Saturday, November 24
Long Beach, Calif.
3:00 PM MT
Boise State
5-1
61
vs
60
Northern Iowa
4-2
1
2
3
4
F
Boise State
14
18
14
15
61
Northern Iowa
9
27
17
7
60
Photo by: Allison Corona
Lupfer's Late 3 Completes Bronco Comeback
11/24/2018 6:27:00 PM | Women's Basketball
LONG Beach, Calif. – This is why Riley Lupfer was the Preseason Mountain West Player of the Year.
Boise State, down two with 1:54 to play, and struggling to string together points all day, put the ball in the hands of Lupfer and she delivered. Out of an inbounds, Lupfer hit a 3-pointer, her fourth of the game, from the top of the key to give the Broncos (5-1) a lead they would not relinquish as they outscored Northern Iowa, 9-2, over the final 5:32 to overcome a six-point deficit and capture the 2018 Beach Classic title with a 61-60 win.
The triple capped a five-point sequence for Lupfer, who finished with a team-high 16 points. The game turned when, with 1:57 to go and the Broncos down, 58-54, Jayde Christopher made a steal and was headed for an uncontested layup until she was grabbed by Northern Iowa's Mikaela Morgan, drawing an unsportsmanlike foul.
With a chance to pull within two then tie or take the lead as they'd keep possession, Boise State did just that. Lupfer, 12-for-12 from the line this season, stepped up to hit the two free throws, then drained the triple on the ensuing Bronco inbound.
"It was a big shot, but it wasn't the whole game," Lupfer said. "I feel like we came back after that technical, and Jayde [getting that call] for us, that's one shot but [that sequence] won us the game."
Still, the Broncos couldn't exhale until a frantic final 40 seconds ended with Karli Rucker's baseline jumper hit iron and bounced clear as time expired.
Rucker, who scored a game-high 22 points in the contest, was held to just two points in the final quarter. For the second-straight game, Boise State unleashed ace defender Marta Hermida on an opponent's hot hand in crunch time, with Hermida harassing Rucker into an 0-for-5 shooting effort over the final 10 minutes and only getting her fourth-quarter points from the line with 40 seconds to play.
Hermida also hit a key jumper with 47 seconds to go, putting the Broncos up 61-58, to cap her 11-point night.
"Defensively, over the last five minutes, we really stepped it up then we made a couple plays," said Boise State head coach Gordy Presnell. "Our kids have been in a lot of big games over the years, they seem to relish the opportunity to play under pressure, and we performed well today."
For the second-straight game, Boise State had to overcome a poor second quarter, as, a day after being outscored 30-20 by Idaho in the frame, Northern Iowa (3-3) took the Broncos to task, winning the quarter 27-18 to flip a five-point first-quarter Bronco lead to a 36-32 Panther advantage.
Rucker played a key role in that second quarter, going 4-for-4 from the field and scoring nine points. Morgan opened the frame with five-straight points, and Rucker followed with seven of Northern Iowa's next nine points as the Panthers opened the frame with a 14-0 run to turn Boise State's 14-9 lead into a 23-14 hole.
That would lead to the Broncos slowly fighting their way back into contention, even taking a brief, one-point lead at 40-39 three minutes into the second half, only to have the Panthers create a cushion.
Northern Iowa answered Boise State's surge by going on a 12-3 run and getting up as many as 10 at 53-43 with 1:01 to go in the quarter. Boise State would cut the deficit to single digits by the end of the frame as Sofía Galeròn dropped a triple before the horn.
The efforts of Hermida and others on defense kept Boise State in it in the fourth quarter, as the Panthers were held to just seven points on 2-for-12 shooting, and did not hit a field goal over the final 5:32. Yet, the Broncos struggled to score, coming up empty on four-straight possessions while down six until A'Shanti Coleman hit a short jumper to bring Boise State within 58-54 with 2:53 to play.
Christopher scored a career-high 13 points for the Broncos, with 10 of those coming in the first half as she helped keep the team afloat in the second quarter. Coleman added 14 points and grabbed a team-high eight rebounds.
"That's what I was most proud of, the way they handled themselves the last five or six minute," Presnell said.
