Broncos Begin Path To Repeat Wednesday Against Wyoming

Boise State (9-2, 0-0 MW) vs. Wyoming (7-2, 0-0 MW)
Wednesday, Jan. 2 • 7 p.m. MT
Boise, Idaho • Taco Bell Arena
Series: Boise State leads, 11-10
Last Meeting: Boise State 67, Wyoming 63 - Laramie, Wyo.
Watch | Listen | Live Stats

BOISE, Idaho - Boise State begins defense of its Mountain West regular-season title Wednesday, Jan. 2, as it hosts Wyoming for a 7 p.m. tip.

LAST TIME OUT: Boise State closed its regular-season non-conference slate on a hot note Dec. 19, shooting 63.8 percent from the field in an 88-53 win over Southern Utah.

A'Shanti Coleman led five Broncos scoring in double figures with 14 points on 7-for-8 shooting, while she combined with Joyce Harrell and Rachel Bowers to go 19-for-25 (76.0 percent). As a team, the Broncos' 63.8 field-goal percentage was the program's third-highest in single-game history.

WHO'S NEXT: Boise State opens Mountain West play and begins defense of its 2017-18 regular-season title Wednesday as it hosts Wyoming (7-2).

The Cowgirls bring a four-game winning streak into Taco Bell Arena, a run that includes a signature 77-70 win over South Dakota State in its last action on Dec. 20.

Wyoming, which is just 1-3 away from Laramie this season, and 0-2 in true road games, is led by the play of Marta Gomez (16.2 ppg, 5.0 rpg) and Bailee Cotton (11.7 ppg, 8.3 rpg).

LAST YEAR'S MEETINGS: Boise State and Wyoming split last season's two matchups, but the Broncos had the final say with a 67-63 victory in the winner-take-all season finale for the conference title in Laramie on March 2.

The Broncos came back from eight down with 6:49 to play in that contest, outscoring the Cowgirls, 17-5, the rest of the way. Braydey Hodgins led Boise State with 24 points in addition to grabbing seven rebounds, while Tess Amundsen added nine points off the bench.

Wyoming captured the first meeting of last season, defeating the Broncos, 66-51, at Taco Bell Arena on Jan. 6.

GOING FOR A REPEAT AND A THREE-PEAT: This year, Boise State will be going for a repeat of its 2017-18 Mountain West regular-season title, and a three-peat at the conference tournament in March.

Should the Broncos capture the Mountain West Tournament crown, they would become just the second program to pull off the three-peat, matching New Mexico's run from 2002-04.

A repeat of the regular-season title would mark the second time in school history that Boise State has won back-to-back crowns, matching the 2007-08 and 2008-09 WAC regular-season titles.

OFF TO GOOD STARTS: Boise State has made a habit of getting off to good starts in conference play since joining the Mountain West, going 5-2 all-time in its openers.

The Broncos have won their Mountain West opener three seasons running, with the last such defeat coming in 2015-16, a 68-64 loss at Colorado State.

PROTECT TACO BELL ARENA: Boise State went 7-2 in conference play at Taco Bell Arena last season, but one of its home losses came to Wyoming, a 66-51 setback on Jan. 6.

In that loss, the Cowgirls jumped out to a 32-18 halftime lead and shot 62.5 percent from 3-point range (10-for-16) for the game. Senior Liv Roberts went 9-for-9 from the field with 25 points for the Cowgirls in the win. The Broncos shot just 30.9 percent (17-for-55) in the contest.

The Broncos are 41-19 all-time in Mountain West games at Taco Bell Arena, and have gone 7-2 in each of the past five seasons.

MANAGING THE MINUTES: Boise State's depth has been key to keeping its roster healthy and fresh in the second month of the season. Entering Wednesday's conference opener, no Boise State player is averaging 30.0 minutes per game, as Riley Lupfer paces the team at 27.1.

Boise State's last regular-season non-conference slate without a player averaging 30 minutes a game came in 2014-15, when Deanna Weaver topped the team at 27.8.

MONEY FROM INSIDE: Boise State's post trio of A'Shanti Coleman, Joyce Harrell, and Rachel Bowers just couldn't miss Dec. 19 against Southern Utah, combining to go 19-for-25 from the field for 39 points, led by Coleman's 14 on 7-of-8 shooting.

The trio's work inside has been key to Boise State's 9-2 showing in non-conference play, as all three players are shooting over 50 percent for the season. Combined, Coleman, Harrell, and Bowers are 111-for-215 (51.6 percent) for 21.8 points per game through 11 contests.

REPEAT PERFORMANCE FOR LUPFER?: As Mountain West play gets set to begin, junior guard Riley Lupfer aims to repeat her record-setting performance of a season ago.

Over the 18-game Mountain West season last year, Lupfer averaged 18.9 points per game, shot 50.9 percent from the field, and hit a conference-record 79 3-pointers while hitting exactly half of her attempts (79-for-158) from downtown.

Four times Lupfer hit seven 3-pointers in a contest, and hit at least five in nine of the 18 games. She also posted eight 20-point performances.

THE 3s ARE FALLING AGAIN: Riley Lupfer, who set Boise State and Mountain West records with 122 3-pointers (all games) last season, appears to be, as was the case last season, heating up from deep just in time for conference play.

Over the Broncos' last two games, Lupfer has hit eight of 14 attempts from behind the arc, including a 7-for-12 performance in Dec. 16's 73-69 win at Washington. Prior to these final two non-conference performances, Lupfer had been shooting just 28.9 percent (20-for-69) from 3-point range before the game at Washington, and now enters Mountain West play at 33.7 percent.

HODGINS KEEPS TRENDING UPWARDS: Guard Braydey Hodgins has been enjoying a breakout junior season so far in 2018-19, a body of work the origin of which can be pinpointed to last March 2's showdown against Wyoming in Laramie.

In that contest, Hodgins scored a then-career high 24 points to go with seven rebounds, going 9-for-18 from the field and hitting three triples. She went on to be named to the Mountain West All-Tournament Team after averaging 16.7 points and shooting 50.0 percent over Boise State's three wins.

Her performance hasn't missed a beat in 2018-19, as Hodgins is averaging a career-best 10.6 points per game, and shooting 43.4 percent from 3-point range. She's scored in double figures five times, and was named the 2018 Husky Classic MVP after averaging 17.0 points and 5.0 rebounds while shooting 50.0 percent (9-for-18) from 3-point range and 52.4 percent overall over wins against Saint Francis (Pa.) and Washington.

BOWERS POWER: Freshman center Rachel Bowers has been one of the, excuse the pun, bigger surprises early on for the Broncos, shooting 54.0 percent (27-for-50) and providing a solid 5.4 points and 3.4 rebounds over 13.0 minutes a game off the bench.

Bowers, a three-time All-CIF Southern Section selection as a prep at Canyon High School in Newhall, Calif., has upped her workload and contribution over the last month, averaging 9.3 points and 4.3 rebounds while shooting 68.4 percent (13-for-19) over the last three games.

Broncos Begin Path To Repeat Wednesday Against Wyoming

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Tess Amundsen

Rachel Bowers

A'Shanti Coleman

Joyce Harrell

Braydey Hodgins

Riley Lupfer