‘Phenomenal’ Hofschild, Colorado State oust Boise State from Mountain West tourney
Mountain West Player of the Year McKenna Hofschild put her foot down in the fourth quarter.
The 5-foot-2 senior from Prior Lake, Minnesota, scored eight of her 19 points in the final frame to help third-seeded Colorado State hold off No. 6 Boise State 59-52 in the Mountain West Women’s Basketball Tournament quarterfinals on Monday at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.
“They have one of the best ball handlers in the whole country,” Boise State coach Gordy Presnell said of Hofschild. “She’s a phenomenal player, the most valuable player in our league.”
Hofschild finished with a double-double of 19 points and 10 assists to carry the Rams into the semifinals, where they will play No. 2 Wyoming at 8:30 p.m. Mountain time Tuesday. The other semifinal will feature No. 1 UNLV vs. No. 5 San Diego State at 6 p.m.
In an otherwise evenly matched game, the Broncos shot themselves in the foot with 18 turnovers that resulted in 16 points for the Rams. Colorado State also limited Boise State to just 29.8% shooting from the floor, including a 1-for-7 performance from deep in the second half. The Broncos did outrebound the Rams 51-32.
Boise State was also unable to overcome an off night from starters Dani Bayes and Elodie Lalotte, who went a combined 0-for-11 from the field.
“If we can score the ball a little bit more and turn the ball over a little bit less, we’re really crushing it on the boards,” Presnell said. “I think we’ve improved defensively a lot, but we have to do those other two things — take care of the ball and shoot the ball when we need to — to be really a good team, and I think we have that chance.”
After attributing their two regular-season losses to slow starts against the Rams, the Broncos didn’t waste any time Monday night getting inside. Junior foward Abby Muse — the Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year — scored the Broncos’ first six points, which opened it up for junior point guard Mary Kay Naro and freshman guard Natalie Pasco to each connect from 3-point range for a 14-10 lead after the first quarter.
The Broncos and Rams continued a back-and-forth second quarter that saw four lead changes and three ties. Colorado State briefly took an 18-16 lead after a 8-0 run, but Pasco went to work, nailing two more triples and adding a layup to go into the locker room tied at 26.
“I think I just knew we needed to come out strong tonight,” Pasco said. “We were feeding the ball into the post and them getting us wide open shots definitely helped.”
After falling behind 35-29 with 4:59 to go in the third quarter, Boise State went on a 14-3 run and led 43-42 at the end of the third quarter.
But turnovers cost the Broncos once again in the fourth quarter, with the Rams capitalizing on six Bronco miscues. Despite the turnovers, Boise State trailed just 52-50 with 2:33 to play before they went a stretch of more than two minutes without a field goal.
“It was a bad time to have a tough quarter,” Presnell said. “We really struggled scoring the ball, but I was really proud of our players’ efforts and I thought it was a great game. They’re a good team.”
Pasco paced Boise State with 15 points, including three triples, and Muse chipped in a double-double of 13 points and 11 rebounds.
The Broncos return all but graduate transfer Mandy Simpson next season, leaving Presnell feeling optimistic.
“We have a chance to really do some things,” Presnell said. “Now we’ve gotta go to work. We’ll give them a couple weeks off and then we really have to get after it and get better.”
This story was originally published March 6, 2023 at 11:21 PM.
