Since that rare home defeat, which dropped the Broncos to 1-3 in Mountain West Conference play, Boise State is playing its best basketball. The Broncos picked up their fifth-straight victory on Wednesday night, defeating the Fresno State Bulldogs 60-52 at ExtraMile Arena.
The victory exemplified how Boise State has been playing for the last couple of weeks. Timely shooting and hard-nosed defense, backed by senior leadership all have vaulted the Broncos to fourth place, sitting only behind the San Diego State Aztecs, UNLV Lady Rebels, and Colorado State Rams.
Boise State is one game behind the Rams, who they defeated earlier in January.
During the last five games, Boise State held opponents to 60 points or less, scoring on average 69 points to opponents' 54. In the same stretch, the Broncos hold three victories of double-digit margins.
Head coach Gordy Presnell is also finding success with the bench. In recent games, eight players are usually seeing rotation minutes. Though not necessarily lighting up the box score, they are providing valuable court time while giving key players rest.
Along with the four starting seniors, one of those key players is starting center Libby Hutton, who has been on a steady rise during the winning streak.
Hutton finding consistency for Boise State Broncos
Taking over at center for Abby Muse was always going to be a big role to fill. Not that Hutton expected to take over for the program's top shot blocker and rebounder with ease.
Hutton has been improving all season and recently had the best game yet, scoring a career-high 25 points and pulling down nine rebounds. Hutton also connected on 9 of 10 from the charity stripe.
During the winning streak, Hutton is averaging 12.4 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. In nine Mountain West games this season, Hutton reached double digits in scoring six times. Top games in conference include a 17-point, 9-rebound effort against New Mexico and a double-double in the loss to Grand Canyon, scoring 13 points and collecting 11 rebounds.
Senior guard Dani Bayes is also playing well, notably in conference and especially the last five games. Bayes notched double digits in points in seven straight games and, over the last five, averaged 13.2 points and seven rebounds while dishing out 19 assists.
Leading scorer Tatum Thompson (14.4 ppg) has been held in check the last three games, averaging only 8.7 points. Thompson is averaging seven rebounds during that stretch, close to her season average of 7.2 per game.
Boise State: Upcoming games
The Broncos will get try for six straight wins when they hit the road to play Grand Canyon (6-13, 5-4) on Saturday (1/24). In doing so, Boise State also hopes to avenge the 87-76 loss they suffered against the Lopes.
In that game, Bayes scored 23 and Thompson had a double-double with 19 points and 13 boards. Senior Natalie Pasco was held to two points in the loss.
Boise State actually shot the ball better than Grand Canyon in that game, though the Lopes had more threes (seven to four) than Boise State and committed less turnovers (13 to the Broncos' 17).
The Broncos hold a one game lead over the Lopes. In the last meeting, Grand Canyon was led by Chloe Mann and Anisa Jeffries. Mann finished with 17 points and eight rebounds, while Jeffries finished 13 and 14, respectively.
After Saturday's game, the Broncos will get a week to rest up before their next matchup, taking on the San Jose State Spartans (3-17, 1-8) on January 31 at ExtraMile Arena. Boise State has won the last five meetings between the two teams.
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