Pasco Leads Way for Boise State in Victory Over San Diego

Thursday, December 21

San Diego, Calif.

5 p.m. MT

Boise State

9-4,0-0Mountain West

San Diego

4-8,0-0WCC

Boise St.

San Diego

Pasco Leads Way for Boise State in Victory Over San Diego

12/21/2023 8:30:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Photo Gallery

SAN DIEGO – Natalie Pasco drained six 3-pointers and scored a season-high 27 points to lead Boise State past San Diego 62-54, Thursday, at the San Diego Winter Classic.

The sophomore from Danville, Calif., scored 17 of her 27 points in the first half. Abby Muse also netted a season-high, scoring 15 points and pulling down 13 rebounds in the victory.

Pasco got off to a hot start right off the bat for Boise State, hitting three 3-pointers in the first four minutes to give the Broncos (9-4) an early 11-5 lead. The Toreros (4-8) responded with six consecutive points to tie the game, but Boise State answered with a 7-0 run of its own. Pasco scored 12 points in the quarter while the team drained four 3-pointers to lead 21-13 after the first ten minutes.

Boise State extended its lead to double-digits, but San Diego rattled off a 7-0 run to cut the lead to 25-20 at the second quarter media timeout. Pasco continued her dominant first half, ending the period scoring five-straight points as the Broncos took a 33-24 lead into the locker room.

The Toreros scored the first four points of the second half to cut the Bronco lead to five, but Pasco scored two-straight baskets to push the lead back to nine. San Diego once again cut the Boise State lead to five, but back-to-back 3-pointers from Mya Hansen and Pasco spurred a 12-4 run to put the Broncos up 13. Pasco totaled seven points in the quarter as Boise State led 51-41 entering the final period.

San Diego cut the lead to eight with 5:30 left on the clock, but Pasco hit yet another 3-pointer to extend the lead back to double-digits. The Broncos maintained a double-digit lead until 1:15 left to play when San Diego cut the lead to nine.The Toreros cut the lead to seven with 20.5 seconds remaining, but Muse solidified the victory from the free throw line.

Top Broncos

- Natalie Pasco scored a season-high 27 points. The sophomore shot 6-of-12 from beyond the arc and 9-of-20 from the field.
- Abby Muse finished with a season-high 15 points, shooting a perfect 6-of-6 from the field. The senior also recorded 13 rebounds, six blocks, four assists and two steals.
- Trista Hull recorded eight points and eight rebounds.
- Mya Hansen finished with seven points, four rebounds and three assists.

Notables

- Natalie Pasco drained six 3-pointers, marking the second time the sophomore has hit six or more 3-pointers in her career. Pasco went 7-of-9 from beyond the arc against Eastern Washington on Nov. 11, 2022.
- Pasco scored 27 points, marking the fifth time the sophomore has surpassed 20 or more points in her career. The Danville, Calif., native scored 17 points in the first half, the most she scored in a half since netting 19 points in the first half against Utah State last season.
- Mary Kay Naro moved into fourth place all-time in the program's record book with 391 career assists. The senior passed Marta Hermida (2015-19), who dished out 390 dimes over her career.
- Abby Muse blocked six shots for the second-straight game. The senior has blocked six shots or more five times on the season and nine times in her career.
- Through 13 games this season, Muse already sits in sixth-place on the program's single-season record book with 51 blocks.
- Muse finished with her second double-double of the season and the 23rd of her career.
- Eighteen of the team's 21 baskets were assisted.

Quotables

"I thought we were ready to play. Last night got away from us. We had a lead and didn't take care of the ball and didn't execute down the stretch. Today we really stayed together and really executed. It was a good win for the Broncos." – head coach Gordy Presnell

"After yesterday's performance we were definitely focused on sharing the ball more. We wanted to get more open looks and play as a team. We did a much better job of that today." – sophomore guard Natalie Pasco

What's Next

Boise State will open Mountain West play on Dec. 30 against Wyoming in Laramie, Wyo. Tipoff will occur at 12:30 p.m. MT and will be broadcast on the MW Network and on 670 KBOI AM.