Nevada women's basketball defeats Boise State in overtime thriller

After senior guard Victoria Davis knocked down a deep 3-pointer with one second left to force overtime, Nevada women's basketball defeated Boise State 68-65 Saturday at Lawlor Events Center for its third consecutive win.

Freshman guard Izzy Sullivan led Nevada with 19 points while junior guard Audrey Roden came up with 17 points off 50 percent shooting. Davis finished with 14 points and sophomore forward Kennedy Lee came up with her fourth double-digit rebounding game of the season with 10 boards.

After Boise State took an early lead, a basket from Lee and a pair of free throws from Roden allowed Nevada to tie the game at 11. Boise State, however, retook the advantage off a jumper with 12 seconds left in the period to lead 13-11 after 10 minutes.

Following a pair of Boise State baskets, Nevada used a 12-0 scoring run in the second quarter to take a six-point lead. After Boise State answered with a 9-0 scoring run of its own, senior forward Lexie Givens hit a jumper to cut the Broncos' lead to one point. The Broncos scored the final bucket of the half, drilling a 3-pointer to make it a 29-25 lead at halftime.

A pair of jumpers from Sullivan following a 3-pointer allowed Nevada to open the third quarter with a one-point advantage. A back-and-forth scoring battle took place in the third quarter, with Nevada stretching its lead to two possessions thanks to capitalizing on its free throws. Boise State, however, used a jumper and a pair of free throws to make it a 40-40 game heading into the fourth quarter.

Nevada opened the fourth quarter on a 7-0 scoring run and forced Boise State to call a timeout, but the Broncos responded and scored seven straight points to tie it once again. Boise State knocked down a 3-pointer with two minutes to play, extending its lead to three points following a pair of free throws with 1:11 left in regulation. Davis knocked down a jumper, but the Broncos responded with two free throws to make it a 59-56 game with 35 seconds left.

The Pack came out of the timeout and got a clean look at a 3-pointer before an offensive rebound by fifth year guard/forward Kaylen Banwareesingh gave Nevada another chance to tie it up. Nevada's 3-pointer once again missed and the Pack was forced to foul with four seconds left.

With Boise State missing both free throws, the Pack had one more chance to tie it up. After Nevada's final timeout, the Pack managed to capitalize.

Senior guard Gabby Giuffre found an open Davis off the inbounds pass for a 3-pointer well beyond NBA range, which found nothing but net. Nevada managed to get a defensive stop on Boise State's final possession of regulation to force its third overtime game of the season.

Banwareesingh continued to make big plays in the overtime, getting the tying basket while drawing a foul and converting the free throw to give Nevada a one-point lead. After Boise State got a defensive stop on Nevada's next offensive possession, Roden came up with a steal and turned it into a layup to give the Pack a 68-65 lead with 12 seconds to go. Nevada forced Boise State to miss its final 3-point attempt to come up with its third win in a row.

Nevada goes on the road Wednesday to face Fresno State at 6 p.m.