Colorado State came from behind in the second half to defeat Nevada women’s basketball 65-54 in the 2024 Mountain West Championships Quarterfinals on Monday at Thomas & Mack Center.
Junior guard Audrey Roden led Nevada with a team-high 19 points, her highest point total in a Mountain West Tournament game. Senior guard Victoria Davis added 14 points off the bench while fifth year guard/forward Kaylen Banwareesingh collected her fifth double-digit rebounding game of the season with 10 boards.
Senior forward Lexie Givens had seven rebounds to bring her career total to 614, tied for the ninth-most career rebounds in program history with Mimi Mungedi (2011-15). Freshman guard Izzy Sullivan knocked down a pair of 3-pointers to bring her season total to 52, tied for the most by a Nevada freshman in a single season.
After opening the first period with a back and forth scoring battle, Colorado State took its first lead of the game by drilling a 3-pointer with under three minutes to play in the quarter. Nevada quickly responded, with Davis making a jumper while drawing a foul 20 seconds later to swing the advantage. The Pack forced Colorado State into three missed shots and a turnover on its final four possessions of the first quarter to take the early two-point lead.
Nevada’s offense caught fire in the second quarter, with the Pack making three of their first four shots of the period to go on an 8-0 scoring run. Following a layup from Colorado State’s All-American guard McKenna Hofschild, Roden converted a jumper in the paint after an offensive rebound to keep Nevada in front by 10.
Colorado State continued to claw its way back into the game by going on a 10-2 scoring run to cut the Pack’s lead to one point. Nevada carried its lead into the halftime break thanks to a pair of free throws from junior guard Kaylee Borden and forcing Colorado State to miss its final three shots of the half.
The Rams opened the third quarter on an 8-0 scoring run to take a 35-30 lead with 6:21 left to play in the period and went ahead by double-digits after knocking down three straight 3-pointers. Colorado State forced Nevada to only one field goal that allowed the Rams to take a double-digit lead heading into the final period.
Colorado State shot 54.5 percent in the fourth quarter to close out the game and advance to the semifinals.
Nevada finished 16-16 and secured its second top four finish in the conference in the last three years.
