The Boise State women’s basketball team ended their year with a 65-56 loss to San Diego State University (SDSU) in the first round of the Mountain West Tournament.
The team went into the tournament with a 4-13 conference record and an 8-21 overall record, placing them as the 10th seed in the tournament and setting to face off against the seventh-seeded Aztecs in the first round.
“We were on our heels early, but battled back,” said head coach Gordy Presnell. “Our youth was on display in the first three or four minutes, and then we got it down to two with about seven minutes to play before having some turnover issues.”
Boise State scored first but then fell to a 12-2 deficit early in the game. They managed to quickly pull themselves back into the game and ended the first quarter trailing by six points.
The Broncos were able to cut the Aztecs lead down to two points after the team managed to score 10 points while only allowing SDSU to score six in the second quarter.
Boise State then took the lead early in the third quarter after redshirt senior guard Dominique Leonidas landed a jumper making the game 27-26. This was short-lived as SDSU went on a 14-4 run and recaptured the lead.
Boise State managed to pull back within three points in the fourth quarter, but they gave up four turnovers within the final eight minutes left in the game. These costly turnovers helped San Diego State outscore Boise State 18-23 in the fourth quarter and come away with the victory.
Sophomore guard Anna Ostlie had a team-high 15 points, and sophomore forward Elodie Lalotte recorded a double double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
This is the first time the Boise State women’s basketball team did not go on to win the Mountain West title since 2016.
“We have a lot of work to do in the spring and summer,” Presnell said. “[We were] 16-2 in our last 18 games in the Mountain West Conference Tournament. That’s certainly something to be proud of and a legacy left by former players, but there’s only one player left from that team, and that’s [senior forward] Rachel [Bowers].”
