By Aikman Fang (@AikmanFang) – SJSU women’s basketball Beat Reporter
San Jose State women’s basketball (3-22, 1-13 MW) couldn’t snap its losing streak as it fell 77-60 to UNLV (25-2, 15-0) at the Thomas & Mack Center on Thursday night.
The Rebels gained all the momentum they needed when they ended the second quarter on a 15-0 run and led the Spartans 37-18 at the halfway point.
Two SJSU women’s basketball players did finish the game with double digits in scoring.
Sophomore forward Nailea Nicholas recorded her first double-double, a career-high 15 points and 13 rebounds.
Sophomore forward Amhyia Moreland also provided 10 points and five rebounds.
The Spartans only trailed 18-14 at the end of the first quarter after junior guard Jasmine Singleton scored six points. The former Rebel went 2-2 from beyond the arc in the first period.
UNLV then held SJSU to 2-14 shooting in the second quarter. The Spartans went scoreless in the final 6:52 of the first half.
Sophomore forward Alyssa Brown led the Rebels to a 37-18 lead at the intermission with 12 points, eight rebounds, and shot a perfect 6-6 from the field.
The Spartans outscored the Rebels 25-23 in the third quarter, but still trailed 60-43 heading into the final period.
Nicholas provided six of her 15 points in the fourth quarter as SJSU and UNLV both scored 17 points in the final 10 minutes.
The Spartans now find themselves on a six-game losing streak and their fourth straight lost to the Rebels. The last time SJSU triumphed over UNLV was in March 2020.
“We had a lapse that lingered and we weren’t able to dig ourselves out of that hole,” said head coach April Phillips.
SJSU women’s basketball looks to bounce back as it will face New Mexico next on Saturday as the second game of a two-game road trip.