The San Diego State women’s basketball team was expected to do some great things this season.

After receiving votes in both the AP and USA Today / ESPN polls prior to the season, SDSU opened up with three straight games at home. The Aztecs lost all three.

Hoping to have better luck on the road, SDSU traveled to Reno, Nev. during the Thanksgiving weekend to participate in the Nugget Classic at the University of Nevada. The Aztecs (1-4) took on the Wolf Pack (4-1) in the championship, but lost the game 63-61.

The first 10 minutes was back-and-forth with neither team able to build a lead. But as the half came to a close, Nevada was able to get to the free throw line. It went 13-16 from the stripe to build a six-point halftime lead, 39-33.

“They’re a very good free throw shooting team,” head coach Beth Burns told reporters after the game. “And they got to the line a lot.”

Both teams came out sloppy in the second half. Slowly, the Wolf Pack built its lead, and seven minutes into the half, had its largest lead of the contest at 51-40.

“We’re disappointed we put ourselves in that situation,” Burns said. “We struggled for the first 30 minutes of this game to get a good cohesive unit out there.”

SDSU found its cohesive unit during the final stretch and answered Nevada’s run with a run of its own. The Aztecs closed the deficit to only three points when junior forward Candace Chambers’ free throw made it 57-54 with six minutes left.

SDSU continued to chip away as sophomore guard Courtney Clements converted on a fast break layup, and senior center Paris Johnson, who led her squad with 19 points and seven rebounds, knocked down a pair of free throws. The Aztecs took a 58-57 lead with only four minutes remaining.

The Wolf Pack fought back, and a clutch 3-pointer from Tahnee Robinson, who went just 1-10 from beyond the arc, gave Nevada a lead that the Aztecs could not reclaim. A missed half court shot from SDSU senior guard Coco Davis at the buzzer secured the 63-61 victory for the Wolf Pack.

Two Aztec seniors, Johnson and Jessika Bradley, made the all tournament team. The duo combined for 15 rebounds against Nevada.

Burns was happy SDSU got its first win against Minnesota on Friday, but there is still a lot to be done to get past the rough start to the season.

“I’m glad we got the monkey off our back (on Friday),” Burns said. “Now there’s no time for anything but to fly home and play USD Tuesday.”