RENO, Nev. – In the middle of a four-game home stand, the Nevada women's basketball team welcomes in San Diego State for a two-game Mountain West series at Lawlor Events Center this week.

The first of the two games will be held this Thursday, Jan. 7 at 6 p.m. and the second game will take place this Saturday, Jan. 9 at 1 p.m. Both teams will be aiming to snap a losing skid as Nevada has lost its last three outings and San Diego State has lost four in a row. Both teams will also be looking for their first MW win of the season.

Heading into games eight and nine on the year, Nevada has three players averaging points in double figures, and one more on the verge. Junior Da'Ja Hamilton currently leads the team, and ranks in the top 15 in the conference, averaging 14.1 points per game, followed by Megan Ormiston (11.8 ppg) and LaPraisjah Johnson (10.3 ppg). Senior Nia Alexander, who has scored in double figures in three consecutive games, is closing in on becoming the fourth player to average scoring in double digits as she currently sits at 9.3 points per game.
 
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 and broadcast locally in Northern Nevada on Nevada Sports Net (Ch. 21 regionally).

SERIES HISTORY
Nevada and San Diego State are about as even in their all-time series as you can get, with each team winning 12 times in the 24-game history. Under head coach Amanda Levens, the Wolf Pack is 4-3 against the Aztecs and split with SDSU a year ago, each team winning on their home court.

QUICK HITS
• With eight wins, Levens will reach 100 victories in her Division I career
• Nevada is 1st in the MW, and 17th nationally, in free throw percentage
• Nia Alexander has scored in double figures in three straight games
• LaPraisjah Johnson posted a career-high 17 points last time out
• Gabby Rones and Bethany Carstens got their first starts last time out

STRONG PLAY FROM P
Seven games into the start of the 2020-21 season, LaPraisjah Johnson is making the most of her senior season. The Texas native is averaging double figures in scoring at 10.3 points per game, compared to just 1.9 points per game in seven total appearances last season. Last time out against New Mexico, Johnson scored a team and career-high 17 points and was a perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line. She also tied her career-high of seven rebounds in that game and was 4-of-7 from the field. Johnson scored a total of 13 points all of last season and has totaled 72 points so far this season.

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 against New Mexico. Carstens earned her first start in a Wolf Pack uniform in that game and totaled a season-high 10 points and five rebounds.

Ormiston has been one of the Pack's best players as of late, and the numbers speak for themselves. The UC Santa Barbara transfer is averaging 11.8 points and 6.5 rebounds in her first four games, and has started in the past three games. 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 47.2 percent from the field through her first four games as well.

HAMILTON OFF TO HOT START
Da'Ja Hamilton, who has started in all but one game this season, is off to a hot start in her junior season. Hamilton currently leads the team with 26 assists and ranks second averaging 14.1 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 of two games. She is shooting 35 percent from the field and boasts a 2.1 assist to turnover ratio through seven 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 - 15 points shy of 100
• Megan Ormiston - 30 points shy of 200
• Bethany Carstens - 42 points shy of 400
• Nia Alexander - 51 points for 700

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 seven 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 seven games Holt leads Nevada with 13 steals and second on the team with 19 assists. She is averaging 2.0 steals per game, sixth-best in the Mountain West. 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, and earned her first collegiate start the Pack's last time out against New Mexico.

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 was scheduled to be played Dec. 4 & 6 at Air Force, but both games were postponed due to positive COVID-19 tests in the Air Force program. No make up date has been announced yet for those two contests. Nevada's next set of scheduled conference games is Jan. 7 & 9 at home against San Diego State.
 
UP NEXT: ON THE ROAD AGAIN
Nevada is back on the road next week as it will travel to Fresno, Calif. to face defending Mountain West regular season champs Fresno State in the Pack's first set of conference road games. The two-game conference series will begin Thursday, Jan. 14 at 6 p.m. and conclude Saturday, Jan. 16 at 2 p.m.