Wednesday, January 2
Boise, Idaho
7:00 PM MT
Boise State
72
vs
64
Wyoming
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2
3
4
F
Wyoming
12
17
14
21
64
Boise St.
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72
Photo by: NCAA Photos
Broncos Ride Hot Second-Half To 72-64 Win Over Wyoming
1/2/2019 10:21:00 PM | Women's Basketball
BOISE, Idaho -Â Boise State put out a strong two-way effort in Wednesday's Mountain West opener against Wyoming, hitting 10 3-pointers and putting up 44 second-half points on the offensive end, while limiting the Cowgirls to just six triples on the other in the 72-64 win.
The Broncos (10-2, 1-0 MW) got a season high-matching 22 points and four triples from Preseason Mountain West Player of the Year Riley Lupfer, while sophomore forward Tess Amundsen returned from a six-game injury absence to go 4-for-6 from the field and score 10 points. Junior guard Braydey Hodgins scored six of her eight points with a pair of dagger 3-pointers over the final 3:34 which helped hold off Cowgirl rallies and secure Boise State's first Top-50 RPI victory of the season.
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"It feels really good. I know us juniors hadn't beaten Wyoming on our home court yet, so that was a really big deal for us to get this one at home and it's always good to start 1-0 in conference play," Lupfer said.
Wyoming (7-3, 0-1 MW) came into the game shooting 42.9 percent from behind the arc and averaging nine 3-pointers a game, but were held in check by the Bronco defense, finishing 6-for-19 from distance. Marta Gomez, Wyoming's top 3-point shooter at 27 triples at a 50-percent clip, went 3-for-5 in the first half as the Cowgirls took a slim 29-28 lead, but went 0-for-3 over the final 20 minutes as the Broncos switched Jayde Christopher onto her defensively.
"Their point guard got some layups on penetration, but we didn't help. We weren't going to help because we helped a little too much in the first half when [Gomez] hit those threes. We gave those layups up off penetration to keep that away," Presnell said.
It was the second-half adjustments that woke the Broncos from a first half in which they shot just 35.7 percent (10-for-28). Boise State shot a blistering 58.1 percent over the final 20 minutes, going 18-for-31 from the field including 5-for-10 from deep.
The first-half hangover persisted for the opening minutes of the second, as Boise State fell behind, 33-28, after consecutive buckets from Gomez and Karla Erjavec. Lupfer would get the Bronco offense going with six of Boise State's next seven points, spurring a 7-0 run that got the Broncos in front for good at 35-33. Amundsen helped get the lead up to six at 44-38 with 1:41 left in the third, sandwiching a pair of driving layups from Christopher with a bucket inside and her second 3-pointer of the night. Christopher, who finished the night with seven points and five assists, would cap the quarter with a triple of her own to put the Broncos up 49-43.
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"When teams try to take away Riley, we try to put Riley in a pick-and-roll. Tess is the best 3-point shooter we have in that trail post spot, so we put those two together in pick-and-rolls, pick-and-pops, and that's what we got out of there with Tess," said Presnell. Â
"It's really hard to sit out, but it really helped me out. I was watching film and watching my teammates, going through each fundamental thing," Amundsen said of her six-game absence. Â
Boise State would fight off one last Cowgirl rally, as Wyoming twice got to within two late. First, Clara Tapia scored all six of her points on the night in the quarter's opening 3:13 to get the Cowgirls to 55-53, but Lupfer slammed the door on that effort with a triple to force a Wyoming timeout. Wyoming again cut a seven-point hole down to two with 3:51 to go after Erjavec's layup, but, for a final time, Boise State answered as Hodgins hit her first triple of the night to open a seven-point run and get the Bronco lead to nine at 67-58 with 2:40 to play.
Hodgins would put the dagger in Wyoming's heart a minute later, upping the Bronco lead to 70-61 and capping her eight-point, eight-rebound night.
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"I think that comes back to Braydey making those two big shots," Lupfer said about the late performance. "She hit those because she's been in that situation before, and everyone on the court knew what it would take to get that win."Â Â
The Cowgirls went just 2-of-8 from deep in the second half after using three second-quarter triples, all from Gomez, to to flip Boise State's four-point lead to a 19-15 advantage. Wyoming stretched their lead to as many as seven at 29-22 with 2:59 to go on Gomez' third triple.
The Broncos, however, would use the 3-ball to their own advantage to end the half on a 6-0 run. Boise State first got a corner 3 from Amundsen, then Marta Hermida cashed in from the right wing 53 seconds before the break to cut the Cowgirl lead to one.
The Broncos (10-2, 1-0 MW) got a season high-matching 22 points and four triples from Preseason Mountain West Player of the Year Riley Lupfer, while sophomore forward Tess Amundsen returned from a six-game injury absence to go 4-for-6 from the field and score 10 points. Junior guard Braydey Hodgins scored six of her eight points with a pair of dagger 3-pointers over the final 3:34 which helped hold off Cowgirl rallies and secure Boise State's first Top-50 RPI victory of the season.
