5 observations from Nevada’s 102–56 victory against William Jessup

Reno, Nev. — Here are five observations from Nevada’s dominant 102–56 victory against William Jessup University on Wednesday night at Lawlor Events Center.
New look Nevada
It was inevitable the Wolf Pack would look different this year. Yet, most people in the arena must have been quite surprised by the starting lineup that Coach Amanda Levens trotted out on Wednesday:
G Jená Williams · G Alyssa Jimenez · G Jacqulynn Nakai · F Dom Phillips · F Amaya West
It didn’t matter though. The exhibition contest was just a tune-up ahead of the team’s first game of the regular season on Tuesday, and Nevada made light work of the Warriors in the 102–56 win.
“I thought it was great that we were able to get out and play in front of our fans,” Levens said after the game. “Have a practice run with so many new players. We didn’t want St. Mary’s to be the first time we had and have the jitters in that game”
All 13 players on the roster took the court, and 12 of them played at least 14 minutes. No player was on the floor for more than 18 minutes, except for starting point guard, Williams who played a team-high 21 minutes in the very low-stakes affair.
Notably missing though was senior, Mikayla Christian who seemed primed to take on a leadership role this year. Team officials later announced that she has quit the team.
There are no final decisions about the roster as of yet, and it’s unclear if Levens intends to stick with any main five-woman group throughout the season.
“I thought it was great that we were able to get out and play in front of our fans,”
Transfers looking comfortable.
The addition of the upperclassmen via transfers was an astute coaching decision. It’s looking even better after a solid performance from that group and the departure of Christian — Sami Dinan is now the only upperclassman from last year’s roster.
On Wednesday, senior, Marguerite Effa’s preternatural composure was a welcome sight, and did not go unnoticed by Levens, who expects her and the others — juniors, Nakai, Johnson, Nia Alexander, Lapraisjah Johnson, and Miki’ala Maio — to be cool heads whose composure passes on to the rest of the squad, especially in high profile games were jitters may be likely.
“With the five transfers, they’ve all played at a high level and they know how to be consistent and they know how to play in games, how to practice,” Levens said. “We have a lot of players now that have played college basketball. Last year, we didn’t really have that.”
It showed. Effa seemed confident in her shot, calmly picked her spots and made quick decisions on her way to a game-high 20 points on a hyper-efficient 9-of-11 shooting, to go along with five rebounds.
She wasn’t the only transfer who stood out. Nakai’s reputation as a shooter has been a story all summer and she proved why. She only took two three-pointers all game but she made both, shooting with a confident release and a smooth stroke that should be replicable even against better opposition.
Meanwhile, Nia Alexander was a big spark plug off the bench and her energy helped the team run away with the first half. She had 3 offensive rebounds and two steals to go along with her 12 points and hounded opposing guards all night in a show that must have excited Levens.
Although Johnson and Maio didn’t have standout performances, they were decisive and played within their roles. Of course, it was a common theme all over the roster in the 46-point blowout, and the game against St. Mary’s on Tuesday will be more telling.
“We have good depth and we have a lot of pieces and I really like that cause there’s going to be nights where someone maybe doesn’t have it.”
Three-point flurry
An unexpected stat from Wednesday night: 8–15 3FG; .533 3FG%.
Last season, it took three games to hit eight total three-pointers, and the team didn’t shoot better than .400 3FG% in a single game until January against Boise State. In a nutshell, things are a little different this go-around. It’s an incredibly small sample size, but there’s some indication that the team will do better than last year’s horrendous .296 3FG%.
Levens seems to think so too, and the impact may be significant. Even just shooting a respectable 35 percent from three last year would’ve had a drastic impact on their results and this year’s collection of shooters may be able to steal some upset wins if they manage to stay solid from the arc.
Nakai, Dom Phillips, Essence Booker made a combined 6-of-7 three-pointers and that group should look to lead the way with outside shooting. Booker showed she could shoot it last year, shooting 37 percent from three, albeit in a limited sample — 36 shots. Meanwhile, Nakai is a specialist and Phillips’ versatility as an inside-outside threat earned her the Gatorade Arizona Girls Basketball Player of the Year award.
