A late 7-0 surge propelled Boise State past the Wyoming Cowgirls 72-64 in the Mountain West opener for both teams in Idaho Wednesday night.
Boise State held a 60-58 lead and in less than a minute expanded it to 67-58 after their surge and held on for the eight-point victory.
Taylor Rusk scored a season-high 18 points to lead the Cowgirls. Marta Gomez had 15, while Karla Erjavec added 10 points. Wyoming shot 45 percent in the game and went 6-19, 32 percent, from beyond the arc.
Boise State (10-2, 1-0) was led by Riley Lupfer with 22 points. The Broncos shot 47.5 percent and knocked down 10 three-pointers.
Wyoming (7-3, 0-1) jumped out early with a 5-0 start. The Cowgirls missed seven of their last eight shots in the first quarter and trailed 15-12. UW opened the second on a 10-2 run keyed by a pair of Gomez triples. Another Gomez three put Wyoming ahead 29-22 late in the half, but the Cowgirls went cold again and Boise State made two 3-pointers. It was 29-28 Wyoming at halftime.
An 11-1 run by the Broncos in the third gave them the lead for good. The Cowgirls responded but still trailed 49-43 entering the fourth. A Lupfer three at the 5:44 mark made it 58-53 Boise State. A three-pointer by Quinn Weidemann and a basket from Erjavec closed it to 60-58.
Wyoming saw their four-game win streak snapped. They have not won on the road this season.
The Cowgirls come home for their next two games. They host UNLV Saturday at 2 p.m.