BOISE – If Mya Hansen’s shoe is just one-size smaller than the Boise State women’s basketball team may have pulled off a thrilling and improbable comeback.
But the sophomore guard’s foot just grazed the baseline with 1.6 seconds remaining. So it suffered a disappointing 58-57 loss to Nevada Wednesday night at Extra Mile Arena instead. It’s now the second time in three years the Broncos (9-6 overall, 0-2 MW) have dropped their first two Mountain West Conference games.
“Overall, I’m proud of our effort, said Boise State senior forward Abby Muse, who recorded a double-double of 15 points and 13 rebounds. “But it makes it that much more frustrating to come so close and not come out with a win.”
The late-game dramatics were fittingly set up by an inbounds steal from Abby Muse with 29 seconds left. It was a night where the Boise State senior forward moved into fifth place on the all-time rebounding list (782). She was also about the only consistent thing for the Broncos all night.
And understandably, Boise State head coach Gordy Presnell drew up the potential game-winning play for her.
However, the Wolfpack (7-8, 1-1) had the same idea. So they double-teamed her and forced the Broncos to go to plan B.
Dani Bayes dished it off to Trista Hull instead. Hull took one dribble before finding Hansen at the top of the key. She drove to her right and all the way around the basket for a reverse lay-in attempt. But the whistle blew before Hansen even got her shot off.
“They doubled me pretty quickly. So we tried to run the counter to it,” Muse said. “And then we just kind of (ran) out of time. I don’t know what happened. But it wasn’t ideal.”
Boise State didn’t look like it was even going to be in that position in the first place.
It found itself trailing by as many as 13 points late in the third quarter. Most of that had to do with the turnovers. Six of their 20 came in that period alone.
“We didn’t lose it at the end. We lost it in the third quarter,” Presnell said.
It didn’t help matters either that the Broncos were without their two primary ballhandlers in point guards Mary Kay Naro and Jada Clark.
Naro was out with an undisclosed injury. It was the first time the senior had ever missed a start. She was in line for her 100th career start.
“She’s our best defender and she’s our quickest player,” Presnell said. “And she gets us in our sets. They saw blood in the water and so they pressed us the whole time.”
Clark was dealing with a family matter.
Presnell said in his postgame scrum that both are expected to return soon. Bayes got the start in their absence. It was her first one of the season.
“We tried to have our trail post bring it up when Mya was fatigued,” Presnell said. “And I tried to sub in one of our backup 2-guards. But we weren’t very effective with that.”
Shooting also did Boise State in.
It was just 21-of-53 (39.6%) from the field. The last time the Broncos shot better than 50% was against Cal-State Bakersfield back on Dec. 6, 2023.
The longball hasn’t treated them any better either.
They finished 3-of-15 on the night with their first 3 not coming until two minutes into the second half. Boise State is now a combined 4-of-32 (12.5%) from beyond-the-arch in its last two games.
“I know it hasn’t been showing lately, but we really do have great shooters,” Muse said. “I think the only way to get yourself out of a slump is to keep shooting. It’s painful, but you just have to do it. We need to keep getting those looks, keep maintaining that confidence and not let these lapses kind of get us down.”
Natalie Pasco was the lone bright spot when it came to the Broncos’ perimeter shooting. The sophomore guard was responsible for all three, including two that closed the gap late.
She capped a 9-0 run with a tray to bring them within two points at 54-52 with four minutes and eight seconds to go. Pasco followed it up with another corner 3-pointer to make it a 58-57 game with 1:41 remaining. It was all part of a 16-8 scoring run by Boise State in the fourth quarter.
Pasco finished with a game-high 20 points, including 15 in the second half, and went 42.8% from downtown.
“She definitely brought us back to life in the fourth quarter with her shots and even just her little runners throughout the game,” Muse said. “Great player. Great shooter. I wish she hit a few more of those. I wish everyone hit a few more. That goes for everybody.”
Boise State will visit New Mexico at 2 p.m. Saturday. It will try to avoid an 0-3 start in conference play for the first time since the 2004-2005 campaign.
“It’s going to be tough in Albuquerque, but we’re gonna give it our best shot,” Presnell said.