It’s not clear if Levens will give them a green light to shoot it more from behind the arc. In her two years at Nevada, only 23 percent of their shots have been from behind the arc, and it’s unlikely that she will adapt her style to generate three-pointers more often.
“Obviously we want to establish an inside game,” Levens said. “We’re still working with our posts on how to create that presence consistently and want the ball every single time.”
Regardless, drastic changes may not be necessary. Shooting efficiently within Levens’ current system could be just enough. They’re not going to shoot 53 percent on a mere 15 attempts every night but shooting above 40 percent on a solid 20 attempts should make a difference.
A century of points.
For the first time in Levens’ Nevada career, her team scored 100 points. Freshman Jená Williams hit a jumper with 01:52 left in the game to confirm the milestone, tying a knot on the Wolf Pack’s dominant offensive performance on Wednesday night.
“It was fun,” Levens said about the milestone. “Cause I don’t think we’ve scored a 100 since I’ve been here. I was hoping Sami [Dinan] got us to a 100 that would have been really cool for her cause she’s given a lot to this program and she’s a huge part of our team.”
Dinan getting the 100th point would have been poetic but It was still a good way to presage the regular season and it could bode well for the team’s offensive firepower going into the games that matter. Four players finished in double figures and all 12 players who played non-garbage-time minutes scored.
“We have good depth and we have a lot of pieces and I really like that,” Levens said. “cause there’s going to be nights where someone maybe doesn’t have it.”
Effa’s game-high 20 points were followed by Booker’s 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field.
Booker, who had an impressive game also added five assists and two steals in a scintillating two-way performance. In one sequence in the first quarter, she hit a three, forced the stop on the next defensive possession, grabbed the defensive board, initiated the break and then hit Nakai for a three.
It was a defining sequence that showed the combo guard’s game-changing qualities and how much impact she can have on the team. And she might not even start!
An unexpected stat from Wednesday night: 8–15 3FG; .533 3FG%.
The defense could be better
It was the first thing Levens mentioned in the presser.
“I thought we did a lot of good things and obviously some stuff is really sloppy that we need to clean up to play a quality opponent like St. Mary’s in our first game of the season.
“I was pleased with our effort defensively but I think our discipline can get a lot better and it will, because they’ll learn from these games. [They’ll] learn from the whistles, the hand checks and things like that and they have to adjust within a game on how the game is being called,” Levens added.
Maybe, it’s a little ironic to discuss defense in a 46-point blowout where the team scored 100 points, but Levens understands that the team has a small margin of error and their defense will be crucial to giving themselves a chance against better opposition, including St. Mary’s on Tuesday.
“If we’re not between them and the basket, taking chances [on defense], and things like that, it could be really hard to beat a team like that,” Levens said about the Tuesday game.
The team forced 25 turnovers, with 20 steals in an aggressive defensive effort that resulted in 38 points off turnovers, and 17 fastbreak points. Da’Ja Hamilton had an uncharacteristically quiet offensive outing on Wednesday, but led the aggressive effort, finishing with three steals and impacting the game outside her offense — a marked difference from last season.
However, that kind of gambling also led to lots of fouls and free throws for the opposition once they were in the penalty — which was a point of ire for Levens.
“She had a couple of fouls that hurt our team and they put the other team in the bonus,” Levens said. “Getting in the bonus and having five fouls, it changed our game.”
Against better opposition, they will need to play fundamentally sound defense, staying in front of their woman, and avoiding foul trouble. It’s an uphill task against a team with a size advantage at every position, but if they can stay locked in on defense, they have enough offense to get a good result.
Bonus:
It’s Spooky SZN here in the Silver State.


All stats are up-to-date as of November 4, 2019. Stats are from teams’ official websites, the Mountain West Conference, and Her Hoop Stats.
