Boise State’s latest women’s hoops win could pay dividends in March; men stumble on road
Gordy Presnell told his Boise State women’s basketball team that Wednesday’s game against BYU would follow the Broncos the rest of the season.
Given the outcome, that shouldn’t be a problem.
With Wednesday’s 66-55 nonconference victory over BYU at ExtraMile Arena, the Broncos now have two wins over 2019 NCAA Tournament qualifiers that could come in handy when tournament seeds are handed out in March.
“I believe it’s a win that will follow us the rest of season. They were in the (Round of 32) last year,” Presnell said. “They have a very, very good team, and their RPI is going to be very good by the end of the year. It’s a great win for us, and it’s the first time we’ve played them in a number of years, so it’s great to come out of there with a victory.”
After having his team bludgeon a pinata with the words “first-quarter slump” written on it earlier this week, Presnell might have been questioning his coaching strategy when the Broncos fell behind 7-2 to BYU in the early going.
But the Broncos’ offense only stalled momentarily, as they went on an 11-0 run to take a 13-7 lead with 4:33 left in the first quarter and never looked back.
“I think that was actually really fun. I mean, it was serious for a second and then it just turned into like everyone wanted to smack the crap out of that thing,” Boise State redshirt junior Mallory McGwire said. “I think that did really help us.”
Boise State redshirt senior A’Shanti Coleman went 5-for-5 from the field and scored 11 of her season-high 19 points in the opening quarter. Coleman also limited the damage of 6-foot-7 BYU junior Sara Hamson despite being 5 inches shorter.
“I love the challenge. We’re both long, so other than that, she didn’t have me in width,” Coleman said. “She’s a good player, but I did what I had to do. Sometimes I underestimate my own size, but it wasn’t a bad competition at all.”
Fresh off being recognized as the Mountain West Player of the Week, McGwire picked up her third double-double of the season with 15 points and 14 rebounds to go with four blocked shots. Senior guard Riley Lupfer matched McGwire’s 15 points with a 5-for-9 performance from the floor that included four 3-pointers.
With BYU gunning for a second-half comeback, Lupfer broke a 31-all tie with a triple and then capped a 9-0 Boise State run with another 3-pointer exactly 3 minutes later to push the Broncos’ advantage to 10 points, 43-33, with 4:26 left in the third quarter.
“A’Shanti kind of kept us in the game, then Mallory kind of took over in the second half and then all through that, Riley hit shots at critical moments,” Presnell said. “… It’s the first time we’ve really collectively gotten together and really played pretty good defense.”
The Broncos (7-4, 2-0 MW) did indeed clamp down defensively, particularly in the fourth quarter. BYU’s Paisley Johnson sank a 3-pointer with 8:22 to play, and the Cougars did not score again until there were just 56 seconds left in the game. Johnson paced BYU (3-4) with 18 points.
“We scheduled this (tough nonconference stretch) and we thought at the least we would get mentally tougher if we didn’t win any of them,” said Presnell, whose team has lost to No. 7 Louisville and No. 20 Missouri State.
“Then I thought we got dinged a little bit at TCU. I thought we were capable of playing with them, and we just didn’t play very well. But tonight, and especially in the second half, they were smiling and competing, and it’s a good sign for us.”
The Broncos next travel to Cheney, Washington, for a 2:05 p.m. MT tip Sunday against Eastern Washington.
Men: Tulsa 69, Boise State 56
The Boise State men’s basketball team made just two field goals in the opening 12 minutes and never led in a nonconference loss to the Golden Hurricane (8-2) at Reynolds Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
The Broncos shot 38 percent from the floor — their second-worst percentage of the season — and went a disappointing 6-for-29 (20.7 percent) from beyond the arc.
The abysmal start resulted in a 43-22 halftime deficit, and the Broncos (5-4, 1-1 MW) got no closer than 12 points in the second half.
“(Tulsa) came out of the corner swinging,” Boise State coach Leon Rice said in a postgame radio interview on 670 AM. “I think that got us on our heels.”
