"We didn't play hard enough in the (first) half," said head coach Joan Bonvicini. "I am glad we played a much better second half. I thought we played with a lot of intensity and a lot of heart. We took care of the ball, but we had a big mountain to climb."
Salena Dickerson (Federal Way, Wash.) was one of four Redhawks to score in double figures in the contest. She was 8-for-18 from the field to score a team-leading 18 points. She also was the team's top rebounder with eight boards. Following the SU senior was classmate Tatiana Heck (Lynnwood, Wash.), who had 16 points, and Elle Kerfoot (Surrey, B.C.), who had a pair of clutch three-pointers as part of her 10 points. Rounding out the Redhawk top scorers was Amani Butler (Corona, Calif.), with 10 second half points.
Both teams struggled to find offensive rhythm early in the game. Boise State would hold a 6-2 advantage six minutes into the contest, but as the clock ticked under the 13-minute mark, it was Seattle U who began to find fluidity on both the offensive and defensive ends, making it a 12-8 game.
With 11:48 left in the first half BSU's Kati Isham made it a 15-8 game, kicking off a 4-0 uncontested run for the Broncos.
The Redhawks struggled to get solid scoring opportunities, as they were held without a basket for three minutes. At 9:50, Kerfoot got the Redhawks back on the board to make it a 21-11 contest. The point guard's trey was not enough to ignite the SU offense, as Boise State would go on a 9-2 run heading into the five-minute mark.
Inside four minutes, the Broncos continued to add to their growing lead. Heck added five points during that span for the Redhawks, but Seattle U's offense continued to struggle to get their offense in sync.
BSU led 39-18 heading into halftime, behind a 55.6 shooting percentage (15-for-27) from the field. On the other end of the court, SU shot 22.9 percent (8-for-35) from the field.
Boise State struck early in the second half behind a jumper from Heather Pilcher 15 seconds into the half. Isham followed with a three-pointer to keep the struggling Redhawks on their heels.
Dickerson scored Seattle U's first points of the second half, just shy of the 17-minute mark, but the Redhawks were unable to put together back-to-back Redhawk offensive opportunities preventing SU from closing in on BSU's 46-23 lead.
At 14:33 Butler scored her first points of the game, grabbing a loose ball to make it a 48-25 contest. The Redhawks forced a turnover on Boise State's following offensive break, but Seattle U was unable to capitalize on the opportunity as they turned the ball over themselves.
Dickerson and Butler would go on to put up back-to-back baskets for the Redhawks and Boise State would commit a pair of turnovers heading inside 12 minutes.
The Redhawks continued to work to close in on BSU's lead with a layin by Heck to make it a 50-31 contest. Seattle U began to play with more fervor and created second chance opportunities on the offensive end.
Down by 18 points with 11 minutes remaining in regulation, SU continued to push the ball towards the basket. The Redhawks held the Broncos scoreless for five minutes and saw points from Butler, Heck and Daidra Brown (Seattle, Wash.) to make it a 50-36 contest.
Brown would provide a strong spark for the Redhawks in the second half, tallying five steals and making four assists in the game.
Dickerson would continue to chop down the Bronco lead with a three-pointer and Kerfoot would add a second three from the corner to make it a 10-point game with 7:09 left in the game. Boise State promptly responded, calling a timeout in an effort to slow down the Redhawks momentum.
With 5:47 left in the game, SU kept it a 10 point contest, 54-44. Butler would bring down a defensive board on Boise State's next possession and Dickerson would fire in a three-pointer to bring the Redhawks within seven.
BSU would respond with a jumper, but a driving Heck would counter with a layup of her own. The Redhawks would up the tempo and a Brown basket would make it a 58-51 game heading inside three minutes.
SU would continue to battle the Broncos in an attempt garner the lead for the first time in the game. The Broncos would make it a nine-point game, 64-55, with two minutes left and SU was unable to rally enough momentum to close in on the point gap in the final minutes of action.
In another tale of two halves, the Redhawks shot 48.5 percent (16-for-33) from the field in the second half. The Broncos were held to 40 percent (10-for-25) from the field in the final half of regulation.
In the game, Seattle U shot 35.5 percent (24-for-68) from the field, while BSU went 25-for-52 (48.1 percent). Boise State held the rebounding advantage 41-35, with the Redhawks leading 19-11 on offensive boards. SU forced BSU to commit 23 turnovers, which they tallied 15 points off of Bronco turnovers.
SU will look to rebound next week, as they host Idaho on Saturday, Dec. 11, in a 1 p.m. contest. Two days later, UC Irvine will travel to the Emerald City for a 7 p.m. game.