Saturday, December 7
Reno, NV
3:00 PM MT
Air Force Academy
2-8,1-1Mountain West
68
at
61
Nevada
4-3,0-1Mountain West
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Air Force | 17 | 19 | 13 | 19 | 68 |
| Nevada | 22 | 19 | 12 | 8 | 61 |
Photo by: Bill Evans
Air Force Rallies From Behind to Beat Nevada, 68-61
12/7/2019 8:57:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Emily Conroe led Air Force women’s basketball with 22 points and 11 rebounds
RENO, Nev. - Emily Conroe posted Air Force's first double-double of the season, leading the Falcons to a 68-61 comeback victory against Nevada in Mountain West Conference action, Saturday afternoon in the Virginia Street Gym. Air Force, who tallied its first-ever win against Nevada while playing in Reno, improve to 2-8 with a 1-1 mark in the league while the Wolf Pack drops to 4-3, 0-1 MWC.
Conroe, a junior co-team captain, had a stellar game as she scored a season-high 22 points and collected 11 rebounds while shooting 43-percent from the field and knocking down 8-8 attempts from the free throw line. Conroe now has four double-figure scoring marks and three double-figure rebounding marks on the season.
Conroe led a quartet of Falcons with double-figure scoring numbers, a season first for this Air Force squad. The Falcons' 68 points was the most scored since beating NJIT, 68-48, on November 8.
Sophomore guard Cierra Winters had a career night, setting three personal career standards in just under 20 minutes on the floor, scoring 10 points, collecting six rebounds and dishing three assists. Winters shot 63-percent on the night and was responsible for two critical momentum swings on the game.
Riley Snyder and Kaelin Immel, Air Force's two leading scorers, had identically productive nights as the duo dropped 11 points and three assists apiece. Immel and Snyder, who now average 14.2 PPG and 13.7 PPG, respectively, have eight double-figure scoring marks apiece on the season. Immel brought her career scoring total to 990 points, just 10 shy of becoming the 16th all-time Falcon to reach 1,000 career points.
Nevada was led in scoring by Imani Lacy who tallied 13 points while teammate Nia Alexander led the Pack in rebounding with 14 boards. Nevada collected the 21 rebounds to Air Force's 14 in the first half; however, second half adjustments by the Falcons garnered a 25-18 rebounding advantage in the second half. Both teams snagged 39 rebounds on the game.
"We have been so close in games this season," head coach Chris Gobrecht said. "We felt like if we could just catch a break then we were going to be okay. For the most part, I've been pleased with the way we've been playing this season and it was nice to go and gut out a win tonight. Cierra Winters gave us a big lift and Emily Conroe came to play, she did really well against a bigger team. I'm very happy to see us put a full game together."
The Falcons opened the game with a two-point lead by way of pre-game technical foul issued to Nevada for not having shot clock lights in the Virginia Street Gym location. Snyder dropped the Falcons' first four points on the game. Nevada soon took the lead and paced the Falcons through the first quarter. Emily Conroe drained a three-ball early on, snapping a two-game cold streak from down range. Cierra Winters entered the game and dropped six-straight points for the Falcons, tying her season-high scoring mark. Nevada shot perfect from deep (2-2), closing the quarter with a 22-17 lead.
Out of the break, Conroe drew a shooting foul while draining her second three-ball on the day-- she connected at the line to bring Air Force within one. The Falcons and Pack scored back-and-forth to the media timeout (4:47) with Air Force trailing by three, 32-29. Air Force continued to grind, getting to within one point of the Pack's lead, but a Nevada three-ball kept their scoring buffer alive. The Falcons closed the first half trailing by five, 41-36. Conroe led Air Force in first-half scoring, tallying 12 points on 60-percent shooting from the field and 100-percent shooting from the free throw line (4-4).
The back-and-forth scoring action continued after the halftime break as the Falcons trailed by six, 46-40, at the third quarter media timeout (5:00). A crucial three-pointer by Allyah Marlett gave Air Force a jolt of energy as Nevada's lead was cut to three. Shortly after, Nevada rallied to a 5-0 scoring run while the Falcons found themselves in the shooting doldrums, hitting just 1-11 attempts from the field after the media timeout. Winters stalled the Pack's momentum as she picked off a steal and fed Immel for a fast break layup. Nevada finished the final two minutes of the quarter scoreless while Conroe scored in the waning seconds to bring the Falcons within four points, 53-49.
