Nevada women’s basketball has third straight win after defeating Cal Poly

Nevada women’s basketball traveled to San Luis Obispo, Calif. on Dec. 2 to take on the 1–3 Mustangs. The Pack won by eight points, 61–53.

Da’Ja Hamilton started the game off with the first nine points, leading Nevada 9–0. Cal Poly was not able to gain a lead for the whole 10 minutes of the first quarter. Mustang Maddie Vick carried the team, scoring eight out of the 14 points. Nevada led 19–14 after the first.

Cal Poly gained a lead after five minutes in the second quarter. Julia Nielacna sank a three to get the lead by one point, 22–21. The Mustangs added four more points to their lead but were unable to keep their shots consistent. Audrey Roden shot a three for Nevada, and the team took off from there. A foul by the Mustangs caused Nevada to gain two points off of free throws by Roden. The Mustangs did not score in the final two minutes and the second quarter ended with Nevada leading 33–26.

At half, Nevada was 12–32 on field goals and 5–15 on three pointers. They had six steals to the Mustangs’ one and the teams tied with two blocks each.

Hamilton started the third quarter with a three pointer, but Nevada struggled to find the net for seven minutes. Cal Poly also had a hard time getting shots in but still took advantage of Nevada’s low performance time. They put up 11 points in the third, leading by one, and Nevada came back at the end of the quarter with four. These four points were what Nevada needed to put them back on top, ending the third quarter 40–37.

The fourth quarter was back and forth between the teams but Hamilton and Gabby Rones each put up a three pointer for Nevada to extend their lead. The middle of the quarter was a free throw face-off because of the multiple fouls each team had. Nia Alexander went 4–4 on her free throws and added a layup on top of that. Cal Poly had Maddie Willett go 2–2 on free throws and gained four points from layups. Nevada was so ahead, the Mustangs’ points did not scare the Packs lead.

Nevada finished the game 61–53. Their field goals were lower than the first half and also lower than Cal Poly’s. They made 10–29 compared to the Mustangs’ 10–26. Although their 83 percent on free throws carried the women to maintain a lead in the last quarter.

Nevada is now 4–3 overall and will go up against the 2–5 University of the Pacific on Dec. 4.

Kelsey Middleton can be reached at kelseymiddleton@sagebrush.unr.edu or on Twitter @kelsmiddleunr

Originally published at http://nevadasagebrush.com.