‘It’s a hard one to lose.’ Late 3-pointer lifts San Diego State over Boise State
Over the final 45.4 seconds, the Boise State women’s basketball team had two chances to extend or retake the lead coming out of a timeout.
But Jade Loville’s stepback jumper from the key bounced off the front of the rim, and Anna Ostlie’s corner 3-pointer rolled out.
Mallory Adams’ 3-pointer with 8.8 seconds left, however, was on the mark, sending San Diego State to a 74-72 win over Boise State on Friday afternoon at ExtraMile Arena.
“I’ll say this, they made plays down the stretch and we did not,” Boise State coach Gordy Presnell said in a postgame Zoom interview. “... Even with all that said, you should win a game if you score 29 field goals, and we did not. We were continually put in rotation and they continually hit threes out of it and it cost us in the end. Pretty disappointing, but we have to battle back, get off the mat and get ready for Sunday.”
The Aztecs closed the game on a 7-0 run and shot 57.1% (12-for-21) from beyond the arc to claw their way back from as much as a 12-point deficit. The Broncos were up 72-67 with 1:28 to play.
Despite the loss, the Broncos (12-8, 9-8 MW) have already locked up a first-round bye in the Mountain West Tournament, which will be played March 7-10 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. The Broncos could still finish anywhere between fourth and sixth in the regular-season standings.
“I think settling is a big thing, and we don’t always have the same energy,” Boise State freshman forward Alexis Mark said. “Every possession matters, and I feel like every possession we need to do hustle plays. The little things matter. Defense, especially, we need to communicate a lot.”
Playing in her second-to-last game at ExtraMile Arena, redshirt senior center Mallory McGwire scored a game-leading 21 points, including five 3-pointers, to go with nine rebounds, two assists and a blocked shot.
But McGwire, who fouled out with 45.4 seconds left, was whistled for two fouls in a span of about 30 seconds late in the game, both of which resulted in a pair of free throws for San Diego State guard Sophia Ramos. Ramos went 4-for-4 from the free-throw line and grabbed an offensive rebound that led to Adams’ game-winning 3-pointer.
“We have some good freshmen, some bright spots, but we were ahead for all but eight seconds,” Presnell said. “It’s a hard one to lose.”
Boise State played Friday’s game in front of fans for the first time all season, and up to 900 fans will be permitted when the Broncos host the Aztecs at 1 p.m. Sunday. Having family in the stands led to some unexpected emotions for players such as Mark, whose mother and two brothers were at the game.
Mark flirted with a triple double, totaling 11 rebounds, seven assists and six points.
“It felt weird, but it meant a lot,” Mark said. “It kind of made me emotional before the game, because COVID messed up a lot, and to see my family out there, it made me just feel like it was back to usual before COVID happened.”
The Broncos will honor McGwire, their lone senior, ahead of Sunday’s game. She has contributed 1,055 points, 711 rebounds and 141 blocked shots between her time at Oregon and Boise State.
“I think Mallory’s done a lot for our program. She’s one of the all-time best players we’ve had here,” Presnell said. “We want to celebrate her on Sunday and do everything we can to get a victory for her on her last home game, and finish the season strong.”
Sunday’s game will be streamed live at BroncoSports.com/mwn, or listen to a radio broadcast on 1350 AM.
SAN DIEGO ST. 74, BOISE ST. 72
SAN DIEGO ST. (7-15, 5-11 MW)
Mallory Adams 7-14 0-0 18; Sophia Ramos 3-10 7-10 15; Tea Adams 4-7 0-0 9; Flo Vinerte 3-5 2-2 8; Isabela Hernandez 2-6 0-0 6; Alex Crain 2-2 0-0 6; Kim Villalobos 2-3 1-2 5; Mercedes Staples 2-9 0-0 4; Kiara Edwards 1-5 0-0 3; Ivvana Murillo 0-0 0-0 0; Kamaria Gipson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-61 10-14 74.
BOISE ST. (12-8, 9-8 MW)
Mallory McGwire 8-15 0-0 21; Jade Loville 7-22 3-4 17; Abby Muse 7-13 2-3 16; Alexis Mark 3-8 0-0 6; Anna Ostlie 1-5 2-2 4; Mary Kay Naro 1-4 1-2 4; Elodie Lalotte 2-4 0-0 4; Cristina Gil 0-1 0-0 0; Kimora Sykes 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 29-75 8-11 72.
San Diego St.................. 15 20 20 19 — 74
Boise St...................... 25 11 25 11 — 72
3-point goals — San Diego St. 12-21 (M. Adams 4-8; Crain 2-2; Hernandez 2-2; Ramos 2-2; Edwards 1-3; T. Adams 1-1; Staples 0-3), Boise St. 6-19 (McGwire 5-9; Naro 1-3; Ostlie 0-4; Gil 0-1; Sykes 0-2). Fouled out — San Diego St.-None, Boise St.-McGwire. Rebounds — San Diego St. 40 (Vinerte 8), Boise St. 38 (Mark 11). Assists — San Diego St. 15 (Ramos 5), Boise St. 17 (Mark 7). Total fouls — San Diego St. 14, Boise St. 12. Technical fouls — None. A — 287.
