Final Stats

RENO, Nev. â€"â€" Sarita Condie (Sr., Lovelock, Nev.) made her first collegiate game in her home state a successful one as she scored a career-high 22 points to lead the Navy women's basketball team to a 79-62 victory over Nevada Friday evening at the Lawlor Events Center in Reno, Nev. The victory by the Mids (3-2) advanced them into Saturday's championship game of the Nugget Classic against the winner of Friday's second game, Arkansas. The host Wolf Pack (3-2) will play in tomorrow's consolation game against Memphis, which lost to the Razorbacks, 91-61.

Friday's victory also was the 600th in Navy women's basketball history. The Mids have posted a 600-493 overall record in one season as a junior varsity program (1976-77) and 40 years as a varsity squad.

"It was another good 40-minute win," said Navy head coach Stefanie Pemper. "We came to play right out of the gate and we withstood a great run by Nevada and finished strong. We converted steals to baskets in transition, we competed on the boards and we shot the ball well. Good team win."

"It was an emotional game," said Condie. "It always has been a dream of mine to play college basketball on this court (where she and her family used to go watch games). To do so, and have our entire team play well was just icing on the cake.

"There was a great turnout of support from my hometown. I am so appreciative of that. They have supported me for the last four years and it meant so much. This has been a dream come true for me."

Playing 90 minutes from her hometown of Lovelock and in front of many family and friends, Condie provided a spark for the Mids in the very early going of the game. Her first points came on a field goal that pulled Navy to within one point â€"â€" 5-4 â€"â€" then she added two more buckets in what would be a 10-0 spurt that boosted the Mids out to a 12-5 lead. She would account for the last four points in the first quarter on a pair of free throws and then a field goal that gave Navy a 24-14 lead at the end of the first stanza.

Navy closed the first quarter on a 10-1 run and opened the second on a 9-2 run that let the Mids open up a 33-16 lead. Navy held Nevada to just one field over that 10-minute stretch. The Wolf Pack very quickly put the next six points on the board â€"â€" 33-22 â€"â€" but a three-point field goal by Condie allowed the Mids to regain a little momentum before going into halftime holding a 37-24 advantage.

The Wolf Pack scored the first points of the third quarter on a field goal, but Condie drained a three-point shot and two free throw attempts on the ensuing two possessions by the Mids to give them a 42-26 lead with 7:53 remaining in the game. The lead was still 15 points at 49-24 with 4:52 left in the frame when Nevada gradually made its move. The Wolf Pack closed to within nine points at 53-44 (1:44), eight points at 55-47 (0:40) and then seven points at 59-52 (7:45, fourth quarter).

Taylor Dunham (Jr., Fort Belvoir, Va.) scored on a driving layup on Navy's next possession, then Ashanti Kennedy (Sr., Virginia Beach, Va.) scored on a short jumper and Dunham followed with a three-point shot to extended Navy's cushion out to 66-52 with 6:05 left on the clock. Nevada sliced the lead down to 66-56 with 5:15 left, but a jumper from Kaila Clark (Fr., Hughesville, Md.), a three-pointer by Dunham and a basket by Justice Swett (Sr., Nashville, Tenn.) over the next 100 seconds sealed the victory for the Mids.

"Taylor had a terrific second half after being in foul trouble early," said Pemper. "She played really smart. Ashanti gave us a lift in the second, as well, and Justice played another great all-around game. I was really happy with how we handled the ball and how we defended as a team."

Navy shot 46.2 percent from the field, which included an 8-23 (34.8%) effort from three-point land. On the other end of the court, Nevada shot a respectable 36.8 percent from the floor but was just 2-8 (25%) from beyond the arc. A big difference in shooting percentage occurred in the fourth quarter, during which Navy was 9-16 (56.3%) overall and 2-5 (40%) from three-point range while Nevada was 4-15 (26.7%) in all from the floor and 0-2 from three-point land.

Navy also held a 36-34 edge on the glass for the game against the taller Nevada team. The Mids also recorded 13 steals to just seven for the Wolf Pack, which allowed Navy to force 15 turnovers against 10 of its own. Navy also enjoyed a 23-9 advantage in points scored from the bench.

Condie was 6-13 from the floor â€"â€" 3-5 from three-point range â€"â€" and 7-8 from the foul line to better her previous career high of 20 points. Condie also added seven rebounds, which was second on the team to the eight grabbed by Swett.

"Sarita was hitting right from jump and she had that determined look in her eye and wasn't going to be denied," said Pemper. "She drove well, she shot the three well, she hit free throws and she was our second-leading rebounder. She was the best player on the floor tonight. I thought our team really played for her and she played not only for them but for the 200-plus fans from her hometown that made the trip. She got an ovation when she was introduced and when she came out of the game for the last time with a minute to play the ovation was even louder. It was a really touching display of appreciation and affection. You don't see that often in college sports and it's something we'll all remember."

Dunham also shot the ball really well as she was 4-6 from three-point land as part of an overall 7-10 showing from the field. She has shot at least 70 percent from the floor in three of Navy's five games thus far this season. Kennedy with 11 and Swett with 10 joined Condie and Dunham in double figures.

Riana Everidge accrued 14 points and 10 rebounds to lead Nevada.