Strong defense leads Nevada to victory over Utah State

RENO, Nev. (Nevada Athletics) - Holding Utah State to just 20.9 percent shooting, Nevada women’s basketball defeated the Aggies 78-58 on Saturday at Lawlor Events Center.

Utah State’s 20.9 percent shooting is the lowest percentage held by Nevada in a Mountain West game since the Pack joined the conference in 2012-13.

Junior guard Alyssa Jimenez led Nevada with a career-high 22 points and 11 rebounds, her third double-double of the season. Jimenez is the first Nevada player to register at least three double-doubles in one season since Terae Briggs in 2018-19.

Nevada also got an offensive boost from sophomore guard Audrey Roden (15 points), junior point guard Victoria Davis (13 points) and graduate student forward Megan Ormiston (12 points).

After allowing 55 percent shooting to New Mexico on Wednesday, Nevada was eager to bounce back. The Pack smothered the Aggies defense from the opening tip, holding Utah State to just one made field goal and 6.25 percent shooting in the first quarter.

Capitalizing off the strong defensive performance in the opening 10 minutes, Davis knocked down a 3-pointer following a basket while drawing the foul to put the Pack ahead 32-15 in the second quarter.

Ormiston capped off Nevada’s second quarter scoring with another basket while drawing the foul, with the Pack holding Utah State to just 6.7 percent first-half shooting. Following a basket that extended the Nevada lead to 21 points in the third quarter, Utah State got their offense rolling and used a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to as little as 13 heading into the final 10 minutes.

Jimenez kept the Pack’s lead at bay in the fourth quarter, capping off her career-high performance with a 3-pointer with one minute to play that would put the game out of reach. Nevada returns home to Lawlor Events Center on Monday to take on Wyoming at 6:30 p.m. on Special Olympics Day.

Postgame Notes

• Nevada remained unbeaten when holding its opponents to under 60 points this season.
• Utah State’s 20.9 percent shooting is the lowest percentage held by Nevada in a Mountain West game since the Pack joined the conference in 2012-13.
• Junior guard Alyssa Jimenez scored a career-high 22 points while grabbing 11 rebounds, her third double-double this season. She is the first player since Terae Briggs in 2018-19 to register at least three double-doubles in a season.
• Utah State’s 6.7 percent first half shooting was the lowest first half shooting performance by a Nevada opponent this season.
• Junior guard Victoria Davis (13) had her 10th game this season with double-digit points. Graduate student forward Megan Ormiston (12) had her ninth double-digit point outing of the season while sophomore guard Audrey Roden (15) picked up her eighth game scoring at least 10 points or more in 2022-23.

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