‘A very, very talented team.’ Air Force coach impressed after Boise State women rout Falcons
Air Force was on its fourth game in eight days, so the Boise State women’s basketball team did everything it could to make the Falcons’ legs burn.
Redshirt seniors Jayde Christopher and A’Shanti Coleman ran the Falcons ragged in transition as the Broncos raced past Air Force 73-50 in the quarterfinals of the Mountain West Tournament on Monday night at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.
The second-seeded Broncos (22-9) advanced to the semifinals for the fourth consecutive season, where they will face No. 3 Wyoming (17-11), a 64-59 winner over No. 11 Utah State. Tipoff was set for 9:30 p.m. MT on Tuesday, with the game streamed online by the Mountain West Network.
“I thought Boise State played really, really well,” Air Force coach Chris Gobrecht said. “It’s the best I’ve seen them play in a long time.”
Christopher got history out of the way early against Air Force (10-21) by breaking the Mountain West’s single-season assists record at the 6:17 mark of the first quarter. She notched her fourth double-double of the season — and third in the last four games — with 12 points and 10 assists, and now stands at 250 assists this season. She bested the record of 243 set by New Mexico’s Cherise Beynon during the 2017-18 season.
“We always feed off of Jayde,” Boise State sophomore Jade Loville said. “Every night she’s pushing the floor. She’s finding everybody on the court. When she gets it going, we’re all right there with her.”
Coleman was the beneficiary on many of those helpers, totaling a career-high 23 points on 10-for-15 shooting. Coleman has scored 20 points or more in four straight games, becoming only the sixth player in program history to do so.
“We transitioned at every single opportunity,” Boise State coach Gordy Presnell said. “And these two here, Jayde and A’Shanti, are terrific at transition. Jayde will find you if you’re open, and A’Shanti can finish.”
Braydey Hodgins (12 points), Riley Lupfer (11 points) and Loville (10 points) also scored in double figures for the Broncos, who are trying to win an unprecedented fourth straight tournament title. Four or more Broncos have scored in double digits during Boise State’s current six-game winning streak, which creates a complicated scouting report for opposing teams.
“Our depth is our secret weapon,” Loville said. “You just have to play us honest, because every single night it’s going to be someone new. If someone’s not hitting, it’s going to be someone else. Trusting that depth and that somebody is going to go off each night is what propels us.”
Boise State’s win over Air Force was its 10th in a row at the Mountain West Tournament dating back to 2017. It is the longest winning streak in tournament history and has resulted in three straight trips to the NCAA Tournament. The Broncos’ six-member senior class hopes to make it four in a row.
“I think you saw tonight how good they are. That’s a very, very talented team that’s been playing together for four years,” said Gobrecht, Air Force’s coach. “… I think they spent a lot of the year being a little bit bored because they’ve been doing the same thing for so long, and it sort of lost its luster a little bit for them.
“But now … it’s (the) home stretch. I’d be shocked, to tell you the truth, if — not shocked — but I’d be a little surprised if they didn’t win the whole tournament.”
Boise State certainly appeared to be in its patented postseason form against Air Force. The Broncos led 14-5 less than 4 minutes into the game and then closed out the first half on a 19-2 run for a 39-21 lead. Air Force committed 22 turnovers that led to 23 Boise State points, and the Broncos also enjoyed a 20-1 scoring advantage on fast breaks.
The Broncos’ 23-point victory was its second-largest in Mountain West Tournament play, ranking behind a 25-point win against Colorado State in the 2018 semifinals.
“I definitely think we are ... at our peak playing-wise,” Coleman said. “It is a little bit sense of urgency, but coming into the tournament we kind of have a cool mind about it because we have a bunch of people on this team that are pretty experienced, so we don’t let that get to us.”
Men’s basketball: League, media honor two Broncos
Boise State senior guard Justinian Jessup and redshirt junior guard Derrick Alston Jr. were each named to the All-Mountain West Second team in a poll of the league’s 11 coaches, which was released Tuesday.
In a vote of the league’s media, Jessup earned first-team recognition, and Alston made the second team. Voting in both polls is based on a player’s performance during conference play.
Jessup paced the Broncos in scoring during Mountain West action, averaging 17.8 points per game. His 63 triples at a clip of 43.8 percent were tops in the league. Jessup reached double figures in 17 of 18 league games, including seven 20-point outings.
Alston finished second on the team in scoring (14.9) and rebounding (4..7) during league play, while his 53 assists were a team high.
San Diego State’s Malachi Flynn was chosen as the player of the year in both polls.
BOISE ST. 73, AIR FORCE 50
AIR FORCE (10-21)
Kaelin Immel 6-12 2-4 15; Riley Snyder 6-17 0-0 14; Nikki McDonald 2-4 0-0 6; Allyah Marlett 0-1 4-4 4; Briana Autrey 1-6 1-2 3; Haley Jones 1-6 0-4 2; Kassady Huffman 0-0 2-2 2; Cierra Winters 1-5 0-0 2; Emily Conroe 1-3 0-0 2; Kamri Heath 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 18-57 9-16 50.
BOISE ST. (22-9)
A’Shanti Coleman 10-15 2-4 23; Braydey Hodgins 4-7 4-6 12; Jayde Christopher 4-9 2-2 12; Riley Lupfer 3-8 2-2 11; Jade Loville 4-10 2-2 10; Mallory McGwire 2-5 0-0 5; Rachel Bowers 0-2 0-0 0; Ellie Woerner 0-0 0-0 0; Laia Soler 0-1 0-0 0; Maggie Freeman 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 27-59 12-16 73.
Air Force..................... 14 7 17 12 — 50
Boise St...................... 16 23 18 16 — 73
3-point goals — Air Force 5-22 (Snyder 2-8; McDonald 2-4; Immel 1-4; Jones 0-2; Conroe 0-1; Autrey 0-2; Marlett 0-1), Boise St. 7-19 (Lupfer 3-8; Christopher 2-3; McGwire 1-2; Coleman 1-2; Freeman 0-2; Hodgins 0-2). Fouled out — None. Rebounds — Air Force 39 (Jones 12), Boise St. 36 (McGwire 6; Coleman 6). Assists — Air Force 13 (Immel 4), Boise St. 20 (Christopher 10). Total fouls — Air Force 14, Boise St. 16. Technical fouls — None.
This story was originally published March 2, 2020 at 9:01 PM.
