Boise State women win by 67; Bronco men show ‘big upside’ against Jackson State

The Boise State men’s basketball team will board a flight for the Cayman Islands Classic on Saturday morning.

And they’ll be carrying a little extra confidence.

Six days after a season-opening loss to Idaho State, the Broncos earned a confidence-boosting 70-53 victory over Jackson State on Friday night at Taco Bell Arena. Boise State opens the Cayman Islands Classic against Creighton on Monday.

Instead of squandering an 18-point lead like they did against ISU, the Broncos (1-1) worked their way back from an 11-point deficit and built a lead of as many as 18 points over the Tigers (0-3) of the Southwestern Athletic Conference.

“This team really needed this at this time,” Boise State coach Leon Rice said. “We had a tough week of practice and we got after each other and we played pretty hard. We needed to have some success. I think they wanted it so bad that they kind of almost played not to lose the first 15 minutes.”

After falling behind 27-16, Boise State went on a 10-0 run to cut Jackson State’s lead to 27-26 at halftime. The Broncos kept up that pace at the start of the second half, extending their scoring streak to 18 unanswered points.

“We’re a work in progress, and one of the things that we’re trying to figure out is our identity,” Rice said. “We’re just going to have to be scrappy and tough, and that’s what I wanted to see. That’s what I challenged them with is that ‘Hey, we’ve got to go guard.’ Then everything takes care of itself.”

With a number of new faces in the starting lineup and veterans Justinian Jessup (knee) and Alex Hobbs (concussion) working their way back from preseason injuries, the Broncos haven’t consistently looked in sync.

But they took a step forward in the second half against Jackson State.

Redshirt sophomore Derrick Alston and junior transfer RJ Williams combined for seven dunks in the game, including five in the second half.

Point guard Pat Dembley and Williams teamed up for the play of the game when Dembley picked off a Jackson State pass to start a fastbreak. Williams followed down the lane, and Dembley left a floating alley-oop pass right in front of the hoop, setting up a two-handed throwdown for Williams.

“It’s a teammate thing. ... It’s just like second nature,” Williams said. “He throws the ball up, you just gotta go get it.”

Williams was the Broncos’ top scorer with 18 points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals. Alston, in just his second career start, chipped in a career-high 14 points with three blocked shots. Senior Zach Haney added a double-double of 12 points and 12 rebounds, and Jessup went 3-for-4 from deep with 11 points, five assists and three steals.

“I’m thinking long term with this team, because I know that we have a big upside at the end of the rainbow,” Rice said.

Women: Boise State 93, Northwest Christian 26

When Boise State women’s basketball coach Gordy Presnell scheduled Northwest Christian, the Beacons had a 6-foot-4 post and a point guard who was the Cascade Conference’s reigning defensive player of the year.

But Beacons point guard Monique Thompson is now at Cincinnati, and post Anamaria Virjoghe transferred to Gonzaga.

That meant trouble for NAIA Northwest Christian from the get-go.

The Broncos scored the first 16 points of the game and never let off the gas in a dominant victory Friday at Taco Bell Arena. The 67-point win is the largest margin of victory for the Broncos under Presnell.

“It was a good game for us to get to play everybody and try to execute things correctly,” Presnell said. “It gets us ready for just a huge week for us this next week.”

For the third straight game, the Broncos got all 12 eligible players on the floor, and all 12 notched two points or more, including six Broncos in double figures.

Junior guard Ellie Woerner led the Broncos with a career-high in points (14) and rebounds (8), and Riley Lupfer (12), Rachel Bowers (11), Jade Loville (10), Joyce Harrell (10) and A’Shanti Coleman (10) also checked in with double digits.

Boise State went 11-for-22 from 3-point range and held the Beacons to just 13.6 percent shooting. The Beacons’ eight made field goals set a Boise State record for fewest field goals allowed by an opponent. The previous record was nine.

“It obviously gives us a little confidence going into our Monday night game,” Boise State junior guard Braydey Hodgins said. “All week we practiced hard, and it’s a different kind of caliber than we’ve been at, and I think we’re all excited for Monday’s game.”

Boise State (3-0) hosts No. 5 Louisville (2-0) at 7 p.m. Monday at Taco Bell Arena in what might be the biggest game in program history. The Cardinals advanced to the Final Four last season, including a 74-42 win over the Broncos in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

This story was originally published November 16, 2018 at 8:05 PM.