Sunday, December 22
Boise, Idaho
2:00 PM MT
Boise State
10-4,2-0Mountain West
76
vs
74
Pepperdine
6-4,0-0WCC
1
2
3
4
F
Pepperdine
16
19
19
20
74
Boise St.
13
29
14
20
76
Photo by: NCAA Photos
Lupfer's Late 3 Seals Win
12/22/2019 5:17:00 PM | Women's Basketball
BOISE, Idaho - For the third time this month, Boise State got the go-ahead bucket in the final minute of play and went on to victory. This time, it was Riley Lupfer hitting the game-winning 3-pointer from the right wing Sunday, as Boise State notched its 10th win of the season, 76-74, over Pepperdine.
Lupfer's triple put the Broncos (10-4) ahead, 75-74, with 41.1 seconds to go, and the Bronco defense got two key stops on either side of Jayde Christopher going 1-for-2 from the line with 8.0 seconds to play. Pepperdine (6-4), inbounding from in front of its own bench following a timeout with 7.7 seconds to play, went for the tie at the buzzer, but Barbara Sitanggan's attempt missed.
"We had people step up down the stretch," said Boise State head coach Gordy Presnell. "I thought Mallory really stepped up, Braydey and Riley hit big shots, Rachel secured a big rebound."
The final minute capped a wild fourth quarter which featured five ties and four lead changes. Pepperdine opened the frame with a 6-0 run, with Jayda Ruffus-Milner scoring four points to put the Waves up, 60-56, and prompt a Bronco timeout with 8:21 on the clock.
The Broncos responded by exploiting their size advantage down low, going right to Mallory McGwire. The redshirt junior center scored seven points over Boise State's 9-0 run, capping it with a three-point play with 6:15 to play to make it 65-60, Broncos.
The Broncos still led by five at 67-62 with 5:36 to go before Pepperdine used a 10-2 run of its own to take a 72-69 lead after Malia Bambrick's 3-pointer with 1:48 to go. But Braydey Hodgins responded immediately, hitting her own triple form the corner to tie it up at 72-72.
The Waves missed a big opportunity to put the Broncos into another three-point hole, as Jayla Ruffus-Milner missed the bonus free throw with 1:02 to go, setting up Lupfer's go-ahead triple 18 seconds later.
Lupfer finished the game with 10 points and six rebounds, while McGwire and Bambrick each had 20 to lead all players.
Christopher would finish with 14 points, including a career high-matching three 3-pointers, and eight assists with five rebounds.
Christopher and sophomore guard Jade Loville helped the Broncos fight back from a slow first quarter by scoring a combined 19 points in the frame. Boise State, trailing 16-13 after the opening quarter, shot 57.1 percent (12-for-21) in the second, and outscored the Waves, 29-19. Loville made her first three attempts of the quarter, and by halftime had eight points and a pair of assists on 4-of-5 shooting. Christopher, meanwhile, went 3-for-4 from behind the arc, scoring 11 points in the frame as the Broncos turned a 16-13 deficit into a 42-35 halftime lead.
Christopher ran the Bronco second unit for the majority of the quarter, and the group of Loville, Rachel Bowers, Ellie Woerner, and Maggie Freeman responded. Together, the quintet scored 24 of Boise State's 29 second-quarter points. The performance of the group helped pick up for the other four Bronco starters (Christopher excepted) who combined for just 16 points on 7-for-19 shooting in the opening 20 minutes.
"I got on them. The three of them, A'Shanti, Riley, and Braydey, kind of got in trouble at halftime. But they all stepped up right when it had to happen. That's been a hallmark of their careers," Presnell said.
Bowers would also grab eight rebounds, including a board on each of the Waves' final two missed attempts of the game.
Boise State will return to action at 6:30 p.m. New Year's Day, visiting Wyoming as Mountain West play resumes.
"We get to take some time off and figure things out. We've had a long fall. Fourteen games before Christmas is a lot, and we're 10-4. Now we have to try to go defend our [Mountain West] title," Presnell added about the team's long fall.
