as it will take on the No. 9 seed, New Mexico, from Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nev.

The Wolf Pack garnered the No. 8 seed in this year's conference tournament after finishing the season 14-15 overall and 7-11 in league games. Nevada has lost its last three games heading into the tournament but recently rattled off four wins in a row, proving it has the talent and skill to make some noise in next week's conference tournament. The Pack is led by sophomore Essence Booker, who continues to surge during this late stretch of the season. Booker has scored in double figures in 12 consecutive games to bump her scoring average up to a team-leading 12.8 points per game. She leads the team in both made 3-pointers (50) and assists (69). Her 50 makes from beyond the arc this year also put her ninth in the Mountain West.

New Mexico is 15-16 overall on the year with a 6-12 record in Mountain West play and will hold the No. 9 seed in the tournament. The Wolf Pack and Lobos split the regular season series, both winning on their home court. The latest contest between these two teams was an 86-78 overtime victory in Reno for the Wolf Pack where Nevada had five score in double figures, led by 19 points from senior Marguerite Effa.
 
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 New Mexico have squared off in women's basketball 15 times in program history, with the Lobos ahead in the all-time series 11-4. The Wolf Pack snapped a nine-game losing streak to the Lobos last time out, earning an 86-78 overtime win in mid-February. These two programs have never met in the Mountain West Tournament and New Mexico boasts a 4-1 record over Nevada in the Amanda Levens era.

CINDERELLA STORY POTENTIAL?
Under head coach Amanda Levens, the Wolf Pack have made some noise in the past two conference tournaments. In year one under Levens and playing as the No. 7 seed, Nevada made its first ever Mountain West championship game appearance, knocking off the No. 2 and 3 seeds along the way. Last season as the No. 8 seed, the Pack bowed out in the quarterfinals to the No. 1 seed, and eventual champions, Boise State, but gave the Broncos their toughest and closest contest of the tournament. Entering the 2020 conference tournament as the No. 8 seed again, the Pack will look to bring that momentum from previous runs into this year's event.

CAPTURE THE ESSENCE
Sophomore Essence Booker has been on fire in the last dozen games. The Las Vegas native has scored in double figures in those 12 and is averaging 15.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.7 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 Sunday's game leading the team and ranking eighth in the Mountain West having hit 50 3-pointers this season. To put that in perspective, she only made 14 3-pointers in all of last season. She connected on a career-high five triples in the team's last game at San Diego State.

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 11 of her last 15 games and recorded her third 20-point game of the season at San Diego State.

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 Sunday's game against New Mexico, Nevada ranks fifth in the conference in assists per game, averaging 14.55 per game. The Pack has dished out at least 10 assists in all but three of its 29 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. Sophomore Essence Booker, who totaled 50 assists in her rookie season, currently leads the team with 69, followed by junior Miki'ala Maio's 66 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 in the home finale against Wyoming. In her last four games, Hamilton is averaging 10.8 points, 2.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game, while scoring in double figures in three of the four. 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 43.8 percent from long range in this four-game stretch. Additionally, she has dished out 11 assists to just seven 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 Sunday afternoon against New Mexico.

• Jacqulynn Nakai - 22 points shy of 100
• Jená Williams - 17 points shy of 100
• Alyssa Jimenez - 16 points shy of 100
• Nia Alexander - 20 points shy of 600

DON'T FORGET ABOUT IMANI
Sophomore Imani Lacy has quietly been one of the most consistent Wolf Pack players through the regular 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 in the top 10 in the conference in blocks per game at 1.20, and ranks eighth in the league in free throw shooting, hitting 69.0 percent.

WILD, WILD WEST
Sophomore Amaya West has strung together some of the best basketball of her career in the last two games to close out the regular season. West, who had been averaging under four points per game for most of the season, has scored 13 and a career-high 15 points, respectively, in her last two outings. The Arizona native is shooting 58.8 percent from the field and has been perfect from the free throw line. In addition to her scoring, West is averaging 6.5 rebounds per game in the last week, including a career-high eight at San Diego State. As if that weren't enough she has dished out a career-high four assists in each of the last two games and has committed zero turnovers.

UP NEXT: SHOWDOWN WITH THE NO. 1 SEED
Should the Wolf Pack win on Sunday against New Mexico in the opening round of the 2020 Air Force Reserve Mountain West Tournament, it will advance to Monday's quarterfinals against the No. 1 seed, Fresno State. That game is slated for 12 p.m. on Monday from Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. Nevada and Fresno State met just once during the regular season, with the Bulldogs pulling out a 69-58 win in Fresno.