Turning point: Lobo women host Boise State for pivotal Mountain West matchup

One way or the other, Thursday’s New Mexico-Boise State women’s basketball game in the Pit will be a turning point.

The Lobos hope it turns them in a positive direction.

UNM and Boise State, both mired in losing streaks, will square off in a pivotal game in the Mountain West standings. The Lobos (13-12, 6-6) are tied for fifth place in the conference, one game ahead of the Broncos (15-10, 5-7).

The top five regular-season finishers draw first-round byes for next month’s MWC tournament, and the Lobos have six regular-season games remaining.

“We talked this week about where things stand,” UNM coach Mike Bradbury said Wednesday, “and the way we look at it is, our first six conference games were pretty good (5-1), and our next six were not good (1-5). It’s important for us to put our best foot forward these last six games, starting with this one.”

The Lobos and Broncos find themselves in similar spots, riding five- and three-game losing skids, respectively. UNM, oddly, has struggled at home in Mountain West play (2-4), while Boise State is 1-5 away from ExtraMile Arena.

The Broncos won the first meeting between the teams, 89-80, on Jan. 28 in Boise, Idaho, and could secure an important tiebreaker should they sweep the season series. The Lobos could gain a two-game advantage over Boise State in the standings with a win.

Asked about the key to Thursday’s rematch, Bradbury needed just one word:

“Rebounding,” he said.

Boise State racked up a 41-33 advantage on the boards in round one, allowing the Broncos to get out in transition and find early open shots. The Broncos made most of them, with five players scoring in double figures on their way to a season high in points scored.

UNM did an effective job attacking the basket and holding its own on the boards during its 5-1 conference start, but such has not been the case lately. The Lobos got clobbered inside in Saturday’s 90-65 loss at UNLV, outscored 38-14 in the paint while sending the Rebels to the foul line 29 times.

Bradbury does not want a repeat performance against the taller, experienced Broncos.

“Offensively, we’ve got to put pressure on them in the paint,” he said, “attack the basket and do a better job finishing when we get there.”

UNM was unable to finish inside against UNLV, missing numerous layups and ultimately scoring 45 of its 65 points from 3-point range. The Rebels capitalized, handing the Lobos by far their worse loss of the season. After watching the unpleasant video, Bradbury said his team moved on.

“We fouled way too much and just got out of our game,” he said. “UNLV is good, and if you don’t play well, they can do that to you. We looked at our mistakes, got back to work, and we’re looking forward to playing Boise State.”

The Broncos have been a steady thorn in UNM’s side over the years and lead the all-time series 18-10. BSU has won the last four games overall, but playing on the road has been problematic this season. The Broncos’ only MWC road win was an 82-77 nail-biter at Utah State. They’ve lost four of their last six games in the Pit.

Forward Tatum Thompson has emerged as a go-to scorer for Boise State of late. She’s coming off a 21-point, 14-rebound effort in a 67-61 loss to Colorado State. The Broncos also have quality 3-point shooters in Natalie Pasco, Dani Bayes and Mya Hansen, who combined to hit 11 3’s against UNM in January.

Defensively, BSU has one of the league’s best rim protectors in fifth-year senior Abby Muse. The 6-foot-3 Muse leads the Mountain West with 56 blocks this season.