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4Q, 5:50; 58-53 | Jayde Christopher with the vision, finds @rileylupfer2 in for the transition 3!
— Boise State WBB (@BroncoSportsWBB) January 3, 2019
Wyoming timeout, Boise State with the 58-53 lead!#BleedBlue pic.twitter.com/6SjSC5WTNR
"It feels really good. I know us juniors hadn't beaten Wyoming on our home court yet, so that was a really big deal for us to get this one at home and it's always good to start 1-0 in conference play," Lupfer said.
Wyoming (7-3, 0-1 MW) came into the game shooting 42.9 percent from behind the arc and averaging nine 3-pointers a game, but were held in check by the Bronco defense, finishing 6-for-19 from distance. Marta Gomez, Wyoming's top 3-point shooter at 27 triples at a 50-percent clip, went 3-for-5 in the first half as the Cowgirls took a slim 29-28 lead, but went 0-for-3 over the final 20 minutes as the Broncos switched Jayde Christopher onto her defensively.
"Their point guard got some layups on penetration, but we didn't help. We weren't going to help because we helped a little too much in the first half when [Gomez] hit those threes. We gave those layups up off penetration to keep that away," Presnell said.
It was the second-half adjustments that woke the Broncos from a first half in which they shot just 35.7 percent (10-for-28). Boise State shot a blistering 58.1 percent over the final 20 minutes, going 18-for-31 from the field including 5-for-10 from deep.
The first-half hangover persisted for the opening minutes of the second, as Boise State fell behind, 33-28, after consecutive buckets from Gomez and Karla Erjavec. Lupfer would get the Bronco offense going with six of Boise State's next seven points, spurring a 7-0 run that got the Broncos in front for good at 35-33. Amundsen helped get the lead up to six at 44-38 with 1:41 left in the third, sandwiching a pair of driving layups from Christopher with a bucket inside and her second 3-pointer of the night. Christopher, who finished the night with seven points and five assists, would cap the quarter with a triple of her own to put the Broncos up 49-43.
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3Q, 3:10; 39-34 | Jayde Christopher is finding the next gear! She drives and scores, and the Broncos have a five-point lead!#BleedBlue pic.twitter.com/JRUxKuP3Iq
— Boise State WBB (@BroncoSportsWBB) January 3, 2019
"When teams try to take away Riley, we try to put Riley in a pick-and-roll. Tess is the best 3-point shooter we have in that trail post spot, so we put those two together in pick-and-rolls, pick-and-pops, and that's what we got out of there with Tess," said Presnell. Â
"It's really hard to sit out, but it really helped me out. I was watching film and watching my teammates, going through each fundamental thing," Amundsen said of her six-game absence. Â
Boise State would fight off one last Cowgirl rally, as Wyoming twice got to within two late. First, Clara Tapia scored all six of her points on the night in the quarter's opening 3:13 to get the Cowgirls to 55-53, but Lupfer slammed the door on that effort with a triple to force a Wyoming timeout. Wyoming again cut a seven-point hole down to two with 3:51 to go after Erjavec's layup, but, for a final time, Boise State answered as Hodgins hit her first triple of the night to open a seven-point run and get the Bronco lead to nine at 67-58 with 2:40 to play.
Hodgins would put the dagger in Wyoming's heart a minute later, upping the Bronco lead to 70-61 and capping her eight-point, eight-rebound night.
Â
4Q, 1:32; 70-61 | @braydeyhodgins just out here throwing daggers! Her second 3 of the quarter puts the Broncos up nine with just over a minute to play!#BleedBlue pic.twitter.com/PVMRrosfdL
— Boise State WBB (@BroncoSportsWBB) January 3, 2019
"I think that comes back to Braydey making those two big shots," Lupfer said about the late performance. "She hit those because she's been in that situation before, and everyone on the court knew what it would take to get that win."Â Â
The Cowgirls went just 2-of-8 from deep in the second half after using three second-quarter triples, all from Gomez, to to flip Boise State's four-point lead to a 19-15 advantage. Wyoming stretched their lead to as many as seven at 29-22 with 2:59 to go on Gomez' third triple.
The Broncos, however, would use the 3-ball to their own advantage to end the half on a 6-0 run. Boise State first got a corner 3 from Amundsen, then Marta Hermida cashed in from the right wing 53 seconds before the break to cut the Cowgirl lead to one.
Team Stats
F-811
F-66
FG%
.450
.475
3FG%
.316
.417
FT%
.444
.667
RB
31
30
TO
11
9
STL
6
3
Game Leaders
Pts
22
FGM
8
3FGM
4
FTM
2
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
8
FGM
2
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
Forward
/ Women's BasketballGuard
/ Women's Basketball
Guard
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