Boise State Cruises To 3-0 Start With 99-68 Win Over San Jose State

Saturday, January 12

Boise, Idaho

1:00 PM MT

Boise State

11-2

San Jose State

1-12

San Jose St.

Boise St.

Photo by: Boise State University

Boise State Cruises To 3-0 Start With 99-68 Win Over San Jose State

1/12/2019 4:32:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Box Score Postgame Notes Postgame Quotes Photo Gallery

BOISE, Idaho - Boise State is off to the first 3-0 start to Mountain West play in program history after cruising past San Jose State, 99-68, Saturday at Taco Bell Arena. The Broncos (12-2, 3-0 MW) jumped out to a 21-point halftime lead and shot 58.2 percent from the field in the contest, with freshman center Rachel Bowers leading the way at 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting.

All 12 Broncos that were suited up and available Saturday scored at least two points, with Bowers highlighting a blazing effort from the Boise State bench. The seven Bronco reserves scored 55 of the team's 99 points and shot 66.7 percent (22-for-33), along with going 5-for-12 from 3-point range. Jayde Christopher (nine points, six rebounds) and Jade Loville (eight points) hit a total of three triples, while the trio of Tess Amundsen (nine points), Ellie Woerner (four points), and the returning Marijke Vanderschaaf (six points) combined to go a perfect 9-for-9 from the field.

Vanderschaaf's return was yet another highlight of the day for Boise State. The redshirt senior center made her return to action for the first time in 13 months after suffering a torn ACL back on Dec. 7, 2017 against Washington. The 2016-17 All-Mountain West honorable mention center played 5:26 in the contest, going 3-for-3 for six points.

2Q, 3:41; 41-20 | She's back! @MarijkeVan15 scores her first bucket on her first attempt, and the Broncos are up, 41-20!#BleedBlue pic.twitter.com/a99pZrlUWQ
— Boise State WBB (@BroncoSportsWBB) January 12, 2019

"It felt like forever," Vanderschaaf said of her time out. "I was still at practice and still around. It's not my first time; I'm not a freshman coming back. I've been around the block and I know what to expect. I'm just doing whatever I can for my team."

"She's just a presence. We don't have that in our post. We're going to play some teams down the road who are big in the post," Boise State head coach Gordy Presnell said about Vanderschaaf. "We're going to need her and hopefully her knee will stay healthy. We can use her."

Senior Marta Hermida led the starters with 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting, including 3-of-4 from deep, and passed out a team-high six assists. A'Shanti Coleman went 5-for-9 from the field and finished with 12 points, while Riley Lupfer scored 10 with five assists in just 23 minutes of action.

Boise State hit its first six attempts from the field Saturday, and opened 7-for-8 after Coleman put back Hermida's miss for a 15-5 lead just 3:47 in, forcing a San Jose State timeout. Coleman scored eight of her 12 points in the opening frame, and Loville closed it with a three-point play with 20 seconds left to give the Broncos a 28-14 advantage.

1Q, 20.1; 28-14 | And 1! @JadeLoville goes up, draws contact, and swishes it! She hits the bonus to give the Broncos a 14-point lead!#BleedBlue pic.twitter.com/5e8FaYsVdQ
— Boise State WBB (@BroncoSportsWBB) January 12, 2019

Loville followed a Rachel Bowers layup at the start of the second quarter with a triple to get the Bronco lead to 19 at 33-14, and sophomore Tess Amundsen would hit back-to-back jumpers from the elbow to help get the lead to 21 at 39-18 with 4:58 left in the half, and force another Spartan timeout. The Bronco offense would remain hot, batting away any San Jose State attempt to narrow the score, as Sofía Galerón hit a 3-pointer and Lupfer added a layup to give Boise State a 48-27 lead at the break.

The Spartans (1-13, 0-3 MW) continued attacking as the second half got underway, shooting 61.1 percent (11-for-18) in the third quarter and posting 25 points. But San Jose State's defense couldn't rein in the Broncos, who put up 27 led by 10 points on 4-for-5 shooting from Bowers. Raziya Potter scored seven points in the frame for the Spartans, and led the team with 14 on the day.

Boise State's perimeter defense had another solid performance, holding the Spartans to just four 3-pointers in 18 attempts in the contest. Through three conference games, Bronco opponents are shooting just 21.6 percent (11-for-51) from behind the arc.

"I thought our offense flowed freely. We got around the floor and made some shots," Presnell said. "I'd like to see us play a little better defensively defending the goal. They made a number of 'zero footers,' is what we call them. We have to be able to protect the rim better."

Boise State faces the toughest stretch of its conference schedule over the next two weeks, playing three of its next four on the road. The stretch begins with two trips next week, as the Broncos visit Nevada next Wednesday, Jan. 16, for a 7:30 p.m. MT tip, and close the week Saturday at 2 p.m. MT at Fresno State.