Lupfer climbs Boise State’s all-time scoring list as Broncos ‘buckle down’ on Wyoming
Riley Lupfer was already the most prolific 3-point shooter in Boise State women’s basketball history.
On Wednesday night, she became one of the program’s all-time leading scorers, too.
Lupfer scored a game-high 18 points to move to No. 5 on the Broncos’ career points list in a 67-48 Mountain West Conference victory over Wyoming at ExtraMile Arena. The 5-foot-9 senior guard from Spokane, Washington, passed Michelle Schultz (1,391 points, 1991-96) with an even 1,400 points in 119 games.
“In the pregame we talked about how there’s 160 minutes left, and make every second count. She did that tonight,” said Boise State coach Gordy Presnell, referencing the total number of minutes remaining in the Broncos’ final home games of the season.
“She is absolutely a pure shooter. She can hit big shots, and she really doesn’t care if she scores or not.”
Lupfer broke Boise State’s career 3-point record in mid-November and has since left the No. 2 mark of 260 in the dust. She’s up to 314 triples, which ranks No. 2 in Mountain West history. Her 122 3-pointers as a sophomore also is a Mountain West single-season record. Lupfer started the 2019-20 season at No. 16 on the Broncos’ career scoring list and was at No. 10 just six games ago.
But as she has said throughout her career, the records will always take a backseat to the team’s achievements.
“I feel like that’s a lot of girls to kind of surpass, but at the end of the day, our system, I fit well in it and just knock down shots when they get me open. I love this place,” Lupfer said. “Records, yeah, yeah, yeah. I feel like we’ve already had three (Mountain West Tournament) titles, and that says a lot more about our program than going up in the scoring list.”
The Broncos have won two straight Mountain West regular-season championships and the last three conference tournament titles, but there is no guarantee a fourth consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament is in the cards. Boise State (16-8, 8-4 Mountain West) is fourth in the league standings with six regular-season games remaining. Fresno State holds the top spot with a perfect 12-0 record in Mountain West action.
“I think we’re actually like: ‘OK, yeah. We have to buckle down,’ ” Boise State senior Jayde Christopher said. “It means something.”
Wednesday’s victory over Wyoming (11-10, 7-5) might have been the nudge the Broncos needed. Boise State forced 24 Wyoming turnovers and grabbed 15 steals — both season highs against a Division I opponent — while holding the Cowgirls to their lowest scoring total in conference play this season. The Broncos also avenged a 73-68 loss on Jan. 1 in Laramie.
Christopher collected five of her career-high six steals in the first half and finished the game with seven assists and six points.
“When she’s in that kind of mode, she’s so fun to play with, I’m sure,” Presnell said. “If you’re open, you’re going to get the ball, and then defensively, she plays great help defense. She’s like a center fielder, she can fly around.”
Boise State’s six-member senior class has won a combined 92 games over the past four seasons with 31 losses — a winning percentage of 74.8 percent. They’ll play three more home games this season, starting Saturday against Utah State. Tipoff is 2 p.m. at ExtraMile Arena.
BOISE ST. 67, WYOMING 48
WYOMING (11-10, 7-5 MW)
Jaeden Vaifanua 6-8 3-3 15; Tereza Vitulova 5-8 2-2 14; Taylor Rusk 1-7 3-4 5; Jaye Johnson 2-6 0-0 4; Quinn Weidemann 1-4 2-2 4; McKinley Bradshaw 1-3 2-4 4; Alba Sanchez Ramos 1-3 0-0 2; Tommi Olson 0-2 0-0 0; Selale Kepenc 0-1 0-0 0; Elisa Pilli 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 17-42 12-15 48.
BOISE ST. (16-8, 8-4 MW)
Riley Lupfer 7-9 1-1 18; Jade Loville 3-8 4-5 10; A’Shanti Coleman 4-7 0-0 9; Jayde Christopher 3-9 0-0 6; Rachel Bowers 3-4 0-0 6; Mallory McGwire 2-8 2-2 6; Braydey Hodgins 2-6 1-2 5; Ellie Woerner 1-3 2-2 4; Laia Soler 1-1 0-0 3; Maggie Freeman 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 26-57 10-12 67.
Wyoming....................... 9 14 7 18 — 48
Boise St...................... 21 9 18 19 — 67
3-point goals — Wyoming 2-10 (Vitulova 2-2; Rusk 0-2; Johnson 0-1; Sanchez Ramos 0-2; Olson 0-1; Kepenc 0-1; Vaifanua 0-1), Boise St. 5-19 (Lupfer 3-5; Soler 1-1; Coleman 1-2; McGwire 0-4; Hodgins 0-1; Woerner 0-1; Freeman 0-2; Christopher 0-2; Loville 0-1). Fouled out — None. Rebounds — Wyoming 29 (Olson 5), Boise St. 28 (McGwire 7). Assists — Wyoming 6 (Rusk 3), Boise St. 11 (Christopher 7). Total fouls — Wyoming 10, Boise St. 11. Technical fouls — None. A — 912.
This story was originally published February 5, 2020 at 10:33 PM.
