When Boise State plays in its first Mountain West semifinal since 2021, Tuesday night in Las Vegas, there’s a chance to win a trip to the conference championship.
Tuesday night’s matchup between Boise State women’s basketball and San Diego State could be the team’s first opportunity to secure a position in the Mountain West Tournament championship game since 2020.
Two bracket busters square off in the semifinal match, which is their third game in as many days.
No. 6 Boise State defeated No. 3 Wyoming 62–54 on Monday by scoring 14 consecutive points in the fourth quarter. In the game, the Broncos’ lead lasted for just 6:35.
No. 7 San Diego State beat No. 2 New Mexico 67-56, never trailing thanks to three players scoring in double figures and a double-double from Kim Villalobos. In the quarterfinal victory, the Aztecs outrebounded the Lobos 45 to 25.
During the regular season series, both teams won at home: on January 13, the Broncos defeated the Aztecs 68-59, and on January 27, the Aztecs easily defeated them 79-54.
With an overall record of 20-7, Boise State has the highest winning percentage of any program competing in the Mountain West Tournament.
Gordy Presnell, the great head coach, has led the team to 20 victories. If they defeat San Diego State in the semifinals, they can tie Don Flanagan’s conference record of 21 tournament victories. At New Mexico, Flanagan established the benchmark from 1999 to 2011.
The fight for the title begins on Tuesday at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas at 8:30 p.m. MT / 7:30 p.m. PT. Both 670 KBOI AM and the Mountain West Network will carry the game.
Mya Hansen, a sophomore at Boise State, scored a game-high 20 points on 7 of 15 shots from the field in the team’s comeback victory over the Cowboys.
In the first quarter, the native of Montana scored 10 of the Broncos’ 12 points.
Abby Muse recorded the third triple-double in program history on Sunday in an 85-49 victory over No. 11 Utah State to start playoff play. She finished with 12 points, 11 rebounds, and a career-high 10 assists.
Hours before the game, Muse was selected for the second consecutive year to the Mountain West All-Defensive Team.
The senior forward is the first player from Boise State to win the award in consecutive seasons.
Natalie Pasco has scored ten points in both of Boise State’s tournament victories, making her the first Bronco to be selected to the All-Mountain West Team since the 2019–2020 campaign.
Seniors Abby Prohaska and Adryana Quezada of San Diego State were both selected to the All-Mountain West Team.
Quezada leads the Aztecs with averages of 13.8 and 6.5 points and rebounds per game. Every game, Prohaska contributes 10.2 points and 5.6 boards.
In the other conference semifinal, No. 1 UNLV and No. 5 Colorado State square off at 4 p.m.
Tuesday at 5:00 PM MT/5:00 PM PT on the Mountain West Network. The last game is slated to begin at 8:30 p.m. MT / 7:30 p.m. PT. on CBS Sports Network on Wednesday.
