RENO, Nev. – In its first game back since Feb. 7, the Nevada women's basketball team rolled to a 63-40 win Wednesday evening over Utah State.
 
The Wolf Pack (10-8, 6-7 MW) defense was dominant in the game, holding the Aggies (4-16, 2-13 MW) to just 24.1 percent shooting from the field and just 16 percent from the 3-point line. Nevada's offense connected on just over 38 percent of its shots throughout the game, but the rebounding margin was another stark contrast in the story of this game. The Pack dominated on the glass, outrebounding the Aggies by 25 as it collected a season-high 56 rebounds.
 
The rebounding and the scoring was fairly balanced up and down the Wolf Pack lineup as nine players grabbed at least four boards and six players scored at least five points. Nevada was led in both rebounding and scoring by sophomore Leta Otuafi, who tied her career-high of 16 points and added eight rebounds, nearly collecting her second double-double of the season. Juniors Da'Ja Hamilton and Amaya West each tallied nine points in the game with Hamilton adding six assists, tying her career-high. Hamilton also scored the 600th point of her collegiate career in the game.
 
As for the game itself it was a bit of a slow start for the Wolf Pack. After scoring the first bucket of the game on the team's first possession, Nevada went nearly four minutes without a point. Once the Pack broke the scoring drought though the team never looked back and controlled the rest of the first quarter. Nevada ended the opening quarter on a 13-0 run and held Utah State scoreless for the last seven minutes.
 
Nevada carried that strong defense into the second quarter and again had a show stopping performance in the period, outscoring its opponent 15-9. Between the first two quarters the Wolf Pack kept the Aggies to just 13.8 percent on offense and 0-for-13 from the 3-point line to take a 30-13 lead into halftime. Utah State came out hot to start period three, not allowing the Pack to score until the 7:18 mark. Overall the third quarter was the most even of the game, but Utah State was not able to make up any ground as the game headed into the fourth. With nearly a 20-point lead in the fourth, the Wolf Pack posted its best offensive showing of the game in that quarter, connecting on 42.1 percent of its shots and scoring 22 points to put away the 63-40 win.
 
Nevada will conclude its home schedule with a second game against Utah State tomorrow, Feb. 25 at 5 p.m.