Boise State’s top two scorers — Derrick Alston and Justinian Jessup — shot a combined 4-for-18 from the floor and 3-for-13 from deep. Senior RJ Williams was the only Bronco who avoided shooting woes. Williams notched his third double-double of the season with 19 points and 10 rebounds on 7-for-9 shooting.
“He came and battled from the very start, and he never stopped battling. He was there all night long,” Rice said. “It’s a long season, and it’s a lot of games. You’re gonna have some ups and downs, but the beauty of (RJ) is he just plays really, really hard regardless.”
Boise State returns home Saturday for a 4 p.m. nonconference matchup against Alabama State. Saturday also is the Broncos’ annual Toys For Tots drive, and fans who bring a new, unwrapped toy to donate will receive a discounted ticket for $7.
MEN: TULSA 69, BOISE ST. 56
BOISE ST. (5-4)
Williams 7-9 5-8 19, Alston 3-11 2-4 10, Dickinson 2-5 0-0 5, Jessup 1-7 0-0 3, Hobbs 3-9 2-2 9, Abercrombie 1-2 0-0 3, Jorch 0-0 0-0 0, Rice 0-1 1-2 1, Dennis 2-6 2-2 6. Totals 19-50 12-18 56.
TULSA (8-2)
Igbanu 2-3 2-2 6, Rachal 5-12 0-3 10, Jackson 5-9 2-2 12, Joiner 1-3 0-0 2, Jones 2-6 0-2 5, Horne 3-8 0-0 7, Earley 0-0 0-0 0, Ugboh 1-2 0-0 2, Hill 6-10 1-2 14, Korita 5-6 0-0 11. Totals 30-59 5-11 69.
Halftime — Tulsa 43-22. 3-Point Goals — Boise St. 6-29 (Alston 2-7, Abercrombie 1-2, Dickinson 1-4, Hobbs 1-5, Jessup 1-6, Rice 0-1, Dennis 0-4), Tulsa 4-15 (Jones 1-2, Korita 1-2, Horne 1-3, Hill 1-3, Joiner 0-1, Rachal 0-2, Jackson 0-2). Fouled Out — Igbanu. Rebounds — Boise St. 27 (Williams 10), Tulsa 37 (Jackson 7). Assists — Boise St. 10 (Hobbs 3), Tulsa 12 (Jackson 3). Total Fouls — Boise St. 14, Tulsa 18. A — 3,367 (8,355).
WOMEN: BOISE ST. 66, BYU 55
BYU (3-4)
Paisley Johnson 6-13 2-2 18; Babalu Ugwu 4-8 3-4 12; Brenna Drollinger 3-14 2-2 11; Sara Hamson 4-7 0-0 8; Shalae Salmon 3-13 0-0 6; Khaedin Taito 0-0 0-0 0; Signe Glantz 0-2 0-0 0; Leilani Otuafi 0-0 0-0 0; Malli Perri 0-1 0-0 0; Kaylee Smiler 0-2 0-0 0; Maria Albiero 0-4 0-0 0. Totals 20-64 7-8 55.
BOISE ST. (7-4)
A’Shanti Coleman 8-10 2-3 19; Mallory McGwire 5-9 3-4 15; Riley Lupfer 5-9 1-2 15; Braydey Hodgins 2-10 5-6 9; Jayde Christopher 2-7 2-2 6; Ellie Woerner 1-3 0-0 2; Jade Loville 0-2 0-0 0; Rachel Bowers 0-4 0-0 0; Maggie Freeman 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-54 13-17 66.
BYU........................... 13 10 22 10 — 55
Boise St...................... 19 8 24 15 — 66
3-point goals — BYU 8-21 (Johnson 4-8; Drollinger 3-9; Ugwu 1-1; Smiler 0-1; Albiero 0-2), Boise St. 7-20 (Lupfer 4-8; McGwire 2-2; Coleman 1-1; Woerner 0-2; Loville 0-1; Christopher 0-3; Hodgins 0-3). Fouled out — None. Rebounds — BYU 35 (Salmon 11), Boise St. 39 (McGwire 14). Assists — BYU 13 (Drollinger 5; Albiero 5), Boise St. 15 (Christopher 7). Total fouls — BYU 18, Boise St. 7. Technical fouls — None. A — 1140.
