Nevada pulls away from Utah State, remains unbeaten in MW play

RENO, Nev. – Da’Ja Hamilton scored 21 points for the third-straight game, as Nevada remained unbeaten in Mountain West play with a 65-54 victory over Utah State Monday at Lawlor Events Center.

The win improves Nevada to 11-4 overall, and to 3-0 in Mountain West play, marking the Pack’s first 3-0 conference start since joining the loop. The Pack will go for its first 4-0 start in conference play since the 2009-10 WAC campaign Thursday, when it hosts Boise State at 6:30 p.m.

Hamilton’s performance, along with 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting from Amaya West, and 12 points off the bench from freshman Audrey Roden, helped Nevada pull away from a pesky Aggie squad which kept the game within single digits until the final frame. 

Hamilton scored seven points during the Wolf Pack’s 11-3 run to open the second quarter, turning a slim two-point lead after a frame into a 10-point cushion at 25-15. But Utah State (5-7, 0-2 MW) responded with a run of its own, scoring 10-straight, capped by a triple from E’Lease Stafford, who shared the Aggie lead Monday with 12 points.

The deadlock was short-lived, as Roden’s triple 19 seconds later put Nevada up for good, and the Pack ended the half with a 7-3 burst to take a four-point lead at the break.

Nevada slowly began to pull away in the final minutes of the third quarter, using another burst, this time an 8-3 run, to close the frame and hold an eight-point advantage. Roden would go on to score the first four points of the fourth quarter, putting the Pack up 12 at 50-38, and Utah State never got closer than seven the rest of the way.