SAN DIEGO – Behind 27 points and a game-tying 3-pointer with six seconds left from sophomore guard Audrey Roden, Nevada women’s basketball collected an 84-80 overtime win over Idaho in the USD Winter Classic on Saturday.
Roden, who came off the bench in Saturday’s game, came up with a career-high for points while snagging three steals. Junior guards Victoria Davis (11 points, 10 rebounds) and Alyssa Jimenez (12 points, 10 rebounds) lifted Nevada with their first career double-doubles, the first time since March 10, 2019 Nevada had two players with double-doubles in the same game.
“I’m so happy for our team,” head coach Amanda Levens said. “I felt our team was very resilient. The games we lost were very close and I felt like we had to take this game in the fourth quarter. I felt like different people made key plays for us to help us win today.”
Idaho used a 10-0 scoring run to take the lead after the first quarter, but a basket by Davis and a 3-pointer from Jimenez allowed the Pack to regain the advantage in the second quarter. Layups from Davis and Roden along with a pair of free throws by Lexie Givens allowed Nevada to take the lead going into the locker room.
Looking to finish the job in the final 10 minutes, Idaho held Nevada down to just six points through the first eight minutes of the final period and used a 3-pointer to take a 67-65 lead with under two minutes to play.
Roden drew a foul that put her at the line for two free throws to tie the game, but was only able to knock down one. However, the West Linn, Oregon, native quickly shook off the miss and responded with the biggest play of the night. After getting the ball from the sideline, Roden confidently stepped up to take a deep 3-pointer, sinking it that allowed Nevada to draw even after regulation.
“I’ve been struggling a little bit from the outside this year, but (Coach Levens) said that if I got in there to take the three,” Roden said. “I just pulled it, and I didn’t realize it was going in until it actually went in.”
Following a basket by Roden, Davis captured a loose ball that resulted in a basket to extend the Nevada lead in overtime. Following a 3-pointer from sophomore Kaylee Borden, Nevada prevented Idaho’s Beyonce Bea, who finished with a game-high 34 points, from drilling the tying basket to finish the job.
“We’re just improving consistently and growing with every game and every week,” Levens said. “I love that our team keeps buying in to what we’re asking, the players are understanding their roles and doing what they need to do to help us win.”
Nevada wraps up the USD Winter Classic on Sunday, facing host school San Diego at 4 p.m.
Postgame Notes
- Sophomore Audrey Roden scored a career-high 27 points off the bench, hitting the game-tying 3-pointer with six seconds left. Roden came off the bench in all 32 of Nevada’s games last season.
- Juniors Victoria Davis and Alyssa Jimenez came up with double-doubles in points and rebounds. Nevada has now had three consecutive games where at least one player has had a double-double.
- Saturday’s win was Nevada’s first overtime victory of the season and first win on a neutral floor. The Pack’s last overtime win came on Feb. 24, 2022 against Boise State and their last neutral site win occurred on March 18, 2022 against Davidson.
- Nevada picked up its first overtime win over Idaho in the NCAA Era. The Pack had lost the previous three meetings that had gone in overtime.
- Sophomore Kaylee Borden, who collected her second start of the season, posted a season-high 11 points.
