RENO, Nev. – A complete team effort lifted the Nevada women's basketball team to a 73-60 win Thursday night over Utah State to complete the two-game regular season sweep.
The Wolf Pack improves to 11-8 overall this season and evens its Mountain West record to 7-7 with two regular season contests remaining. With at least one win next week at Air Force, Nevada will jump into the No. 6 seed in the upcoming Mountain West Tournament and receive a first round bye, something that has not happened since the 2014 season. The Pack has now won three games in a row and six out of its last eight games.
Up and down the lineup for the Wolf Pack in Thursday night's game were major contributions. Senior
LaPraisjah Johnson led all scorers with a career-high 18 points on 6-of-13 shooting, including a perfect 3-for-3 stat line from the 3-point line. Sophomore
Leta Otuafi also scored in double figures for the second straight game, adding 13 points to her night.
Dom Phillips, in just her fourth game back in over a year, nearly collected a double-double as she finished with eight points and a career-high 10 rebounds.
Nia Alexander posted eight points, eight rebounds and a career-high five assists,
Kenna Holt dished out five assists and zero turnovers. Up and down the lineup, contributions were everywhere.
Thursday's contest against the Aggies (4-17, 2-14 MW) was much more competitive than last night's 23-point victory, but despite the close nature of the game Utah State only led for one minute. With the Aggies holding a 12-11 lead at the 1:55 mark of the opening quarter, a triple from Johnson put Nevada ahead, 14-12, and the Pack never relinquished the lead. Although Utah State did not grab the lead back throughout the remainder of the game, the Aggies were always knocking on the door. USU was able to stay within a single digit deficit until the 5:52 mark of the third quarter when a jumper by Alexander put the Pack up by 10.
The double-digit advantage didn't last long though as the Aggies continue to fight and work their way towards the lead. As the third quarter drew to a close, Johnson knocked down a key 3-pointer at the buzzer that put Nevada ahead by 12 and with some breathing room as the game headed into the final quarter. Utah State wasn't able to make up much ground in the fourth as the Nevada defense locked down and kept the Aggies within at least seven or more points.
Nevada will conclude the regular season with a pair of games at Air Force next week on Wednesday and Friday with game times still to be determined.
