Broncos Go For MW Title, Top Seed Monday Against New Mexico

Boise State (23-4, 14-2 MW) vs. New Mexico (23-4, 13-3 MW)
Monday, March 4 • 7 p.m. MT
Boise, Idaho • Taco Bell Arena
Series: Boise State leads, 11-7
Last Meeting: Boise State 91, New Mexico 85 - Boise, Idaho (Feb. 6, 2018)
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BOISE, Idaho - It's one of the biggest, if not the biggest, home games in Boise State women's basketball history as the Broncos host New Mexico Monday at 7 p.m. with a chance to clinch both the outright Mountain West regular-season title and the No. 1 seed at March 10-13's Mountain West Tournament.

LAST TIME OUT
Boise State ratcheted up the defense in Saturday's 53-38 win over UNLV, holding the Lady Rebels to Division I-opponent lows of 38 points, 12 field goals, and a 26.1 shooting percentage.

While the Broncos struggled on offense, shooting just 26.3 percent, the bench had one of its expected strong efforts, combining to score 38 of Boise State's 53 points. Freshman center Rachel Bowers led the way with 13 points on 4-of-8 shooting, while Riley Lupfer had two 3-pointers and 10 points, and Tess Amundsen added eight points.

WHO'S NEXT
Boise State and New Mexico meet for the first and only time this regular season as the Lobos come to Taco Bell Arena Monday.

Boise State, a game ahead of the Lobos atop the Mountain West standings, can clinch outright the regular-season title and the top seed at March 10-13's Mountain West Tournament with a win Monday.

New Mexico (23-4, 13-3 MW) is led on the court by Jaisa Nunn (17.0 ppg, 9.0 rpg) and Aisia Robertson (14.3 ppg, 6.93 apg).

LAST YEAR'S MEETINGS
Boise State and New Mexico split last season's meetings, each successfully defending heir respective home courts.

New Mexico took a 100-83 victory in Albuquerque on Jan. 3, before Boise State evened it out with a 91-85 win at Taco Bell Arena on Feb. 6.

Heading into Monday's matchup, the Broncos are 5-2 against the Lobos in Mountain West play at Taco Bell Arena, and have won the past two such meetings.

A HISTORIC OPPORTUNITY FOR THE BRONCOS
Boise State is on the cusp of clinching its second-straight Mountain West regular-season title, and first outright, Monday night. The Broncos need only to defeat New Mexico to clinch the outright title as well as the No. 1 seed at March 10-13's Mountain West Tournament.

Boise State is closing in on the sixth regular-season conference title in program history, but, should the Broncos win Monday, this year's title would only be the second won outright.

The Broncos captured the 1991-92 Big Sky title outright with a 14-2 conference mark, but its next four regular-season crowns (1993-94 Big Sky, 2006-07 WAC, 2007-08 WAC, 2017-18 Mountain West) were all shared.

MORE TITLE SCENARIOS
With two regular-season games remaining, the Broncos could also clinch the Mountain West title and the No. 1 seed if it loses Monday night's game to New Mexico, then beats Air Force Thursday combined with a New Mexico loss to Wyoming.

Boise State could also earn a share of the regular-season title with a victory Thursday at Air Force if the Broncos lose to New Mexico Monday.

SENIOR FAREWELL FOR HARRELL, HERMIDA
Monday night's contest also marks Senior Night and the final regular-season contest at Taco Bell Arena for seniors Joyce Harrell and Marta Hermida.

The duo will leave Boise State as one of the winningest senior classes in program history, having, through March 2, accumulated a record of 90-33, including two NCAA Tournament appearances, two Mountain West Tournament titles, and a regular-season Mountain West crown.

They have also been a part of three-straight 20-win seasons, including the program-best campaign of 2016-17 in which the Broncos won 25 games.

Over their career, Harrell and Hermida have a career record of 48-13 at Taco Bell Arena, including 13-1 this season.

PROTECT TACO BELL ARENA
Boise State set a program record in Mountain West play Saturday, winning its eighth home conference game of the campaign with the 53-38 win over UNLV.

The Broncos, who went 7-2 in conference play at Taco Bell Arena last season, are a perfect 8-0 this season heading into its final regular-season home game Monday against New Mexico.

The Broncos are 49-19 all-time in Mountain West games at Taco Bell Arena, and went 7-2 in each of the previous five seasons.

THE BENCH DOES IT AGAIN
Boise State's bench came through yet again in Saturday's win over UNLV, combining to score 38 points in the 53-38 win over UNLV.

Freshman center Rachel Bowers led the way with a game-high 13 points on 4-of-8 shooting, including a 5-for-8 mark from the line. Junior Riley Lupfer, in her second game back from an injury which sidelined her for four games, hit a pair of 3-pointers and added 10 points off the bench, while sophomore Tess Amundsen scored eight, including seven of Boise State's 11 first-quarter points.

In Mountain West play, the Bronco bench has scored at least 20 points in 11 of 16 contests. In conference games, Bowers leads the Bronco second unit with 7.0 points per game on 64.6-percent shooting, with Amundsen at 5.1 poins a game on 53.2-percent shooting, and freshman Jade Loville connecting on 37.3 percent of her shots for 3.1 points per game over 9.4 minutes a game.

WINNING WITH DEFENSE
Boise State played one of its finest defensive games in awhile Saturday against UNLV, holding the Lady Rebels to Division I-opponent season lows in points (38), field goals (12), field-goal percentage (26.1), 3-pointers made (zero), and blocks (zero).

The Lady Rebels became the first team since New Mexico in the 2014-15 season to fail to hit a 3-pointer against the Broncos, and UNLV's shooting percentage of 26.1 marks the second Mountain West opponent this season to shoot under 30 percent against the Broncos (27.9 by Air Force on Jan. 23).

CHASING A CONFERENCE WINS MARK
Saturday's win over UNLV put Boise State at 14-2 in Mountain West play, matching the Broncos' program record for wins in a conference campaign.

The 14 wins match the best win total in Mountain West play, set with last year's 14-4 mark, and are tied with the 14 wins the 2007-08 Broncos racked up in WAC play (14-2) and the 1991-92 Broncos posted in Big Sky play (14-2).

Broncos Go For MW Title, Top Seed Monday Against New Mexico

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Players Mentioned

Tess Amundsen

Rachel Bowers

Joyce Harrell

Marta Hermida

Jade Loville

Riley Lupfer

Boise State Athletics