Boise State returns to action next Saturday, Dec. 1, traveling to Pullman to face Washington State.
Boise State, down two with 1:54 to play, and struggling to string together points all day, put the ball in the hands of Lupfer and she delivered. Out of an inbounds, Lupfer hit a 3-pointer, her fourth of the game, from the top of the key to give the Broncos (5-1) a lead they would not relinquish as they outscored Northern Iowa, 9-2, over the final 5:32 to overcome a six-point deficit and capture the 2018 Beach Classic title with a 61-60 win.
The triple capped a five-point sequence for Lupfer, who finished with a team-high 16 points. The game turned when, with 1:57 to go and the Broncos down, 58-54, Jayde Christopher made a steal and was headed for an uncontested layup until she was grabbed by Northern Iowa's Mikaela Morgan, drawing an unsportsmanlike foul.
With a chance to pull within two then tie or take the lead as they'd keep possession, Boise State did just that. Lupfer, 12-for-12 from the line this season, stepped up to hit the two free throws, then drained the triple on the ensuing Bronco inbound.
"It was a big shot, but it wasn't the whole game," Lupfer said. "I feel like we came back after that technical, and Jayde [getting that call] for us, that's one shot but [that sequence] won us the game."
Still, the Broncos couldn't exhale until a frantic final 40 seconds ended with Karli Rucker's baseline jumper hit iron and bounced clear as time expired.
Rucker, who scored a game-high 22 points in the contest, was held to just two points in the final quarter. For the second-straight game, Boise State unleashed ace defender Marta Hermida on an opponent's hot hand in crunch time, with Hermida harassing Rucker into an 0-for-5 shooting effort over the final 10 minutes and only getting her fourth-quarter points from the line with 40 seconds to play.
Hermida also hit a key jumper with 47 seconds to go, putting the Broncos up 61-58, to cap her 11-point night.
"Defensively, over the last five minutes, we really stepped it up then we made a couple plays," said Boise State head coach Gordy Presnell. "Our kids have been in a lot of big games over the years, they seem to relish the opportunity to play under pressure, and we performed well today."
For the second-straight game, Boise State had to overcome a poor second quarter, as, a day after being outscored 30-20 by Idaho in the frame, Northern Iowa (3-3) took the Broncos to task, winning the quarter 27-18 to flip a five-point first-quarter Bronco lead to a 36-32 Panther advantage.
Rucker played a key role in that second quarter, going 4-for-4 from the field and scoring nine points. Morgan opened the frame with five-straight points, and Rucker followed with seven of Northern Iowa's next nine points as the Panthers opened the frame with a 14-0 run to turn Boise State's 14-9 lead into a 23-14 hole.
That would lead to the Broncos slowly fighting their way back into contention, even taking a brief, one-point lead at 40-39 three minutes into the second half, only to have the Panthers create a cushion.
Northern Iowa answered Boise State's surge by going on a 12-3 run and getting up as many as 10 at 53-43 with 1:01 to go in the quarter. Boise State would cut the deficit to single digits by the end of the frame as Sofía Galeròn dropped a triple before the horn.
The efforts of Hermida and others on defense kept Boise State in it in the fourth quarter, as the Panthers were held to just seven points on 2-for-12 shooting, and did not hit a field goal over the final 5:32. Yet, the Broncos struggled to score, coming up empty on four-straight possessions while down six until A'Shanti Coleman hit a short jumper to bring Boise State within 58-54 with 2:53 to play.
Christopher scored a career-high 13 points for the Broncos, with 10 of those coming in the first half as she helped keep the team afloat in the second quarter. Coleman added 14 points and grabbed a team-high eight rebounds.
"That's what I was most proud of, the way they handled themselves the last five or six minute," Presnell said.
Boise State returns to action next Saturday, Dec. 1, traveling to Pullman to face Washington State.
Team Stats
BSU
UNI
FG%
.357
.453
3FG%
.286
.500
FT%
.833
.857
RB
41
35
TO
15
25
STL
9
5
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
16
FGM
5
3FGM
4
FTM
2
Pts
14
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
13
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
Guard
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