After a four-title stretch ending in March of 2020 that began in the 2016-17 season, the Broncos have faced their struggles in recent years. Difficulties were to be expected, with an almost complete turnover of players after that last championship season.
The ebb and flow of watching a young team grow the last couple of seasons finally morphed into a cohesive unit towards the end of 2022-23, winning 8 of their final 11 games. It was a tenacious squad that excelled in close games and nearly made a late-season run.
Boise State looks to carry momentum into '23-24, where the Broncos return 14 players from a team that went 17-16 (11-7) as season ago. They won an opening-round game in the conference tournament, before falling 59-52 in the quarterfinals to the Colorado State Rams.
The Broncos were selected fourth in the preseason poll, where the UNLV Lady Rebels gained the first-place nod. UNLV is coming off a 31-3 season and looking to win the Mountain West for the third straight time.
Led by a player who will go down as an all-time Bronco great, and others looking to etch their name in Boise State lore, the Broncos are on track to return to glory this season.
Talent, experience on Boise State roster
Depth will be the name of the game for Boise State in '23-24. All five starters return, which is a plus for any team carrying an eye towards locking up a title. With the Broncos, they have an entire second unit (and then some) that will contribute this season.
It's a nice mix of upper and lower classmen, led by senior forward Abby Muse.
Muse, the Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year in '22-23, was selected to the preseason 1st team this season. She cleaned the key like no other, protecting the rim to the tune of 93 blocked shots as a junior (a single-season record). Muse also tops the list in career blocks, with 171.
Defense is not Muse's only attribute, finishing second on the team in points (9.1) and first in rebounds (8.7). Muse's 630 career rebounds currently place her 12th on the all-time list.
Muse finished with 50.6 shooting percentage from the field, a mark only bettered by her frontcourt mate, senior Elodie Lalotte.
Lalotte was the team's leading scorer at 9.9 points per game, shooting 51.1 percent. Lolotte averaged 6.8 rebounds, and both she and Muse were all-conference honorable mention selections last season.
The frontcourt will be one of the best in the conference and it will be balanced with one of the deepest backcourts in the Mountain West.
Directing the traffic is senior Mary Kay Naro. Naro had 106 assists last season and averaged 5.2 points per game. Their three-point shooting could use some improvement (28 percent) but Naro has a knack for making timely threes, even if the percentage is low.
Naro's 331 career assists are the sixth best in program history. With a season similar to her first three years, Naro might find herself cracking the top-three.
Surrounding these three seniors will be four sophomores, all who saw the court plenty in the inaugural season of their careers.
Mya Hansen (9.0 ppg), Natalie Pasco (8.2 ppg), and Dani Bayes (8.0 ppg) all have the ability to knock down the three. Bayes and Pasco combined to make 96 last season, while Hansen connected on 41.3 percent of her attempts.
Hansen was also a deft passer, finishing with 69 assists in 26 games.
The fourth of these sophomores, Tatum Thompson, progressed as the season went along and continually earned more minutes. Thompson can stretch the floor, adding another option from deep when needed.
These seven players will likely see the chunk of minutes but by no means is this where the rotation ends. Among others, Trista Hull (31 games) and Allie Hueckman (24) add to the depth of this Boise State roster and should see plenty of opportunity to contribute.
One player missing from last year's team is Anna Ostlie, who chose to return home and transferred to Grand Canyon University.
Still, the guard position has a lot of depth, stretching even further with players who have contributed than those mentioned here. It's not out of the realm of possibility to see the entire roster, if healthy, see minutes each game, at least in non-conference action and perhaps even in the early days of conference play.
Eyeballing the schedule
One of the marquee match-ups for the Broncos on the non-conference slate is meeting in Provo on December 9 with the BYU Cougars. Boise State lost 76-67 to BYU in Boise last season, so the Broncos will be looking to exact a little revenge. A victory might be even sweeter since the Cougars are playing their first season in the Big 12.
It will be a nice match-up for Muse and Boise State's frontcourt, going up against Lauren Gustin, who averaged 16.1 points and 16.7 rebounds per game last season.
The non-conference slate does appear a little light on premier games but the Broncos do play Santa Clara and Rutgers over Thanksgiving in Las Vegas.
Non-conference games will hopefully allow the Broncos to shine bright and be in a good spot heading into conference play. Boise State will get a good test right out of the gate in the Mountain West, with a game in Laramie against Wyoming on December 30.
Other notable dates to look out for: home games vs Nevada (1/3/24), San Diego State (1/13/24) and UNLV (1/24/24), with another early road match-up against New Mexico (1/6/24). The good news is Boise State only faces Colorado State once this season. The bad is it's a road game to close the regular season, part of a three-game swing where the Broncos face UNLV, Air Force, and the Rams, with only the Air Force game at home.
It's a tough close to the season but if this group stays healthy and plays to their potential, a lot more than simply a tournament seeding will be on the line those final weeks. It will be a regular season title the Broncos are playing for, and dreams of dancing will come true once again.
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