Coleman's OT Winner Lifts Broncos

Saturday, February 15

San Diego, Calif.

2:00 PM MT

Boise State

18-9,10-5Mountain West

San Diego State

12-15,7-8Mountain West

Team	1	2	3	4	OT 1	F
Boise St.	11	14	15	19	10	69
San Diego St.	12	12	20	15	8	67

Photo by: Boise State University

2/15/2020 5:43:00 PM | Women's Basketball

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SAN DIEGO - A'Shanti Coleman's drive and layup with 2.8 seconds left in overtime lifted Boise State to a 69-67 win at San Diego State and clinched for the Broncos a first-round bye at next month's Mountain West Tournament.

Coleman got the edge on Aztec center Baylee Vanderdoes on the block, and, upon receiving the pass, turned and drove, finishing with her left hand to give the Broncos the lead.

"Coach P drew up the play to run Ice, and earlier in the game we ran it a few times and my man would go down on Riley and he noticed that I could take the shot or drive it, just read the defense," Coleman said about the final play. "It's very cool. Now that I've added a few game-winning shots to my resume, it's awesome."

TO. THE. RACK.

Coleman with the go-ahead bucket!#BleedBlue pic.twitter.com/PlZ7M7fx02
— Boise State WBB (@BroncoSportsWBB) February 15, 2020

San Diego State (12-15, 7-8 MW) called timeout and advanced the ball, but on the ensuing play, Jayde Christopher's tight defense forced Sophia Ramo's last-chance jumper to fall off-target, sealing the win.

"It was a gut-check game for our team and I was really impressed with the heart with which they played. Especially because we've had some rough times with the close games, so to pull it out like they did [was huge]."

Coleman's game-winner capped a wild contest which featured five ties and 13 lead changes, as well as Boise State erasing a seven-point deficit over the final four minutes of regulation.

The Broncos (18-9, 10-5 MW) trailed, 55-48, with four minutes left in regulation before Riley Lupfer's two-straight 3-pointers snapped an 0-for-16 start from deep and pulled the Broncos within a point with 2:58 on the clock. Coleman, who finished the day with 16 points and eight rebounds, scored in the paint to put the Broncos in front, 56-55, and set off a frantic end to regulation.

The lead changed hands twice more, before Ramos, who scored a game-high 25 points with 14 rebounds, got to the line with 15 seconds left and hit both free throws to tie it up, 59-59. The Broncos had the ball for a final shot of regulation, but Mallory McGwire lost a pass out of bounds with eight-tenths of a second left, sending the game to the extra session.

The Broncos scored the first five points of overtime, and led, 67-64, before a Ramos triple tied it up with 15 seconds on the clock. But after the Bronco timeout, Coleman came through with the winner for Boise State.

Boise State needed to dig deep for this win, overcoming a slow start offensively by notching up the hustle, grabbing 55 rebounds including 18 on the offensive glass.

Sophomore Jade Loville posted the first double-double of her career, scoring 20 points and grabbing a career-high 11 rebounds, and provided much-needed offense on a day where both teams struggled to find points. Loville scored 10 points and went 5-for-7 from the field in the first half, keeping the Broncos afloat and up a point at halftime despite the rest of the squad going just 7-for-27. For the game, Loville went 9-for-15, the only Bronco to make at least half of her shots as the team shot just 37.8 percent in the contest.

Catching the defense 😴@JadeLoville gets behind the Aztecs for the easy layup, and she has 8 points and a career-high 8 rebounds already!#BleedBlue pic.twitter.com/MZMWXJvhTm
— Boise State WBB (@BroncoSportsWBB) February 15, 2020

Forward Ellie Woerner grabbed 10 rebounds, with five coming on the offensive end, to go with four assists, and point guard Jayde Christopher passed out 10 assists.

In addition to clinching a first-round bye at the Mountain West Tournament, Boise State also moved into second place in the standings by a half-game over San Jose State with the Spartans' loss at Air Force.

"We feel great about getting the bye. You don't want to play that first day because not too many teams can win four in a row, fatigue-wise," Presnell said. "We know we've been there with this group four times, and we've just gotta see if we can get it done."