Broncos Advance to Quarterfinal

Saturday, March 7

Las Vegas, Nev.

3:30 p.m. MT

Boise State

24-8,14-6Mountain West

San José State

4-28,2-18Mountain West

San Jose St.

Boise St.

3/7/2026 6:47:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Gamebook

LAS VEGAS – Boise State women's basketball defeated San Jose State 68-51 Saturday afternoon in the first round of the 2026 Credit Union 1 Women's Basketball Championship.

No. 5 Boise State (24-8, 14-6 Mountain West) advanced to the quarterfinals to face No. 4 New Mexico, while head coach Gordy Presnell tied the conference record for Mountain West tournament wins.

Libby Hutton and Natalie Pasco led the Broncos to victory over No. 12 San Jose State (4-28, 2-18), each recording a double-double.

Boise State opened the game by winning the tip and Hutton put the Broncos on the board with a free throw. Pasco followed with a jumper and a 3-pointer before Hutton capped the early 8-0 run with an and-one layup. San Jose State got on the board at the 7:43 mark when Katarina Anderson hit a free throw and Maya Anderson soon added the Spartans' first field goal with a jumper.

Gabriela Pato buried a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to four as Boise State held a 10-6 lead. Tatum Thompson knocked down two free throws, but Pato and Mckenna Simons combined for four points to bring the Spartans within two at 12-10. Pasco answered with a layup before Maya Anderson and Pato added four more points for San Jose State, trimming the lead to 15-14. Katarina Anderson made a jumper late in the quarter, but freshman Morgan Maldonado drilled a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give Boise State a 20-16 advantage after one.

Hutton opened the second quarter with a jumper just 15 seconds in. Maya Anderson responded with a drive to the rim before Allie Cummins hit a 3-pointer to bring the Spartans within one. The Broncos then endured nearly a four-minute scoring drought that was finally broken by two free throws from Tatum Thompson.

Maya Anderson added another jumper as Boise State held a narrow 24-23 lead. San Jose State later went cold for more than two minutes, allowing Kenna Garza to knock down a 3-pointer and Tatum Thompson to add a jumper. Katarina Anderson answered with a layup, but Pasco scored again to help the Broncos take a 32-25 lead into halftime.

Pasco opened the second half with two free throws, and Hutton followed with a jumper to spark an 8-0 run that pushed Boise State's lead to 11. Maya Anderson ended the surge with a layup, but Tatum Thompson quickly responded with one of her own.

Pato knocked down another 3-pointer and Bayes added a jumper as San Jose State tried to close the gap. Boise State struggled to score in the final two minutes of the quarter, allowing the Spartans to add five points, but the Broncos still held a 50-37 lead heading into the fourth.

Maya Anderson opened the final quarter with a 3-pointer, but Boise State answered with a 6-0 run, highlighted by a pivotal and-one 3-pointer from Pasco. Freshmen Mason Borcherding and Maldonado each added a late bucket as the Broncos closed out the 68-51 win over San Jose State.

Top Broncos

Natalie Pasco tallied 21 points and 11 rebounds.
Libby Hutton collected 16 points, 13 rebounds and two steals.
Tatum Thompson scored 14 points and two assists.

Notables

Head coach Gordy Presnell is now tied in Mountain West history for most tournament victories. He is tied with New Mexico's Don Flanagan (1995-2011) with 22 wins.
Boise State won its eighth-straight game over San Jose State, improving the all-time series to 33-14.
The Broncos are 12-3 in their white uniforms.
Boise State is 17-1 while outrebounding the opponent.
The Broncos are 13-1 this season in games when Tatum Thompson makes four or more free throws.
Boise State has led at the end of the first quarter for the 21st time this season, the most by any MW team in 2025-26.
The Broncos are 19-2 when leading at the end of the first quarter, which ranks second in the MW this season.
Boise State's 10 made free throws are its most in the first half of a game since November 24, 2024 against Weber State.
The Broncos are 15-0 all-time when leading at the half in MW Tournament games. They are the only undefeated team when leading at halftime in tournament history.
With her 21 points today, Natalie Pasco became the second Boise State player with 400+ points this season, joining Tatum Thompson.
Boise State is now the only MW team with multiple players with 400+ points this season.
The Broncos became the third team with multiple players with 15+ points & 10+ rebounds in the same game in MW Tournament history, joining Colorado State (2017 vs. San Jose State) and UNLV (2009 vs. TCU).
The victory marked Boise State's sixth MW Tournament win by 15+ points. Only Wyoming (7) has more such wins since the Broncos joined the conference in 2011-12.
This is the second time this season that Boise State has had multiple players with a double-double in the same game (Jan. 2 vs. Grand Canyon).
Libby Hutton grabbed her third career double-double.
Hutton is the third Boise State player to have at least 12 points and 12 rebounds in a MW Tournament game, joining A'Shanti Coleman (vs. Wyoming, 2020) and Deanna Walker (vs. Wyoming, 2014).
Hutton grabbed a career-high 13 rebounds.
Morgan Maldonado scored a career-high seven points.
Maldonado tied her career-highs in field goals (2) and free throws (2).
Natalie Pasco earned her first career double-double.
Pasco's 21 points are her most in a MW Tournament game. Today is Pasco's eighth career MW Tournament game.
Pasco is now fourth in program history in career points, boasting 1,557. She passed Riley Lupfer (2016-20), who totaled 1,538 in her career.
Pasco claimed sole possession of fifth place in Boise State history with 564 career field goals. The senior passed Tasha Harris (2006-10) with 558.
Pasco got career-highs in rebounds (11) and free throws (7).
Tatum Thompson earned a season-high eight free throws.

Quotables
"We got more poised and took more quality shots in the second half," head coach Gordy Presnell said. "I am glad we won and that we can move forward. The first five minutes of the third have been good to us all year. We had a couple pick-ups and this one was a good win."

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