Boise State freshman sets Mountain West assist record in victory at Utah State
The future of Boise State women’s basketball is in good hands.
Freshman point guard Mary Kay Naro set a single-game program record with 16 assists in the Broncos’ 87-69 victory against Utah State on Thursday at Dee Glen Smith Spectrum in Logan, Utah.
Naro broke the previous record of 14 assists shared by former standouts Marta Hermida and Jayde Christopher, who are both playing professionally in Europe. Naro now has 95 assists this season, which is tied for first in the Mountain West, and is averaging 5.3 assists per game, the No. 2 mark in the conference.
“I thought she did a really good job of picking apart their zone and making the right reads,” Boise State coach Gordy Presnell told Chris Lewis in a postgame radio interview on 1350 AM. “That’s a rare thing, 16 assists in one game with just two turnovers. I’m really proud of her. Man, pretty good game for a freshman.”
The 5-foot-11 freshman from Beaverton, Oregon, has started all 18 games for the Broncos this season. Her 16 assists against the Aggies is also a Mountain West record for most assists against a conference opponent and a Mountain West freshman record, breaking a mark that had stood since 2001. Naro’s 95 total assists put her just outside the top 20 in the nation this season.
“My teammates just were open and ran the floor hard,” Naro said. “It’s just easy to get them the ball. It was just fun playing that way, too. It felt like we got in a groove and got in a flow, which is cool.”
Naro had 10 assists at halftime as the Broncos built a 45-28 lead. Her court vision helped five teammates reach double-digit scoring, led by junior Jade Loville’s double-double of 20 points and 10 rebounds. The Broncos had 28 assists overall.
Freshman forward Alexis Mark also notched a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds, and redshirt senior Mallory McGwire totaled 17 points and seven rebounds. Freshman guard Anna Ostlie added 12 points off the bench, including a 4-for-9 performance from 3-point range. Freshman forward Abby Muse chipped in with 10 points, seven boards and three blocked shots.
“On this team my role is to take care of the ball and create for others,” Naro said. “It went really well today, which was really cool. I didn’t realize I had that many (assists), but my teammates made shots, and that helped me out a lot.”
Boise State (11-7, 8-7 MW) has three games remaining on its regular-season schedule, starting with a rematch against Utah State (4-14, 2-11) at 2 p.m. Saturday in Logan. The Broncos are then home next week for a two-game series against San Diego State (5-14, 3-10). The games are scheduled for 2 p.m. Friday, Feb. 26, and 1 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 28. Both games will be streamed live at BroncoSports.com/mwn.
The 2021 Mountain West Tournament runs March 7-10 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. The top six teams in the conference standings receive a first-round bye. Boise State is currently in fifth place.
BOISE STATE 87, UTAH STATE 69
BOISE STATE (11-7, 8-7 MW)
Jade Loville 9-16 2-2 20; Mallory McGwire 8-15 0-3 17; Alexis Mark 7-10 2-2 16; Anna Ostlie 4-9 0-0 12; Abby Muse 4-7 2-2 10; Elodie Lalotte 4-8 1-2 9; Mary Kay Naro 1-6 1-1 3; Martina Machalova 0-0 0-0 0; Cristina Gil 0-3 0-0 0; Kimora Sykes 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 37-77 8-12 87.
UTAH STATE (4-14, 2-11 MW)
Kinley Falslev 5-11 1-2 14; Emmie Harris 6-12 0-0 14; Monique Pruitt 5-9 1-3 12; Jessica Chatman 4-9 2-4 12; Taylor Franson 3-5 0-0 6; Meagan Mendazona 2-5 1-2 6; Emily Jarrell 1-1 1-1 3; Shyla Latone 1-14 0-0 2; Halle Nelson 0-1 0-0 0; Jocelyn Polansky 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-67 6-12 69.
Boise State................... 22 23 25 17 — 87
Utah State.................... 8 20 26 15 — 69
3-point goals — Boise State 5-23 (Ostlie 4-9; McGwire 1-6; Naro 0-3; Gil 0-2; Sykes 0-1; Mark 0-1; Loville 0-1), Utah State 9-27 (Falsleve 3-8; Chatman 2-5; Harris 2-4; Mendazona 1-2; Pruitt 1-1; Latone 0-7). Fouled out — Boise State-Lalotte, Utah State-None. Rebounds — Boise State 50 (Loville 10; Mark 10), Utah State 36 (Franson 6; Chatman 6). Assists — Boise State 28 (Naro 16), Utah State 17 (Harris 6). Total fouls — Boise State 20, Utah State 15. Technical fouls — None. A — 269.
