BOISE – Following a stretch of three out of four games on the road – three of which were losses – the Boise State women’s basketball team needed a full team effort to get back on track and improve their record to .500 in conference play.
The Broncos did just that to start a three-game homestand at ExtraMile Arena.
In a game in which Boise State led for just 1:36 of the game leading into the fourth quarter, the Broncos (9-12, 4-4 MW) fought back and dominated the final 10 minutes of play in a 60-55 comeback win over Air Force.
“It was definitely great to get a win tonight for sure,” Freshman guard Mya Hansen told Bronco Nation News. “It gives us more motivation rolling into the next few games we have at home here.”
It wasn’t pretty for the Broncos offensively in the first 20 minutes. The Broncos had 18 turnovers in the first half, and finished with 26 giveaways for the game.
“They couldn’t stop us from scoring, but we could stop us, you know, by throwing it back to them” Boise State coach Gordy Presnell told BNN with a laugh. “And we were good at that.”
Led by Hansen, the offense started to flow in the second half. The freshman guard finished with nine points to combine with her team-high six assists.
Forward Elodie Lalotte led the Broncos with a team-high 12 points to complement her four rebounds and Trista Hull stepped up off the bench to lead Boise State on the glass with seven boards while also blocking two shots.
“There are different kinds of rebounders,” Presnell said talking on forward Trista Hull, “There’s those rebounders with athleticism and the ball comes to them and there’s ones that you have to block out to go get it. She goes and gets it.”
The Broncos as a team outrebounded the Falcons 34-20. And all nine players that saw the floor for Boise State scored.
Guard Anna Ostlie came off the bench to score nine points on 2-3 shooting while also making all four free throws she took down the stretch. Freshman guard Dani Bayes also made two shots from behind the arc and finished with six points.
Boise State’s defense was solid as well. The Broncos limited Air Force leading scorer Madison Smith to just three points on 1-8 shooting from the field.
Forward Abby Muse led the Broncos with three blocks, moving her career total to 135 and just eight away from becoming the Boise State all-time program leader in blocks.
In what didn’t turn out to impact the final outcome of the game, Hansen was frustrated in herself for missing two free throws in the fourth quarter. The freshman guard had previously missed just two free throws all season, coming into the game making over 95% of her attempts from the charity stripe.
“I mean yeah I’ll definitely think about it because it’s frustrating and I’m a competitor and I want to make any shot I can,” Hansen said. “But I also do have to move past it and focus on the next shot ahead.”
The Broncos will have one day off before continuing their homestand on Saturday against Wyoming (13-7, 6-3 MW). The game will tip off at 2 p.m. from ExtraMile Arena and be streamed on the Mountain West Network. It’s the first of a two-game doubleheader Saturday, with the Boise State men hosting Colorado State at 6 p.m.
