RENO, Nev. - Nevada solidified its hold on third place in the WAC with a 49-43 win over Idaho Saturday afternoon for Senior Day.
It is the first time in the Gervasoni era that the Pack (11-14, 7-6 WAC) has been above the .500 mark in WAC play.
Jessica Preslar had 15 points and a season-high nine rebounds to lead Nevada in both categories and the nine rebounds led both teams. Teammates Cherlanda Franklin and Dellena Criner added eight and seven points, respectively. Leilani Mitchell had 14 points and Jessica Summers had 10 points for Idaho (8-15, 4-8 WAC).
Nevada (11-14, 7-6 WAC) edge, 22-21, at the intermission when Dellena Criner hit a three-pointer with three seconds left. After falling behind, 27-26, Nevada regained the lead at the 15:40 mark, 29-27, and never trailed again. Nevada's biggest lead was 10, 47-37 at the 3:08 mark and they matched that with a 49-39 advantage at the 1:02 mark.
The Pack shot .432 from the field and limited Idaho to just .341. Nevada held the edge in rebounding. 32-28, but the game was marred by 46 turnovers, 24 by Nevada and 22 for Idaho.
Two Nevada seniors, Kate Saltmarsh and Salaia Salave'a, played their final regular-season game at Lawlor Events Center. They were honored before the game and both started with Saltmarsh scoring two points in 15 minutes of action and Salave'a four along with three rebounds in seeing 13 minutes.
In other WAC action
Louisiana Tech 72, Boise State 59
Tasha Williams scored 20 points, including five in a critical stretch late in the game, to lead 24th ranked Louisiana Tech to a 72-59 win over Boise State before 824 fans at Taco Bell Arena Saturday afternoon.
After Boise State cut an 18-point Tech lead down to 58-50 with five minutes to play, Williams ?“ the reigning Western Athletic Conference player of the year ?“ scored five of Tech?™s next six points to push the lead back to 64-52 with just over two minutes remaining.
Tech (20-4, 12-1 WAC) hit 15-of-18 free throws in the second half, including 10-of-10 in the final three minutes of play, to help win its ninth game in a row and 15th of its last 16.
Hawai`i 63, Utah State 50
Hawai`i suffered through its worst shooting night of the season but gutted out a 63-50 win over Utah State Saturday night at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum. The Rainbow Wahine improved to 15-8 overall and 6-6 in the WAC with their fourth win in the last five contests.
Hawai`i used an 11-0 run and scored 20 of the game's final 25 points to defeat the Aggies (3-19, 2-10) by double-digits and notch its third straight road win. Despite the final margin, UH escaped with the victory after trailing for much of the game against a Utah State squad, that despite sitting in the WAC cellar, had entered the game winners of two of its last three. With the win, UH remained in fourth place in the WAC, a half game behind third-place Nevada.
Hawai`i shot a season-low 27 percent from the floor but compensated with a massive effort on the boards and the free throw line. The Rainbow Wahine out-rebounded the Aggies, 52-39, and generated numerous second chance opportunities with 25 offensive boards. The Rainbow Wahine also shot 25-of-29 (86 percent) from the free throw line, where they scored their final nine points to seal the game.
Amy Sanders and Janevia Taylor each scored 17 points to pace the Rainbow Wahine. Sophomore post Tanya Smith recorded her third career double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds, while Pam Tambini grabbed a career-high12 rebounds. Jessica Freeman and Ali Marchant each had 11 points for the Aggies.
San Jose State 58, New Mexico State 35
The San Jose State University women?™s basketball team (11-12, 6-6) defeated the New Mexico State Aggies (7-17, 4-9) 58-35 Saturday, February 18 at The Event Center.
The Aggies?™ 35 points was lowest opponent point total that the Spartan defense had allowed all season. The Aggies shot just 22 percent from the field to the Spartans?™ 37 percent.
The Spartans went on 12-0 run to open the game and never relinquished the lead. They were ahead 26-16 at the break and outscored the Aggies 32-19 in the second half. They went on another big run, 13-1, from 12:34 to 5:54 in the second half.