Lady Broncos Explode Past Idaho State 77-54

Boise State's depth and athleticism proved to be too much for Idaho State as the Lady Broncos pulled away from the Bengals 77-53 last night in Boise. The WNIT win advanced the Broncos into the secound round of the tournament, where they'll meet TCU in Fort Worth, Texas.

Boise State broke open a tight game with eight minutes to play by going on a 16-0 run en route to a 77-54 victory over Idaho State in the opening round of the Women’s National Invitation Tournament last night at Taco Bell Arena.  Coach Gordy Presnell utilized nearly the entire lineup to wear down the overmatched Bengals.  The Broncos travel to play TCU Sunday night in the second round.

The two teams, which had already met this season with Boise State posting a 78-74 win in Pocatello , battled back and forth with neither team leading by more than eight until the Lady Broncos went on their remarkable surge.  Boise State led at the half 32-28.  Idaho State stayed in the game with great shooting from the outside.  The Broncos were stone cold from the field (just 28% in the first half) but kept in the game with a solid rebounding advantage (66-44).  Boise State had a 21-2 advantage on second chance points and outpointed the Bengals 34-6 in the paint.

It wasn’t until those last eight minutes that Coach Presnell’s team started warming up from the field to wrap up their record 17^th consecutive home victory.  Guards Tasha Harris and Jamia Malone began to catch fire.  Malone ended the game with a career-high 18 points including six-of-10 from three-point territory.  In fact, Boise State shot better from beyond the arc (8-20 for 40%) than they did from the game.  Harris had a superb game with 17 points and 11 rebounds and became only the third Bronco to score 500 points in a season.  The Broncos, finishing with just 31.8% from the field, needed a season-high 85 attempts to get the job done.

Jackie Lee became the 15^th Bronco to reach the 1,000^th career point plateau with 11 points and added five rebounds for the Broncos, Jenna Galassi posted her first career double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds and Sierra Moeller had a career-high 11 rebounds.  Lee is the third member of the current Broncos to reach 1,000 career points, joining Harris and Jessica Thompson.  It is the first time that three teammates have reached the milestone in the same season.

Idaho State was led by Andrea Lightfoot, who scored 16 points and pulled down six rebounds.  Natalie Doma, the all-time leading scorer in the Big Sky, had 13 points and 17 rebounds.  Doma entered the game third in the nation with 25.1 points per game.

Boise State advances to 24-7 with the win, tying the school record for wins in a season set last year.  Idaho State ends the season with a 20-10 overall record.  

The Lady Broncos venture to play TCU of the Mountain West Conference Sunday in the second round with tip-off set for 4 p.m. Mountain time.  TCU, which was given a bye into the second round, is 21-11 overall but 14-3 at home.

 

BOISE STATE 77, IDAHO STATE 54

IDAHO STATE (20-10)
Lightfoot, Andrea 5-16 4-4 16; Doma, Natalie 4-16 4-6 13; Brown, Jenna 2-7
2-3 8; Grohs, Michelle 1-2 2-4 5; Iacovita, Oana 1-4 1-2 4; Cheever, Bianca
1-6 0-0 3; Diehl, Devin 1-6 0-0 3; Fager, Kaylynn 0-1 2-3 2; Sisel, Ally 0-0
0-0 0; Videbeck, Andrea 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 15-59 15-22 54.

BOISE STATE (24-7)
Malone, Jamia 6-10 0-0 18; Harris, Tasha 6-18 4-4 17; Lee, Jackie 4-7 2-2
11; Galassi, Jenna 4-15 2-3 10; Thompson, Jessica 2-14 2-2 6; Moeller,
Sierra 2-9 0-0 4; Rima, Melissa 1-4 2-4 4; Stewart, Amanda 1-1 2-2 4;
Walker, Ja'Lara 1-4 0-0 2; Moore, Brittany 0-3 1-2 1. Totals 27-85 15-19 77.

Idaho State...................   28   26  -   54
Boise State...................   32   45  -   77

3-point goals--Idaho State 9-28 (Brown, Jenna 2-4; Lightfoot, Andrea 2-6;
Cheever, Bianca 1-3; Iacovita, Oana 1-4; Grohs, Michelle 1-1; Doma, Natalie
1-4; Diehl, Devin 1-4; Videbeck, Andrea 0-1; Fager, Kaylynn 0-1), Boise
State 8-20 (Malone, Jamia 6-10; Lee, Jackie 1-2; Harris, Tasha 1-4; Rima,
Melissa 0-1; Moore, Brittany 0-2; Thompson, Jessica 0-1). Fouled out--Idaho
State-None, Boise State-None. Rebounds--Idaho State 44 (Doma, Natalie 17),
Boise State 66 (Harris, Tasha 11; Galassi, Jenna 11; Moeller, Sierra 11).
Assists--Idaho State 13 (Videbeck, Andrea 4), Boise State 13 (Harris, Tasha
4). Total fouls--Idaho State 17, Boise State 19. Technical fouls--Idaho
State-TEAM, Boise State-None. A-1314
First round game of WNIT