Boise State women advance in Mountain West tourney; Muse named defensive player of year

Still wearing a knee brace from an injury that forced her to miss seven conference games, Mya Hansen made the most of her time on the court Sunday night.

The freshman guard from Billings, Montana, scored a team-leading 20 points in 22 minutes off the bench to spearhead Boise State’s 66-58 victory over Utah State in the first round of the Mountain West women’s basketball tournament at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.

“It definitely takes a toll on you when you get injured,” Hansen said. “But coming back on the court is always a great feeling, and whatever’s needed for our team to win, that’s what I’m here to do.”

The sixth-seeded Broncos advanced to Monday’s quarterfinals where they will face No. 3 Colorado State at 8:30 p.m. Mountain time. The game will be streamed live on the Mountain West Network. The Rams swept the Broncos during the regular season by scores of 71-50 and 66-51.

“They have a tremendous guard line that we have a hard time staying in front of,” Boise State coach Gordy Presnell said of Colorado State. “So we’ll regroup, study some film and get our kids ready to give it our best shot (Monday).”

The Broncos defeated the Aggies in both matchups during the regular season, including a 48-point win on Feb. 18 that set a program record for largest margin of victory against a Mountain West opponent.

While their victory was not as dominant this time around, the Broncos kept the Aggies at arm’s length throughout, starting the game on a 6-0 run that grew to as much as an 11-point lead in the first quarter.

The Broncos used a diverse scoring attack, getting contributions from nine different players and assisting on 19 of their 25 made baskets to offset 21 turnovers.

“We weren’t about being pretty tonight,” Presnell said. “We just wanted that victory and we wanted it bad.”

Boise State led 34-26 at halftime before Hansen and junior forward Elodie Lalotte went to work in the second half. Lalotte scored eight of the Broncos’ first 11 points in the third quarter, while Hansen accounted for 14 of her 20 points in the second half.

Lalotte finished with 10 points and nine rebounds, freshman guard Dani Bayes contributed 11 points and five rebounds and fellow freshman Natalie Pasco added nine points and five assists.

The Broncos held the Aggies to just 13% from 3-point range (3-for-23) and 32.8% overall while winning the rebounding battle 47-28.

“I think as a team, anybody can go off at any point and score, so we just want to find the open man,” Hansen said. “When we come together and play as a whole, that’s when we have the best ability to win each game.”

Muse receives defensive award

Boise State junior forward Abby Muse was named the Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year on Sunday. She is the first Bronco to win the award since the team joined the conference in 2011.

Muse was one of four Boise State players recognized by the conference, as Elodie Lalotte and Muse were both named All-MW Honorable Mention, while Dani Bayes and Natalie Pasco earned spots on the All-Freshman Team.

Entering the Mountain West Tournament, Muse ranked fifth nationally in blocked shots (89) and seventh in blocks per game (2.87). She became the program’s single-season and career block leader over the course of the season. Her rim protection anchors the defense for the Broncos, who lead the league in opponent field goal percentage (36.9%) and opponent 3-point percentage (27.5%).

Muse is currently ranked second in the Mountain West in rebounds per game (8.4) and total rebounds (151), and needs 24 rebounds to become the Bronco single-season rebound leader.