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This Day In Sports…March 23, 2019:
Despite an absurdly low No. 13 seed in the women’s NCAA Tournament that forced it to play on Oregon State’s home floor, Boise State almost pulls off the shocker before falling 80-75 in overtime. The Broncos came into the tournament 27-5 and had dominated Wyoming 68-51 in the Mountain West championship game. It was their third straight title and fourth in five years (with one more to come), and they had an RPI of 39. It was probably Boise State coach Gordy Presnell’s best team.
Yet here Boise State was in Corvallis, as the first and second rounds were played on the home floors of the top four seeds in each region (and, amazingly, still are). A 36-28 deficit at halftime made a Broncos loss look like a foregone conclusion. It was anything but, however. Boise State stormed into the lead in a dominant third quarter and held a four-point lead with 17 seconds left in regulation after senior Marta Hermida, who led the Broncos with 22 points, dropped in two free throws and winked at the camera.
But a questionable jump ball call helped the Beavers get the game to overtime, where former Idaho Gatorade Player of the Year Destiny Slocum, the Mountain View High grad. hit a couple crucial lay-ins to get OSU over the top. The indomitable spirit of that Boise State team was the main takeaway from the heartbreaker. Not once did the Broncos think they couldn’t win that game, and as the drama built in the fourth quarter, their confidence only soared. As one Scott Slant reader texted me at the time, “They play defense like someone is trying to steal their lunch money.”
As for Slocum, she was in her second season at Oregon State after beginning her college career at Maryland and earning 2017 Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors. After the win over Boise State, Slocum led the Beavers to the Sweet 16—then announced she was transferring to Arkansas, where she played her senior season. In 2021, Slocum made history as the first Idahoan ever selected in the WNBA Draft, as she was taken by the Las Vegas Aces in the second round, 14th overall. She’s now playing pro basketball in France.
(Tom Scott hosts the Scott Slant segment during the football season on KTVB’s Sunday Sports Extra. He also anchors four sports segments each weekday on 95.3 FM KTIK and one on News/Talk KBOI. His Scott Slant column runs every Wednesday.)
