BOISE – Trista Hull didn’t start a single game last season.
So the Boise State junior forward made the most of just her seventh career start Wednesday night at Extra Mile Arena. She logged 10 points and five rebounds in just 18 minutes in a 87-66 win over Cal-State Bakersfield.
“It’s just really great to have the team backing me always,” Hull said. “In my very first start, I just remember coming off the bench and all the people just cheering my name.
“They really give me the confidence in order to go out there and perform.”
That start came all the way back on Dec. 20, 2021, against Warner Pacific at home. Hull had 14 points, five rebounds and four assists in the 90-39 rout. It earned her Mountain West Freshman of the Week honors. She then put up a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds against Fresno State later that season.
So it looked like Hull was going to take on a bigger role with the Broncos going forward. She even got herself fully ready to play by the start of last season following a torn meniscus in her right knee.
And while Hull did play in all 31 games, none of those were starts. And she was ninth on the team in minutes played per game at just 13.3.
She didn’t mind, though.
“I just really knew my role was to go in there and get boards and move the ball,” Hull said. “And I think it’s really important that everyone has a role, even if it’s like the smallest bit.”
She filled hers.
Hull still averaged 4.2 points and 4.5 rebounds per game in the limited amount of time she was given. She had eight boards and four blocks during a Mountain West Tournament first-round win over Utah State.
But rather than putting her name in the transfer portal for maybe a better opportunity elsewhere, Hull elected to stay.
“She’s definitely a high-character person,” said senior forward Abby Muse, who finished with eight points, nine rebounds, four blocks and two steals. “She wants to win. So she makes this program better through and through 100%.”
Hull proved that during this past offseason. She said she really worked on her perimeter game, especially.
It all got the attention of Boise State head coach Gordy Presnell. He stated before the season that Hull was the player who had shown the most improvement.
However, Hull still had to bide her time this season. Another knee injury didn’t help matters either.
After bagging eight points and seven rebounds in just 13 minutes of action in the season opener against the College of Idaho on Nov 6, Hull missed the next two games.
She had bursitis – only in her left knee this time around.
It also restricted her to just 28 combined minutes in games against Pepperdine and Santa Clara.
“I was worried,” Hull said. “But I just knew that it was early in the season and it was an injury that was just going to come and go and just take time.”
But it turned out she didn’t need much of it at all.
Hull played 26 minutes in a 68-65 win over Big 10 foe Rutgers on Nov. 25. And she was quite productive with a season-high 11 points and five rebounds.
“She’s battled a lot of injuries and she could have let that get her in a downward spiral,” Muse said. “But I think that’s what made her more motivated, which has been really inspiring and really awesome to see as a teammate.”
Hull was rewarded for her perseverance with her first start in nearly two years four days later against UC Davis.
She didn’t find out until the day of in the team’s walkthrough when Presnell just nonchalantly walked by and told her.
“My heart kind of dropped,” Hull said. “It feels really good now that everyone has the confidence in me and that I need to believe in myself, too.”
Hull has been a fixture in the starting lineup since.
“It was just one of those things where she was steadily progressing,” Presnell said. “She’d been so good all spring and fall.
“She put an incredible amount of work in the weight room. And it makes a difference. Those people that are really committed to that, it really pays off for them. And she did. She’s really developing into a very nice player for us.”
That was on display Wednesday night. Particularly in the first half.
When the Roadrunners (2-5) threatened to cut a once 18-point deficit into single digits late in the second quarter at 28-17, Hull answered. She went on a personal 6-0 run herself. The closest they ever got after that was 13.
Hull had the best shooting percentage of anyone on the floor. She was 5-for-6 (80%) from the field. The only shot she missed was on a jumper a little more than a minute into the game.
“You have to block her out. She’ll go get it,” Presnell said. “There’s certain kids that just get the ones that come to them. And she can go get hers. So she did a nice job tonight. I thought she was a difference-maker early in the game.”
Sophomores Natalie Pasco, Mya Hansen and Dani Bayes all finished with 15 points apiece for the Broncos (7-2), who bounced back after a rough outing on the road against Eastern Washington three days ago. They scored a combined eight points in the second and fourth quarters, while shooting just 33.3% from the field, including 3-of-13 from 3-point range.
Boise State was 52.6% from the field and 50% from beyond-the-arch for a season-high 87 points Wednesday. It is now 6-0 at home for just the ninth time in program history.
The Broncos will visit BYU at 2 p.m. Saturday.
