Turnovers Plague Broncos in Loss to Lady Rebels

Wednesday, February 26

Las Vegas, Nev.

7:30 p.m. MT

Boise State

16-13,6-10Mountain West

UNLV

23-5,15-1Mountain West

Boise St.

UNLV

2/26/2025 9:36:00 PM | Women's Basketball

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LAS VEGAS – Boise State women's basketball had trouble taking care of the basketball in an 83-53 loss to UNLV, Wednesday night in Cox Pavilion.

The Broncos (16-13, 6-10 Mountain West) committed 17 turnovers on the night and allowed the Lady Rebels (23-5, 15-1 MW) to score 22 fast break points. UNLV outshot Boise State 48.4% to 32.1% in the contest.

Two Broncos scored in double figures in the loss. Natalie Pasco led the team with 12 points, shooting 2-of-4 from beyond the arc, while Dani Bayes drilled both of her 3-point attempts to finish with 11 points.

The Blue and Orange held the advantage early, as Tatum Thompson scored six quick points to give Boise State an 8-4 lead at the first media timeout. The Lady Rebels responded with a 7-0 flurry to reclaim the lead, but a Bayes putback and a Pasco 3-pointer tied the game at 15 after the first frame.

Bayes opened the second period with a 3-pointer, then Mya Hansen found Abby Muse for a layup to give Boise State a 20-15 advantage. UNLV answered and tied the game at 20, but Bayes once again buried a triple from the wing to retake the lead.

The Lady Rebels responded with a 10-0 run over the next two minutes, with Mary Kay Naro breaking the drought with a free throw with just under three minutes remaining. Pasco followed with her second 3-pointer of the contest to cut the lead to five, but UNLV ended the half on an 8-1 run to take a 40-28 lead to the locker room.

Pasco scored the Broncos' first four points of the quarter, but the Lady Rebels held a 15-point advantage midway through the stanza. The home team shot 50.0% from the field in the period as it stretched the lead to 59-41 entering the final frame. UNLV raced out to a quick 12-3 run in the fourth quarter to solidify its victory.

Top Broncos
- Natalie Pasco buried two 3-pointers to finish with a team-high 12 points. The Danville, Calif., native added three rebounds and a pair of blocks.
- Dani Bayes recorded 11 points while making both of her 3-point attempts. The junior matched her season-high with five rebounds.
- Tatum Thompson finished with seven points and six rebounds.

Notables
- Elodie Lalotte moved into sixth place in program history with 774 career rebounds, passing Lidiya Varbanova (1990-94), who pulled down 770.
- Dani Bayes has hit multiple 3-pointers in four consecutive contests.
- Mary Kay Naro has dished out 5+ assists in four-straight games. She has 14 such games this season.
- The Broncos moved into third place in the program's record books with 152 blocks on the season.
- Boise State's bench recorded 31 points, marking the 13th time this season the squad has gotten 30+ points from its reserves.

Quotables
"We played great for the first 15 minutes and then lost it after that. They had a great end to the first half and we couldn't get back in it after that stretch." - head coach Gordy Presnell

What's Next
Boise State will compete in its last road contest of the season on Saturday, March 1 against Air Force. The game will tip off at 1 p.m. MT and will be broadcast on the MW Network and 670 KBOI AM.