SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The Wolf Pack women’s basketball team closed out its non-conference schedule with a 77-66 win at UC Santa Barbara Saturday afternoon at The Thunderdome to snap a three-game skid.
With the win, Nevada improves to 5-6 on the season, while UC Santa Barbara falls to 4-7 on the year.
“It was encouraging to see us put together 40 minutes of good basketball today,” head coach Jane Albright said. “We identified several areas that we needed to improve on based on our last 10 games and we really worked to sharpen those things before we begin the Mountain West schedule. I was really proud of our team play and the way that we shared the ball. I felt like we won the 50/50 hustle plays and that paid off for us in the end. Danika had a great second half and her teammates found her for open shots. Our bench was exceptional and gave us great minutes. It was a good team win to close out the non-conference portion of the season.”
Danika Sharp and Emily Burns each hit two shots from beyond the three-point line for Nevada to start the game, as the Pack and Gauchos were tied early at 6-6. The half went back and forth with eight lead changes, before Nevada went on an 8-0 run to lead UCSB 27-20 with 2:27 to play. The Wolf Pack went into the break with a 31-28 lead. Terilyn Moe led Nevada with six first half points.
UC Santa Barbara jumped out of the intermission on a 5-0 run to take a 33-31 lead. Sharp tied Angie Heer (1997-01) for third place on Nevada’s career all-time three point list, connecting on a shot from downtown at the 19:11 mark to put the Pack up 34-31. A basket by Mimi Mungedi in the paint with 7:01 on the clock gave the Wolf Pack its biggest lead of the game at 67-52. The Gauchos went on an 9-0 run to pull within 67-61 of the Pack with 3:05 left in regulation. Emily Burns scored on consecutive possessions to extend the Nevada lead back to double digits with 1:38 to play. The Pack hit its free throws down the stretch to win the game 77-66.
Sharp led all scorers with 23 points. With five made three-pointers in the game, Sharp is third on the program’s career all-time list with 152 made. The senior shooting guard needs 12 more to tie Johnna Ward (2007-11) for second on the list.
Moe reached double-figures for the sixth consecutive game, finishing with 13 points. Burns added eight points and 10 rebounds, while Arielle Wideman had seven points, six rebounds, and six assists. The Wolf Pack outrebounded the Gauchos 39-37.
Nevada will have a break for the holidays, before opening the new year and Mountain West play with a home game against San José State Jan. 1 at 6:30 p.m. at Lawlor Events Center.
