Broncos Return From Bye, Visit Utah State

Boise State (21-3, 12-1 MW) at Utah State (11-14, 6-8 MW)
Saturday, Feb. 23 • 2 p.m. MT
Logan, Utah • Dee Glen Smith Spectrum
Series: Boise State leads, 25-9
Last Meeting: Boise State 68, Utah State 60 - Boise, Idaho (Feb. 10, 2018)
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BOISE, Idaho - Boise State returns to action from its second and final bye of the Mountain West season Saturday, heading to Utah State for a 2 p.m. tip with the Aggies.

LAST TIME OUT
Boise State won its sixth-straight game, and 16th of 17, with Saturday's 91-67 victory over San Diego State.

Braydey Hodgins went for 22 points on 7-for-12 shooting (4-for-7 from 3-point range), also racking up five assists and five steals. It was her fourth-consecutive 20-point game, becoming the first Bronco to pull the feat since Kati Isham from Dec. 5-20, 2010.

Marta Hermida scored 16 points with four 3-pointers, A'Shanti Coleman had 10 points with five rebounds, and Jayde Christopher passed out seven assists.

Sophomore Tess Amundsen paced another outstanding Bronco bench effort, scoring 15 points on 6-for-11 shooting and grabbing a career-high eight rebounds. The Bronco bench was dominant for a second-straight game, combining for 29 points on 50.0-percent shooting (12-for-24).

WHO'S NEXT
Boise State returns to action Saturday after having its second and final bye of the Mountain West season Wednesday, heading to Logan for its only meeting of the campaign with Utah State (11-14, 6-8 MW).

The Aggies have lost seven of eight heading into Saturday's matchup. Utah State stopped a six-game skid with Feb. 16's 64-55 win over Air Force before falling, 74-56, Wednesday at New Mexico.

Utah State is led by the play of Shannon Dufficy, who is averaging a double-double of 15.2 points and 10.3 rebounds per game.

LAST YEAR'S MEETINGS
Boise State swept the season series from the Aggies last season, claiming a 64-42 win at Taco Bell Arena on Jan. 17, 2018, before finishing the sweep with a 68-60 win in Logan on Feb. 10, 2018.

Riley Lupfer averaged 21.5 points over the two wins, while Marta Hermida went 6-for-11 from the field and 7-for-8 from the line for 21 points in the victory in Logan.

BEST 25-GAME START IN PROGRAM HISTORY?
A win Saturday at Utah State would improve Boise State to 22-3 on the season and would mark the best record through 25 games in program history.

The 1974-75 Bronco team opened the year 21-1 and finished 21-3 after two losses at the AIAW Tournament. No other Bronco team has reached 22 wins in 25 or less games. The 1993-94 squad hit 22 wins in their 26th game of the season.

FIRST 12-1 CONFERENCE START
Boise State's 12-1 start to Mountain West play is the fastest that any Boise State team has reached 12 wins in conference play.

Three Bronco teams (1991-92, 1993-94, 2007-08) have opened conference season or finished it 12-2, with the 1991-92 and 2007-08 squads each finishing 14-2 in the Big Sky and WAC, respectively.

ANOTHER 20-WIN SEASON
Boise State won its 20th game of the season Feb. 13 against Fresno State, marking the program's third-straight 20-win season and fourth in the last five years.

It is also the ninth 20-win season in program history. And, with at least five regular-season games and one conference tournament game remaining, this year's Bronco team is within range of eclipsing the 2016-17 squad's all-time record of 25 wins (25-8).

HODGINS GRABS NATIONAL, MW HONORS
Junior guard Braydey Hodgins on Monday became the first Mountain West player to claim consecutive conference player of the week honors since 2014-15 when she was honored for her efforts in the wins over Fresno State and San Diego State.

Over the two wins, Hodgins averaged 21.5 points and hit eight 3-pointers. After a 21-point game in Wednesday's 83-76 win over the Bulldogs, Hodgins put up 22 on 7-for-12 shooting (4-for-7 from 3-point range) with five assists and five steals in Saturday's 91-67 win over San Diego State.

The honor was Hodgins' third of this season and fourth of her career, and she became the first back-to-back winner since UNLV's Danielle Miller (Feb. 16 and 23, 2015).

Wednesday, she was named to the NCAA.com Starting Five for the week of Feb. 13-19, the first such honor of her career.

HODGINS JOINS A SELECT GROUP
Braydey Hodgins' performances least week also ran her streak of 20-point games to four, making her just the sixth player in Boise State history to achieve the feat.

Hodgins joins a list that includes Michelle Schultz (twice; a six-game streak from Dec. 31, 1995-Jan. 20, 1996, and a four-game run from Nov. 29-Dec. 8, 1994), Stephanie Block (Nov. 26-Dec. 5, 1999), Jessica Thompson (Dec. 30, 2006-Jan. 11, 2007), and Kati Isham (Dec. 5-20, 2010).

Schultz holds the program record with six-straight 20-point games, accomplished from Dec. 31, 1995 to Jan. 20, 1996.

UNWELCOME HOUSE GUESTS
The Broncos are getting a reputation as impolite house guests in the Mountain West, as they've won 12 of their last 15 conference road games heading into this Saturday's visit to Utah State.

After going 7-2 on the road in conference play last year, the best such mark in program history since joining the Mountain West in 2011-12, the Broncos are 5-1 this season with three road games remaining.

MORE LIKE THE "SECOND-TO-NONE" UNIT
Boise State's bench had itself a week over the wins against Fresno State and San Diego State, combining to score 59 points and shoot 58.1 percent (25-for-43).

Sophomore forward Tess Amundsen led the second unit by averaging 13.0 points on 61.1-percent shooting with a plus-26 rating over 16.0 minutes per game. Rachel Bowers (6.0 ppg, 83.3 field-goal percentage, 8.0 mpg), Jade Loville (4.0 ppg, 50.0 field-goal percentage, 11.0 mpg), and Ellie Woerner (3.0 ppg, 50.0 field-goal percentage, 15.5 mpg) also added to a bench group that showcased Boise State's depth.

HERMIDA BACK IN THE GROOVE
Senior guard Marta Hermida has found her groove the past three games after a short shooting slump, and it couldn't have come at a better time with the injury absence of Riley Lupfer.

Over four games from Jan. 26-Feb. 6, Hermida scored just 13 points on 4-of-19 shooting, including a 1-of-11 mark from behind the arc. However, over the last three games, Hermida rediscovered her touch, shooting 48.3 percent (14-for-29) from the field and 42.9 percent (9-for-21) from deep while averaging 14.0 points per game.

The Madrid, Spain, native also made an impact outside of scoring, averaging 3.00 assists and 5.4 rebounds over the three wins.

CHRISTOPHER'S DEBUT-SEASON IMPACT
Redshirt junior point guard Jayde Christopher has made an immediate impact in her debut season for the Broncos.

The Kansas transfer, who sat out last season due to NCAA transfer rules, currently leads the Broncos and ranks second in the Mountain West with 136 assists (5.68 per game). That total also ranks sixth in Boise State single-season history, 56 behind the benchmark of 192 set by Yaiza Rodriguez in 2016-17.

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Players Mentioned

Tess Amundsen

Rachel Bowers

Jayde Christopher

A'Shanti Coleman

Marta Hermida

Braydey Hodgins

Jade Loville

Riley Lupfer

Yaiza Rodriguez

Ellie Woerner

Boise State Athletics