MOUNTAIN WEST WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

March 10, 2024

Gordy Presnell

Abby Muse

Trista Hull

Thomas & Mack Center

Boise State Broncos

Postgame Press Conference

Boise State 85, Utah State 49

THE MODERATOR: We're ready to begin with Boise State. We have student-athletes, Trista Hull, Abby Muse, Coach Gordy Presnell.

Coach, we'll start with you and just get some thoughts on tonight's game.

GORDY PRESNELL: It was a great night for us and proud of our players. We needed to get something successful to happen to us. A week and a half ago, we were in second place with 19 wins, and we came in here as a sixth seed with 19 wins.

So excited for Abby and our players, and Trista had a great night tonight, but also excited for Allie who got her first bucket of the year. It's a great night for us. It's our 20th win, and excited for the team.

THE MODERATOR: Questions for the student-athletes.

Q. Abby, you're just the second ever triple-double in the Mountain West Tournament. What was going through your mind before the game? Was there a moment during the game where you thought, hey, maybe I could do this and then take me through the moment where it happened?

ABBY MUSE: Before the game, our one main goal was to beat Utah State. As a team we are, like, we're doing that. We're going to accomplish that.

That was just our driving force. No, I mean, it was just a fun game, and passes were going my way. My teammates were hitting, which was awesome. So, no, there wasn't really a point where I was like, okay, let's get a triple-double. It just happened. My teammates are always there to support me, which is awesome.

Q. As a senior trying to make your mark on this team, on this conference, just what does this kind of night do for your confidence as you're trying to win a championship here?

ABBY MUSE: It's huge, not just for me. Like Coach P was saying, Trista had a great game, and I think everyone just needed this game to get back on track going into further days into the tournament.

So like Coach P said, a week ago, we were kind of on a high, and it really dropped off this past week. So getting back to where we want to be is exactly what we needed today.

Q. Trista, you got, I think, your second double-double of your career. What was working for you?

TRISTA HULL: I think I just came in there with a lot of energy, and I think balls kind of fell my way, and I think my teammates just really hyping me up gave me the energy to keep me going throughout the whole game.

Q. You guys broke your season highs for rebounds and assists tonight. Just as a team, the overall performance, just what does this do for your confidence going forward?

TRISTA HULL: I think it just shoots it through the roof, honestly, and puts us in a good position for tomorrow.

THE MODERATOR: We'll dismiss the student-athletes at this time.

Questions for Coach.

Q. Just the way you're trying to run your offense, even though Abby is not much of a ball handler, just how much of a benefit is her presence in the middle given that she has the ability to be a dual threat?

GORDY PRESNELL: Her length is -- she's one of the biggest kids in the league. Put her in the high post and leave the high post open, so we were able to break their zone a little bit with that, and then she made some good decisions out of it and obviously hits shots as well.

Q. What does it mean to you as a coach to have this kind of performance from her?

GORDY PRESNELL: I'm excited for her. Just like all of them were a little down, the coaches especially, in the last week and a half or so. We had worked pretty hard to get to where we were at and had a rough week, but excited that hopefully got some confidence tonight and a little success, and hopefully we'll be ready tomorrow against Wyoming.

Q. When it culminates into these season highs and rebounds and assists as a team, how exciting is it when you think about how far this team can go?

GORDY PRESNELL: I think that we have the potential to do some things. We will take it, it's cliche, but we'll take one game at a time. Tonight I'm happy with the win. I'm happy that we won our 20th, but I'm really happy for Allie who had -- you know, the basket had a lid on all season and hit a bucket, and kind of fired everybody up.

Q. Tomorrow you'll play another physical team. Just what are you looking for in that matchup? What are your thoughts?

GORDY PRESNELL: It will be a great matchup. They have one of the premiere posts in the league, and they run great offensive sets with the elbow motion that they run. Always been a good defensive team. Very well-coached.

We'll have our hands full. We split with them during the season. It should be a really good game.