Nevada women’s basketball team holds off UNLV, 70-62

Behind a game-high 20 points from senior Jade Redmon, the Nevada women’s basketball team took down its in-state rival UNLV 70-62 Wednesday night at Lawlor Events Center in a Silver State Series matchup.

The only time the Wolf Pack (7-12, 3-5 MW) trailed in the game was after the game’s opening basket by the Lady Rebels (6-13, 4-4 MW). Back-to-back jumpers by Redmon followed, which put Nevada ahead for good. The Pack built a double-digit lead as the first quarter drew to a close. Redmon knocked down a triple with 1:28 left in the period that gave the Pack a 10-point lead.

UNLV did not go away quietly, chipping away slowly at the lead. The Lady Rebels were able to cut it to a four-point game after a 5-0 run at the 4:14 mark of the second and again got it down to a four-point game with 3:01 left in the period. Nevada put its foot back on the gas though to close out the quarter, scoring the last eight points to take a 40-28 lead into halftime. It marked the Pack’s largest halftime lead of the season.

In the third, the Lady Rebels again began to chip away at the deficit but only got as close as seven points. After UNLV’s Kavionnia Brown hit a pair of free throws in the last minute to bring it to a 10-point game, junior Camariah King hit a 3-pointer as the quarter drew to a close to give Nevada a comfortable 13-point lead with 10 minutes remaining in the game. UNLV did win the fourth quarter, outscoring the Pack 17-12, but didn’t do much to chip away at the lead until the final two minutes of play, sealing the win for the Wolf Pack.

Redmon led all scorers with a season-high 20 points after shooting 8-of-13 from the field and added three assists to just one turnover. King also reached double figures, adding 13 points on 5-of-10 shooting, three of which came from behind the 3-point line. Senior Terae Briggs fell one point shy of recording her ninth double-double of the season, grabbing 10 rebounds. She also added four assists, five steals and two blocks to her night. Nevada caused 18 UNLV turnovers and had just 13 of its own, second-lowest of the season.

Nevada hits the road this weekend for a contest at Boise State this Saturday, Feb. 2 at 1 p.m. PT from Taco Bell Arena.

Notes:  Nevada’s 12-point halftime lead (40-28) was its largest lead at halftime of the season. … Senior Jade Redmon posted a season-high 20 points to lead all scorers. She has scored in double figures in all 16 games in which she has played. … Senior Terae Briggs fell one point shy of recording her ninth double-double of the season, totaling 10 rebounds. She added four assists, five steals and two blocks to her night. Briggs’ first rebound of the night gave her 600 in her Wolf Pack career. … Junior Camariah King added 13 points and has scored in double figures in back-to-back games. She finished 3-of-6 from beyond the arc. … Freshman Imani Lacy fell two points and two rebounds shy of recording her first career double-double. … The all-time series between Nevada and UNLV is now 33-11 in favor of the Lady Rebels. The Wolf Pack has won three consecutive games over UNLV for the first time in program history.

— Katie Rihn, @NevadaWolfPack