NCAA bound: Boise State women take home historic fourth straight Mountain West title
As streamers fell from the rafters and cameras and teammates pressed in around them, Boise State seniors Braydey Hodgins and Riley Lupfer somehow found each other at the bottom of a dog pile for a hug.
They’d won as backups, on buzzer-beaters, in blowouts and finally as dogged veterans with their backs against the wall. This will be their legacy, the likes of which the Mountain West has never seen before.
The second-seeded Boise State women’s basketball team held off top-seeded Fresno State 80-76 in overtime to win an unprecedented fourth consecutive Mountain West Tournament championship Wednesday night at the Thomas & Mack Center.
Lupfer and Hodgins — the only Broncos to play in all four title games — will finish their careers 12-0 at the tournament.
“It’s something you can’t ever take away. It’s something that I wish could last forever,” Lupfer said. “I love these girls. They’re my sisters. I love them to death. The coaching staff, they deserve it. Without them we wouldn’t be here. It’s such a great feeling.”
Boise State (24-9) must now wait until March 16 to learn its first-round NCAA Tournament opponent and destination. The selection show airs at 5 p.m. MT on ESPN. The Broncos will be making their fourth straight appearance, fifth in the past six seasons and seventh overall.
“I think when we came here on Friday, we had this vibe,” Lupfer said. “We didn’t really want to talk about it and jinx it. But we kind of had this feeling, like, it was going to be ours again. … So it gives us composure, because I know at the end of the day we’re on the same page and you count on each other.”
It took an immense amount of trust — and teamwork — to get the job done against Fresno State’s precocious youth.
Hodgins had a team-leading 20 points when she fouled out with just over 3 minutes remaining in regulation and the Broncos clinging to a 64-63 lead. Redshirt senior and eventual tournament MVP A’Shanti Coleman joined Hodgins on the bench a short time later after registering her fifth foul with 1:16 left.
“When I fouled out I was kind of mad,” Coleman said. “As soon as I came off, I think the tears started rolling down. I knew they would pull it out. You just wish, especially in a tournament game — they’ve never seen me cry — you always want to be on the floor. But I knew they would pull it out.”
Boise State had the ball with 7.6 seconds to go in regulation. But Jayde Christopher’s go-ahead layup bounced out and Mallory McGwire’s tip-in putback was off the mark, sending the game to a 5-minute overtime tied at 71.
“It felt like the longest 8 minutes of my life,” Hodgins said. “But with all we’ve been through, I knew they had my back and they were going to get it done. That’s what I kept reminding (A’Shanti) when she was sitting next to me. These girls would do anything for us, and they wanted it as bad as I did.”
Sophomore Jade Loville came through as Hodgins predicted, scoring 10 of her 20 points in the final 2:23 of regulation and overtime.
“I was just telling Braydey, I just did my part,” Loville said. “They’ve done so much, these seniors. They’ve left a legacy that is so spectacular, so I just wanted to do my part. I didn’t want to let them down. I didn’t want to let my coaches down. … I’m so happy that it all fell into place.”
McGwire started the scoring for the Broncos in the overtime with a reverse layup. Loville then scored on a floater in the key and a jumper on the block to give Boise State the lead for good. But Fresno State still made it interesting with a chaotic series of events in the closing seconds.
Freshman Hanna Cavinder pulled the Bulldogs within 78-75, then twin sister Haley Cavinder grabbed a steal and drew the foul with 4 seconds on the clock. Haley Cavinder made her first free throw and intentionally missed the second, putting the score at 78-76. Fresno State’s Aly Gamez got the rebound and went up for a jumper, which she made, but the Bulldogs were assessed a technical foul for calling a timeout they didn’t have before Gamez’s shot.
Lupfer made 1-of-2 ensuing free throws with 0.9 left, and the Bulldogs fouled Christopher on the inbound play. Christopher also went 1-for-2 at the line to put the final margin at four points.
Referee Lisa Jones issued a statement through the Mountain West after the game to clarify the technical foul call.
“After making sure Fresno State recovered the ball without going out of bounds, I acknowledged the audible timeout that was requested by a player on the court,” the statement reads. “Fresno State was out of timeouts, so the excessive timeout came into play. When an excessive timeout is assessed, it is the only administrative rule where the team loses possession after two free throws by the opposing team. Play resumes at the point of interruption.”
Hodgins and Loville each finished with a game-high 20 points, and Coleman contributed 16 points, six rebounds and two assists despite playing only 27 minutes due to foul trouble. Redshirt senior Ellie Woerner provided valuable minutes off the bench as both a defensive stalwart and offensive spark. She totaled 10 points, eight boards, four assists and two steals.
The Broncos tallied 25 assists on 29 made baskets with Christopher passing out a game-best 10. The Mountain West’s single-season assists record holder joined Coleman on the all-tournament team. McGwire led the Broncos on the boards with 13.
“It’s indescribable, the feeling,” Woerner said. “And the best part is doing it with these girls, especially us seniors who have gotten to do it. When you hold the net looking back at each other, just knowing how much love we have for each other and how hard we’ve worked to get here, you can’t even describe it.”
BOISE ST. 80, FRESNO ST. 76 (OT)
BOISE ST. (24-9)
Braydey Hodgins 6-11 4-6 20; Jade Loville 8-16 4-6 20; A’Shanti Coleman 7-11 0-0 16; Ellie Woerner 4-5 0-0 10; Mallory McGwire 2-8 2-2 6; Jayde Christopher 1-6 1-2 4; Riley Lupfer 1-8 1-2 4; Rachel Bowers 0-0 0-0 0; Maggie Freeman 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 29-65 12-18 80.
FRESNO ST. (25-7)
Haley Cavinder 6-21 1-2 17; Aly Gamez 4-11 9-11 17; Hanna Cavinder 8-20 1-2 17; Maddi Utti 5-9 6-6 16; Wytalla Motta 2-5 1-1 5; Brooke Walling 2-2 0-0 4; Kendyll Kinzer 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 27-69 18-22 76.
Boise St...................... 16 22 13 20 9 — 80
Fresno St..................... 20 14 11 26 5 — 76
3-point goals — Boise St. 10-23 (Hodgins 4-7; Woerner 2-2; Coleman 2-2; Christopher 1-5; Lupfer 1-5; McGwire 0-1; Loville 0-1), Fresno St. 4-17 (Haley Cavinder 4-13; Gamez 0-2; Utti 0-1; Kinzer 0-1). Fouled out — Boise St.-Hodgins; Coleman, Fresno St.-Motta. Rebounds — Boise St. 39 (McGwire 13), Fresno St. 41 (Gamez 9). Assists — Boise St. 25 (Christopher 10), Fresno St. 11 (Gamez 4). Total fouls — Boise St. 23, Fresno St. 15. Technical fouls — Boise St.-None, Fresno St.-Team. A-1,614.
This story was originally published March 4, 2020 at 11:31 PM.
