Late 3-pointer gives Boise State OT win

De La Cerda’s 19 points not enough as Lobos drop league opener, 83-82

BOISE, Idaho — Round one lived up to its billing.

Mallory McGwire drained an open 3-pointer with 11 seconds left in overtime and Boise State escaped with an 83-82 overtime victory over New Mexico in a battle of top Mountain West women’s basketball contenders Wednesday night.

The lead changed hands 12 times and UNM (6-2, 0-1) had a chance to regain it in the closing seconds but Jayla Everett’s 8-foot jumper rattled off the rim with 1.1 seconds remaining. A final 3-point try by Jaedyn De La Cerda was blocked as time expired.

McGwire, a 6-foot-5 transfer from Oregon, finished with 21 points and 17 rebounds for the Broncos (5-4, 1-0), who were picked to win the conference according to the league’s preseason poll. De La Cerda scored a team-high 19 points for the Lobos, who were picked to finish second.

“It was exactly the kind of game you’d expect,” UNM coach Mike Bradbury said in a postgame phone interview. “We’ll probably have another knockdown, drag-out in Albuquerque. We definitely had our chances to get this one.”

Everett scored 16 points, while Shai McGruder and Jordan Hosey added 12 apiece for the Lobos. Hosey had missed UNM’s previous two games for unspecified reasons and Bradbury offered little clarification after Wednesday’s game.

“Jordan was cleared to play and she’s back,” he said. “That’s all I can tell you.”

Hosey collected a team-high eight rebounds Wednesday but the Broncos won the battle on the boards 51-40. The Broncos’ total included a key offensive rebound and putback by McGwire that tied the score at 77 with 16 seconds left in regulation.

UNM then played for a final shot but Everett’s driving bank shot missed the mark, and the Broncos broke up an attempted lob to Antonia Anderson as regulation expired.

“We had some good looks,” Bradbury said. “We just couldn’t get them to fall.”

Anderson hit a 3-pointer early in overtime and the Lobos, despite missing two free throws, opened an 82-77 lead with 1:56 left. But they would not score again, and Boise State’s Riley Lupfer and McGwire hit two 3-pointers in the final minute.

Lupfer finished with 18 points, and Braydey Hodgins scored 14 for the Broncos, who hit 13 3-pointers to UNM’s eight.

New Mexico countered with aggressive defense and forced 20 turnovers, which led to 27 points. Boise State scored 12 points off 10 forced turnovers.

Both teams had extended scoring streaks, including a 9-0 Broncos run to open the game. UNM scored the first seven points of the second half.