Second quarter hot streak, elite defense gives Nevada 64-47 win over San Jose State

RENO, Nevada (Nevada Athletics) – Outscoring San Jose State 20-8 in the second quarter, Nevada women’s basketball never relinquished its lead in the second half and defeated the Spartans 64-47 in the Pack’s Mountain West opener on Thursday at the Lawlor Events Center.

The 47 points scored by San Jose State was the lowest point total by a Nevada opponent in a conference opener since the Pack joined a conference in the NCAA era.

It’s also the second straight season that Nevada begins Mountain West play with a 1-0 record.

Junior Alyssa Jimenez led all scorers with a season-high 14 points while grabbing nine rebounds. Graduate student Megan Ormiston earned her third double-figure performance in Nevada’s last four games with 12 points Thursday.

Trailing 15-9 in the first quarter, Nevada’s 58.3 percent shooting in the second quarter quickly chipped away at San Jose State’s lead.

When San Jose State extended its lead to nine points with six minutes to play in the first half, the Pack torched the nets with a 13-0 run that put the Pack ahead by four.

The Spartans cut Nevada’s lead to 27-26 with 1:20 left in the half, but a free throw by sophomore Kaylee Borden and a layup by Tiffany Siu kept the Pack ahead heading into halftime.

A 3-pointer and a layup by Ormiston allowed the Pack’s red-hot streak to continue in the third quarter, with a pair of free throws by junior Gabby Rones pushing Nevada’s lead to double digits.

Nevada continued to keep its double-digit lead at bay, closing out the quarter with a 3-pointer by Siu.

San Jose State continued to claw its way to a late comeback, but Nevada used a late 3-pointer by Audrey Roden with 1:20 to go to hit nine of its final 13 free throws to clinch its first victory. in conference of the season. Nevada played its final game of the 2022 calendar year and returns to action Thursday, Jan. 5 at San Diego State.

Postgame notes

The 47 points scored by San Jose State was the lowest total by a Nevada opponent in a conference opener since the Pack joined a conference in the NCAA era. Nevada is now 1-0 to start Mountain West play for the second straight season. Nevada started the game shooting 25 percent from the floor. They nearly doubled that for the remaining three quarters, shooting 47 percent for the rest of the game. Junior Alyssa Jimenez (14 points) has scored at least 10 points in three of Nevada’s last five games. She has pulled down at least eight rebounds in three of her last four games. Graduate student Megan Ormiston (12 points) has scored in double figures in three of Nevada’s last four games. She is averaging 14.7 points per game in Nevada’s last four games. Junior Gabby Rones made her first start of the season Thursday. She last played for Nevada on January 2, 2021 against New Mexico.

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