The University of North Texas (UNT) women’s basketball team got a crucial win on Saturday, and the best rebounder in collegiate women’s basketball, Megan Nestor, overcame a physical effort to stop her. The Mean Green thrashed Florida Atlantic University 67-49 on Saturday afternoon, January 31, at the Super Pit.
Head coach Jason Burton began the game looking to involve the 6-4 forward from the Saint Lucian fishing village of Canaries, but the Owls were determined to test Nestor and the referees, knocking her down on multiple occasions, earning a quick foul, and forcing Burton to send her to the bench just three minutes into the contest.
“The physicality’s different from what I’m used to,” said Nestor, a former national netballer. “But I’m strong, so it doesn’t really get to me. I just have to emphasise on being efficient and finishing my shots.”
Nestor was eventually one of four Mean Green players scoring an even 10 points, but on the boards, she continued to rule, with a game-high 24 points, and her league-leading 13th double-double.
“I thought we really responded to what wasn’t our best performance down in San Antonio a couple days ago,” said Burton. “We came out and had two really, really good practices the last two days. That carried over into today.”
Nestor tallied her fourth 20-rebound game of the season. No other player in the country entered Saturday with more than two. Her four 20-rebound games are also the most in a single season by an American Conference player, surpassing South Florida’s Alisia Jenkins’ total of three in 2016.
Nestor is now averaging 12.6 points and 13.8 rebounds per game for the season. The latter mark would be the highest season average in both programme and conference history. She is the only player in collegiate basketball with at least 300 rebounds as of Sunday.
