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Guard tandem ignites 2-0 start
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The Boise State women’s basketball team opened regular season play this weekend with a pair of non-conference wins over the University of Montana and Loyola Marymount. The Broncos were propelled by the fast-paced high-energy guard duo of juniors Tasha Harris and Jessica Thompson.
Sunday afternoon Harris and Thompson led BSU to a 70-64 win over the Montana Lady Griz.
“It’s awesome [to start 2-0],” Thompson said. “It’s good momentum as we go into Santa Clara, a game in which we lost last season.”
The two guards combined for more than half of BSU’s total offense in the game. Harris led the team with 25 points and Thompson finished right behind her with 17.
“I thought Tasha Harris did a wonderful job and Jess Thompson hit some crucial dagger-type threes for us,” Head Coach Gordy Presnell said.
Presnell has come to expect the duo to lead the offense. Their chemistry has been one of the key factors in turning the women’s program around.
“I feed off of Tasha definitely,” Thompson said. “We have built really good chemistry the past couple of years, so I’m really looking forward to this year.”
In their time at BSU the roles for both players have changed drastically.
“I feel like we’re both more of leaders this year,” Harris said. “Everybody else feeds off of us.”
The two are also leading the way for the other new guards this season – junior transfer Jamia Malone and freshman Brittany Moore. Moore is currently out with a knee injury.
“I feel like we both need to be more of leaders this season and more vocal,” Thompson said.
In their season opener Friday night, the women survived a scare from Loyola Marymount as they scraped out a 71-67 win.
“We just decided at halftime that we were going to fight and scratch and claw until we pulled ahead,” Harris said. “We knew we didn’t want it to come down to the wire at the end, so we just did our best to stay intense and play good defense and keep them off the boards.”
The women are now preparing for a four-game road trip. The Broncos return home Dec. 3 to face Oral Roberts.
Box Score – Friday, Nov. 9
1st2ndT
LMU363167
BSU373471
Loyola Marymount (67)
Evans 0-0 0-0 0, Ogoke 6-11 0-0 12, Moore 4-7 4-6 12, Helmers 3-11 0-0 9, Decoud 2-5 0-0 4, Young 3-6 5-7 11, Ysaguirre 2-2 0-0 4, Evans 3-4 0-0 6, Vargas 2-3 0-0 5, Sybesma 2-8 0-0 4, Goss 0-1 0-0 0, Total 27-58 4-12 67.
Boise State (71)
Lee 3-8 0-0 7, Kepilino 5-10 0-4 11, Stewart 2-4 0-0 4, Harris 6-12 3-4 17, Thompson 3-13 5-6 12, Malone 4-10 1-1 12, Galassi 0-5 1-2 1, Rima 2-4 0-0 5, Moeller 0-0 0-0 0, Walker 1-4 0-1 2
3-Point Goals – LMU 4 (Helmers 3, Vargas 1), BSU 9 (Lee, Kepilino, Harris 2, Thompson, Malone 3, Rima). Fouled Out – None. Rebounds – LMU 42 (Ogoke 10, Evans 10), BSU 39 (Kepilino 7). Assists – LMU 10 (Ogoke 2, Young 2, Evans 2, Vargas 2), BSU 7 (Stewart 2, Thompson 2, Galassi 2). Total Fouls – LMU 19, BSU 13. Technical Fouls
none. Attendance – 1216.
Sunday, Nov. 11
1st2ndT
Montana263864
BSU333770
Montana (64)
Morales 9-14 8-11 28, Conway 4-8 0-0 9, Closson 2-9 4-4 8, Cote 0-7 0-0 0, Guardipee 4-9 0-0 8, Rogers 3-12 0-0 6, Lohman 2-7 0-0 4, Tolbert 0-0 1-2 1, Beck 0-1 0-0 0, Ena 0-5 0-0 0, Total 24-72 13-17 64.
Boise State (70)
Harris 9-17 6-9 25, Thompson 6-14 0-0 17, Kepilino 5-10 0-1 11, Lee 0-4 1-2 1, Galassi 0-4 0-1 0, Malone 3-8 1-2 9, Stewart 0-2 3-5 3, Rima 0-0 2-2 2, Moeller 1-2 0-0 2, Walker 0-2 0-0 0.
3-Point Goals – UM 3 (Morales 2, Conway 1), BSU 9 (Harris, Thompson 5, Kepilino, Malone 2). Fouled Out – UM (Rogers, Lohman). Rebounds – UM 40 (Guardipee 8), BSU 43 (Thompson 10, Kepilino 10). Total Fouls – UM 20, BSU 18. Technical Fouls – none.
MARY ALBL
SPORTS WRITER
