By Hector Roldan (@HectorRSJSU) – Spear Reporter
Junior forward Amhyia Moreland going up to make the basket against the defender in the paint. | Photo courtesy of SJSU Athletics.
San Jose State (6-9, 1-2 MW) fell to University of Nevada Las Vegas (13-1, 3-0 MW) 91-55, Wednesday night to fall under .500 in conference play. The 36 point loss is the Spartans biggest defeat this season.
The Spartans would only lead the game for 14 seconds. The Lady Rebels demonstrated why they are the No. 25 team in the country and overwhelmed the Spartans early to take a 24-point lead after the first quarter.
Senior Desi-Rae Young led UNLV with 24 points and four steals to lead all Lady Rebels on the night. Reigning Mountain West Freshman of the Week, Jyah LoVett continues to be a bright spot for the Spartans, tying her career-high 26 points against UNLV. LoVett continued to make her case for Mountain West Freshman of the Year after another dominant performance.
SJSU contained the Lady Rebels to just 8-for-28 behind the arc, but struggled to defend UNLV down low. The Spartans gave up 44 points in the paint with UNLV shooting 49.3 percent on the game.
“I hope we take this as a learning experience… all we can do is take it and learn from it,” said SJSU head coach April Phillips. “We enjoy the opportunity to play on our home court and really looking forward to a really good matchup against Nevada.”
Despite this loss this is will most likely be the teams toughest test as they continue in the conference. The Spartans will look to get back to .500 in conference play as they are back home, Jan. 13 at 2 p.m. to take on the Nevada Wolfpack.