For three quarters, the Broncos played their best basketball. Defense intensity was high, shooting was decent, and Boise State was poised to pull off a massive upset in Mountain West tournament quarterfinal action.
In the end, turnovers and a scoring drought did Boise State in, falling 80-70 to the top seed UNLV Lady Rebels.
Leading 55-50 entering the fourth quarter, the Broncos committed five turnovers and only scored two points over the game's final 3:11. An emergence of UNLV star Kiara Jackson also helped matters.
Jackson, thru three quarters, had only seven points on 2 of 18 shooting. In the fourth, along with strong defense, Jackson scored six points on 3 of 4 shooting.
Boise State (18-15) owned the first and third quarters in this contest, winning by a margin of 46-34. A 30-point fourth quarter by UNLV contributed to the Lady Rebels winning the second and fourth quarters by a score of 46-24.
Tatum Thompson led the Broncos with 25 points (11 of 15 from the field) and collected eight rebounds. Senior Abby Mused added one final double-double to her resume with 17 points and 11 boards, with Dani Bayes also scoring 17.
One of the aspects that propelled this near upset was Boise State sharing the ball. The Broncos picked up assists on 25 of their 28 made field goals. Senior Mary Kay Naro finished with nine, while Bayes added six and Muse five.
Amarachi Kimpson had a game-high 29 points to lead UNLV (25-6).
Boise State shot 49.1 percent for the game, aided by a blistering start.
First half: Scorch the net
Putting the cold shooting of an opening round victory behind them, Boise State came out exactly like they needed to against UNLV.
The Broncos hit their first five field goal attempts and 10 of 12 in the game's first seven minutes. Early three-pointers by Natalie Pasco, Thompson, and Bayes paced Boise State early. Thompson scored seven straight points, followed by seven straight from Bayes. The three-pointer from Bayes gave the Broncos an early 19-11 lead.
Minutes later, a basket by Elodie Lalotte gave Boise State their largest lead at 25-16. The Broncos did not score the final 2:40 of the quarter but led 25-18 going into the second.
Bayes had seven points, three rebounds, and five assists in the first quarter.
UNLV switched up to a 2-3 zone on defense that slowed down Boise State. A scoring drought continued, and Boise State did not score their first points of the quarter until the 7:23 mark on a basket by freshman Teryn Gardner.
Fending off the Lady Rebels, the Broncos had a five-point lead but after a 4 of 17 performance from the field in the second quarter (and 1 of 10 from deep), the teams were tied at 34 heading into the locker room.
Muse made all five of her field goal attempts in the half, scoring ten points. Bayes also scored 10 in the first half.
Kimpson was a one-player wrecking crew, scoring 17 points for UNLV on 7 of 8 shooting.
Broncos fall short in second half
Thompson returned the all-star favor in the second half, scoring 18 points. The barrage started early, with Thompson scoring the first four points of the half.
A Muse basket made for a nice 6-0 run to open the half. Bayes stretched the lead to seven with a three-pointer and a basket by Thompson at the six-minute mark put Boise State up 45-37.
UNLV whittled away, closing the gap to three on a Jackson three, but the Broncos finished strong and entered the fourth with high hopes.
After the Lady Rebels opened the quarter on an 8-2 run, the teams exchanged leads over a five-minute stretch. The fourth quarter featured two ties and five lead changes. The last lead for Boise State was at 5:28, when Thompson hit 1 of 2 from the free throw line.
Muse tied the game at 66 with 3:58 left and her two free throws with 3:11 on the clock had the Broncos within one point before the team failed to score for almost three minutes.
Aaliyah Alexander finished with 14 points for UNLV, with Jackson adding 13. Alyssa Brown collected 10 rebounds.
Bayes added six rebounds for the Broncos, who finished with an advantage of eight on the boards.
All told, a tough way to end this season for a Bronco squad who entered with high hopes. Especially when taking UNLV twice to the wire this season and mostly outplayed the Lady Rebels in this tournament matchup. Despite losing program defining players after this season, Boise State should have a solid squad returning, ready to aim for the mountain top once again next season.
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