Lupfer's triple put the Broncos (10-4) ahead, 75-74, with 41.1 seconds to go, and the Bronco defense got two key stops on either side of Jayde Christopher going 1-for-2 from the line with 8.0 seconds to play. Pepperdine (6-4), inbounding from in front of its own bench following a timeout with 7.7 seconds to play, went for the tie at the buzzer, but Barbara Sitanggan's attempt missed.
Bang! @rileylupfer2 wide open at the wing and she hits the go-ahead 3!
— Boise State WBB (@BroncoSportsWBB) December 22, 2019
Broncos by one, with 41.1 seconds to go!#BleedBlue pic.twitter.com/rnqGRpSlEw
"We had people step up down the stretch," said Boise State head coach Gordy Presnell. "I thought Mallory really stepped up, Braydey and Riley hit big shots, Rachel secured a big rebound."
The final minute capped a wild fourth quarter which featured five ties and four lead changes. Pepperdine opened the frame with a 6-0 run, with Jayda Ruffus-Milner scoring four points to put the Waves up, 60-56, and prompt a Bronco timeout with 8:21 on the clock.
The Broncos responded by exploiting their size advantage down low, going right to Mallory McGwire. The redshirt junior center scored seven points over Boise State's 9-0 run, capping it with a three-point play with 6:15 to play to make it 65-60, Broncos.
The Broncos still led by five at 67-62 with 5:36 to go before Pepperdine used a 10-2 run of its own to take a 72-69 lead after Malia Bambrick's 3-pointer with 1:48 to go. But Braydey Hodgins responded immediately, hitting her own triple form the corner to tie it up at 72-72.
The Waves missed a big opportunity to put the Broncos into another three-point hole, as Jayla Ruffus-Milner missed the bonus free throw with 1:02 to go, setting up Lupfer's go-ahead triple 18 seconds later.
Lupfer finished the game with 10 points and six rebounds, while McGwire and Bambrick each had 20 to lead all players.
Christopher would finish with 14 points, including a career high-matching three 3-pointers, and eight assists with five rebounds.
Christopher and sophomore guard Jade Loville helped the Broncos fight back from a slow first quarter by scoring a combined 19 points in the frame. Boise State, trailing 16-13 after the opening quarter, shot 57.1 percent (12-for-21) in the second, and outscored the Waves, 29-19. Loville made her first three attempts of the quarter, and by halftime had eight points and a pair of assists on 4-of-5 shooting. Christopher, meanwhile, went 3-for-4 from behind the arc, scoring 11 points in the frame as the Broncos turned a 16-13 deficit into a 42-35 halftime lead.
Shot clock winding down, but no problem for Jayde Christopher!
— Boise State WBB (@BroncoSportsWBB) December 22, 2019
She drives the baseline and finishes to put the Broncos up, 31-27!#BleedBlue pic.twitter.com/cSRc4EzyBR
Christopher ran the Bronco second unit for the majority of the quarter, and the group of Loville, Rachel Bowers, Ellie Woerner, and Maggie Freeman responded. Together, the quintet scored 24 of Boise State's 29 second-quarter points. The performance of the group helped pick up for the other four Bronco starters (Christopher excepted) who combined for just 16 points on 7-for-19 shooting in the opening 20 minutes.
"I got on them. The three of them, A'Shanti, Riley, and Braydey, kind of got in trouble at halftime. But they all stepped up right when it had to happen. That's been a hallmark of their careers," Presnell said.
Bowers would also grab eight rebounds, including a board on each of the Waves' final two missed attempts of the game.
Boise State will return to action at 6:30 p.m. New Year's Day, visiting Wyoming as Mountain West play resumes.
"We get to take some time off and figure things out. We've had a long fall. Fourteen games before Christmas is a lot, and we're 10-4. Now we have to try to go defend our [Mountain West] title," Presnell added about the team's long fall.
Team Stats
PEP
Boise
FG%
.408
.456
3FG%
.294
.333
FT%
.778
.875
RB
39
45
TO
11
15
STL
7
5
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
20
FGM
9
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
14
FGM
4
3FGM
3
FTM
3
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
8
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
Forward
/ Women's Basketball
Guard
/ Women's Basketball
Guard
/ Women's Basketball
Guard
/ Women's Basketball
Guard
/ Women's Basketball
Guard
/ Women's Basketball
Center
/ Women's Basketball
Guard
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