The City of ‘Threes’: Boise State women’s basketball starts their season making history

After last year’s tenuous performance, the Boise State women’s basketball team returned to their winning ways this season.

The team defeated Multnomah 121-64 on Monday, Nov. 7. This set a program record for the most points scored in a single game.

Last season, the Broncos finished second to last in the Mountain West with an overall record of 8-21. The team was leading or tied at halftime in eight of their losses last year, and nine of their losses were determined by six or less points, according to Boise State Athletics.

“I think last year was good motivation for us because obviously it’s something we don’t want to happen again,” said junior guard Mary Kay Naro. “It just came down to our lack of being able to finish games. Last year, we were in so many games, but we just couldn’t finish them at the end. That has been our focus in practices. We have to finish plays, finish shots and finish rebounds.”

The team also had the worst 3-point field goal percentage (0.268), worst free-throw percentage (0.641), fewest 3-pointers made per game (4.1) and the lowest turnover margin (-3.31) in their division, according to the Mountain West.

“Going from last year to this year, we want to be able to run our offense effectively and be able to shoot from the perimeter,” said head coach Gordy Presnell. “The room shrank on us last year quite a bit.”

“The room” certainly did not shrink on the team in their first game this season.

Naro set her team’s intensity early on by landing a 3-point jumper on the first possession of the game. This play was the first of many 3-pointers from the team.

The team averaged only four 3-point shots per game last season. The team managed to double this stat in the first half and quadruple it by the end of the game with help from freshman guard Dani Bayes and junior guard Anna Ostlie.

“I think it just comes down to improving our shooting percentages,” Naro said when asked about the team’s 3-point shooting. “We’ve done a lot of different drills where you have to make a certain amount of shots or else you have to redo it. I think it has been a big emphasis for us.”

Their 16 total 3-point jumpers made was the second-most in program history. It was also two away from tying the record of 18 set in 2016. 

The team also set a record with 46 field goals. The previous record was 43 against Whitman College in 1989. 

The most field goals made and second-most 3-pointers converted ultimately led to the team setting the record for most points scored in a game. The team scored 121 points against Multnomah, which beat out the previous record of 119 points set against San Jose State in 1988.

“I was just excited the room was big for us today,” Presnell said. “It was a fun night. Everyone scored and everyone got to play, so it was a good night to kick off the season.”

Though there are many more games ahead, the team has something to be motivated by with this historic win to start the season.