Broncos Hold Off Spartans

Wednesday, January 17

San Jose, Calif.

8 p.m. MT

Boise State

12-6,3-2Mountain West

San Jose State

6-11,1-4Mountain West

Boise St.

San Jose St.

1/17/2024 10:18:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Photo Gallery

SAN JOSE, Calif. – Mya Hansen hit a reverse layup with 21 seconds left to lead Boise State women's basketball to a 68-64 win over San Jose State, Wednesday, at the Provident Credit Union Event Center.

The Broncos (12-6, 3-2 Mountain West) held a 5-point lead with 1:15 left, but the Spartans (6-11, 1-4 MW) hit a stepback 3-pointer to cut the lead to two. Abby Muse attempted a layup on the offensive end but was blocked out of bounds. With seven seconds on the shot clock. Hansen inbounded the ball, but got it back again on a dribble-handoff and drove to the basket to score the game's final field goal.

Natalie Pasco scored a game-high 18 points in the win, while Elodie Lalotte poured in 17 points. Hansen netted 12 points for the Broncos.

Boise State raced out to an early 13-2 lead, with Pasco and Lalotte combining for all 13 points for the squad. Lalotte finished with nine points in the frame and Pasco added seven as the Broncos led 22-6 after one. Boise State was aggressive defensively, forcing five turnovers and holding the Spartans to 23.1% shooting in the opening quarter.

Pasco continued her hot shooting with a 3-pointer to start the second quarter, while Hansen followed up with back-to-back long balls to extend the Bronco lead to 19. The Spartans responded with six-straight points to cut the deficit to 31-18 midway through the period. Hansen and Pasco each scored eight points in the quarter as Boise State led 40-25 at the break.

Lalotte scored the first four points of the second half to give the Broncos a 17-point lead, but the Spartans ended the third quarter on a 19-2 run to trail 50-49 entering the final frame. Checking back into the game, Lalotte again scored the first four points of the quarter, and Pasco added a floater to give the Broncos a 5-point lead. Dani Bayes hit a 3-pointer to extend Boise State's lead to eight, but back-to-back Spartan baskets cut the Bronco lead to four midway through the period.

Trista Hull made a pair of free throws to extend the lead back up to six, but a long ball from Sydni Summers cut the lead down to three. Both teams went nearly two minutes without scoring, with San Jose State ending the drought with a layup with 3:05 left to cut the lead down to one. Muse responded with a reverse layup to make the lead 63-60, and Dani Bayes and Mary Kay Naro each tacked on a free throw down the stretch to push the lead to five with 1:15 remaining.

Top Broncos

Natalie Pasco scored a team-high 18 points in the win. The sophomore finished 7-of-9 from the floor.
Elodie Lalotte netted a season-high 17 points. The senior shot 6-of-8 from the field and a perfect 5-of-5 from the free throw line.
Mya Hansen recorded 12 points, four assists and three rebounds.
Abby Muse finished with six points, six rebounds, three blocks and three steals.

Notables

Abby Muse pulled down six rebounds in the contest to move into fourth place all-time in program history with 806 career rebounds. The senior passed Marla Curtis (1981-85), who finished her career with 804 rebounds.
Boise State scored 22 points in the opening period, marking the second-straight game the Broncos have scored 20+ points in the first quarter.
Mary Kay Naro dished out five assists on the night, the ninth time this season the senior has dished out five or more assists.
The Broncos finished 19-of-22 (86.4%) from the free throw line.
Boise State shot 50% from the field, the highest it has shot in a road game all season.
After San Jose State scored the first basket of the game, Boise State scored 18-straight points, the most the Broncos have scored consecutively all season.
Elodie Lalotte and Natalie Pasco combined to score the first 13 points for the squad.
Boise State is 11-3 when it outrebounds its opponent.

Quotables

"I felt great about how we played the final two or three minutes. We've held on twice in a row now. We had a real poor third quarter where we gave up a lot of points and didn't establish our offense at all." – head coach Gordy Presnell

"They didn't double-team our post so we did a good job establishing our post presence. Elodie has done a good job coming on. She wanted to play and did some damage on the offensive end." – Presnell

"It can be frustrating when you get off to a good start and then struggle to maintain it, but that's basketball. It's a game of runs. It comes down to who can hold the runs." – sophomore Mya Hansen