Broncos Go For 10th-Straight Win Wednesday

Boise State (14-2, 5-0 MW) vs. Air Force (6-11, 2-4 MW)
Wednesday, Jan. 23 • 7 p.m. MT
Boise, Idaho • Taco Bell Arena
Series: Boise State leads, 15-1
Last Meeting: Boise State 60, Air Force 46 - Las Vegas, Nev.
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BOISE, Idaho - Boise State returns home for the first time since Jan. 12, hosting Air Force for a 7 p.m. tip Wednesday at Taco Bell Arena. The Broncos will be going for their 10th-straight win, and sixth-straight to open Mountain West play.

In a battle of the Mountain West's two unbeaten teams Saturday, Boise State got out to a lead of as many as 28 at Fresno State and cruised to a 72-60 win to take sole possession of first place.

Senior guard Marta Hermida scored all 21 of her points and hit all five of her 3-pointers in the second half, finishing 8-for-12 from the field, and fellow senior Joyce Harrell posted the first double-double by a Bronco this season, finishing with 12 points and 11 rebounds.

The Broncos hit 11 triples in the contest, led by Hermida's five, while the defense held the Bulldog bench scoreless in the contest.

WHO'S NEXT
Air Force (6-11, 2-4 MW) comes to Taco Bell Arena Wednesday off of a 79-74 home overtime win over Nevada which snapped a two-game skid.

The Falcons, just 1-8 on the road this season, are led by the play of Kaelin Immel (11.6 ppg, 4.3 rpg) and Riley Snyder (10.2 ppg, 4.4 rpg).

LAST YEAR'S MEETINGS
Boise State went 3-0 against Air Force last season, sweeping the regular-season series before beating the Falcons in the quarterfinals of the Mountain West Tournament.

After a grind-it-out 49-46 win at Taco Bell Arena on Jan. 27, the Broncos went to the Academy and captured a 58-47 victory over the Falcons behind a 16-point, 7-for-10 shooting effort from A'Shanti Coleman. Just over two weeks later, Riley Lupfer hit five triples to pace the Broncos to a 60-46 win at the Mountain West Tournament.

LIMITING THE MAKES
Boise State's defense was locked in over last year's three meetings with Air Force, holding the Falcons to just 28.0 percent from the field (47-for-168) and 20.0 percent from 3-point range (7-for-35).

The Falcons managed to shoot over 30 percent in just one of the three meetings, managing a figure of 30.5 percent in the Feb. 17 contest at the Academy.

BEST START SINCE SOWER PLAYED
Saturday's win at Fresno State improved Boise State to 14-2 on the season, the Broncos' best 16-game start since 1993-94.

Assistant coach Heather Sower was on that Bronco team, which started 14-2 and needed just 23 games to reach the 20-win mark en route to the Big Sky regular-season title and an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. That team was also the only Bronco squad to crack the Associated Press Top 25, spending the final 10 weeks of the season in the poll and climbing as high as No. 17.

A win Wednesday against Air Force would give the Broncos at least 15 wins over their first 17 games, a start that has happened only thrice before: 1971-72 (15-2), 1974-75 (16-1), and 1977-78 (15-2).

MATCHING THE BEST STREAK
Saturday's win at Fresno State extending Boise State's program-best winning streak against Mountain West teams to 15, which also tied the longest streak against conference opponents in program history. The Broncos won their last seven regular-season games last season, then three Mountain West Tournament games, with the first five conference wins of this season making 15. The previous best against Mountain West competition was a 12-game run over the end of the 2016-17 season and first two games of last year.

A win Wednesday against Air Force would set Boise State's longest winning streak over conference foes, besting the previous 15-game run that was achieved against WAC opposition in 2007-08 (final 14 regular-season games plus one WAC Tournament contest).

ANOTHER 10-GAME RUN?
A win Wednesday against Air Force would extend Boise State's current winning streak to a season-best 10, and would mark the program's third-straight season with a run of at least 10 games.

In both 2016-17 and 2017-18, the Broncos entered the NCAA Tournament on a 10-game winning streak, having won the final seven games of the regular season and three-straight in the Mountain West Tournament.

HERMIDA NAMED MOUNTAIN WEST PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Senior guard Marta Hermida was named Mountain West Player of the Week Monday thanks in part to her second-half performance in Jan. 19's win at Fresno State.

Over the final 20 minutes in Fresno, Hermida scored all 21 of her points and made all five of her 3-pointers, finishing the game 8-for-12 from the field.

The performance followed her line of eight points, seven rebounds, and four assists in Jan. 16's win at Nevada, in which she grabbed her 500th-career rebound. That board made made her, along with former Bronco Tasha Harris (2004-10), just the second player in Boise State history to accumulate 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, and 300 assists in her career.

LUPFER JOINS THE 1,000-POINT CLUB
Junior guard Riley Lupfer scored 11 points in Saturday's win at Fresno, the final two coming on a shot clock-beating runner with 3:47 to play and putting her at 1,001 career points, the 21st Bronco to join the club.

It capped a game in which Lupfer hit a pair of 3-pointers and added two steals in 29 minutes of action.

HARRELL DOUBLES UP
It was fitting that in the land of In-N-Out Burger that the Broncos would finally get their first double-double of the season, as senior forward Joyce Harrell did the honors with 12 points and 11 rebounds Saturday at Fresno State.

It highlights what has continued to be a career season for the Seattle native, as Harrell is currently posting career bests in scoring (7.9 ppg), rebounding (5.9 rpg), and field-goal percentage (53.6). In Mountain West play, Harrell's averaging 8.8 points and 7.8 rebounds a game while shooting 58.8 percent.

HOT SHOOTING = HOT START
One of many reasons for Boise State's 5-0 start to Mountain West play is the team's combined 48.7-percent clip from the field, led by five full-timers shooting over 50 percent. Tess Amundsen leads that group at 71.4 percent (15-for-21) followed by Marta Hermida (61.3), Joyce Harrell (58.8), Rachel Bowers (57.3), and A'Shanti Coleman (53.2).

The Broncos are also shooting 40.4 percent from behind the arc, led by Hermida (60.0 percent) and Amundsen (62.5).

DEEPER THAN MARIANA'S TRENCH
Boise State has also given opponents fits with its depth, as eight players are averaging at least five points per game over this 5-0 start to Mountain West play.

While Riley Lupfer (14.0 ppg) and A'Shanti Coleman (12.0 ppg) lead the way, big contributions are also coming from reserve center Rachel Bowers (5.2 ppg on 57.9 percent shooting) and forward Tess Amundsen (7.0 ppg on 71.4 percent shooting).

The depth also applies to rebounding, as five Broncos are averaging at least three a game in Mountain West Play.

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Players Mentioned

Tess Amundsen

Rachel Bowers

A'Shanti Coleman

Joyce Harrell

Marta Hermida

Riley Lupfer

Boise State Athletics