The difference of the game was in the fourth quarter where the Falcons outscore the Wolf Pack, 19-8. Snyder drained a three-pointer out of the break to bring Air Force within one. Following an exchange of buckets, both teams hit scoring slumps with the Falcons hitting just 2-8 from the field and Nevada going on a three-minute scoring drought heading into the media timeout.
Out of the timeout, Winters scored her 10th point, marking a career high for the sophomore and bringing Air Force back to a one-point deficit. Moments later Riley Snyder was fouled down low and headed to the line where she hit one-of-two attempts to tie the game at 56. An emotional response by a Nevada player drew a technical foul, yielding the Falcons the possession after free throws. At that point, Air Force began to walk away with the game as Immel drained a three and Conroe tacked an additional bucket for a 61-57 lead. Air Force finished the game at the line where they added the final seven points of the night.
Next up, Air Force continues action on the road with a pair of non-conference match ups against Long Beach State (Dec. 18) and Cal State Fullerton (Dec. 21). The game against Long Beach State marks the first meeting between the teams while the game against the Titans will be the fifth meeting. Air Force leads Fullerton 3-1 in the all-time series.
Conroe, a junior co-team captain, had a stellar game as she scored a season-high 22 points and collected 11 rebounds while shooting 43-percent from the field and knocking down 8-8 attempts from the free throw line. Conroe now has four double-figure scoring marks and three double-figure rebounding marks on the season.
Conroe led a quartet of Falcons with double-figure scoring numbers, a season first for this Air Force squad. The Falcons' 68 points was the most scored since beating NJIT, 68-48, on November 8.
Sophomore guard Cierra Winters had a career night, setting three personal career standards in just under 20 minutes on the floor, scoring 10 points, collecting six rebounds and dishing three assists. Winters shot 63-percent on the night and was responsible for two critical momentum swings on the game.
Riley Snyder and Kaelin Immel, Air Force's two leading scorers, had identically productive nights as the duo dropped 11 points and three assists apiece. Immel and Snyder, who now average 14.2 PPG and 13.7 PPG, respectively, have eight double-figure scoring marks apiece on the season. Immel brought her career scoring total to 990 points, just 10 shy of becoming the 16th all-time Falcon to reach 1,000 career points.
Nevada was led in scoring by Imani Lacy who tallied 13 points while teammate Nia Alexander led the Pack in rebounding with 14 boards. Nevada collected the 21 rebounds to Air Force's 14 in the first half; however, second half adjustments by the Falcons garnered a 25-18 rebounding advantage in the second half. Both teams snagged 39 rebounds on the game.
"We have been so close in games this season," head coach Chris Gobrecht said. "We felt like if we could just catch a break then we were going to be okay. For the most part, I've been pleased with the way we've been playing this season and it was nice to go and gut out a win tonight. Cierra Winters gave us a big lift and Emily Conroe came to play, she did really well against a bigger team. I'm very happy to see us put a full game together."
The Falcons opened the game with a two-point lead by way of pre-game technical foul issued to Nevada for not having shot clock lights in the Virginia Street Gym location. Snyder dropped the Falcons' first four points on the game. Nevada soon took the lead and paced the Falcons through the first quarter. Emily Conroe drained a three-ball early on, snapping a two-game cold streak from down range. Cierra Winters entered the game and dropped six-straight points for the Falcons, tying her season-high scoring mark. Nevada shot perfect from deep (2-2), closing the quarter with a 22-17 lead.
Out of the break, Conroe drew a shooting foul while draining her second three-ball on the day-- she connected at the line to bring Air Force within one. The Falcons and Pack scored back-and-forth to the media timeout (4:47) with Air Force trailing by three, 32-29. Air Force continued to grind, getting to within one point of the Pack's lead, but a Nevada three-ball kept their scoring buffer alive. The Falcons closed the first half trailing by five, 41-36. Conroe led Air Force in first-half scoring, tallying 12 points on 60-percent shooting from the field and 100-percent shooting from the free throw line (4-4).
The back-and-forth scoring action continued after the halftime break as the Falcons trailed by six, 46-40, at the third quarter media timeout (5:00). A crucial three-pointer by Allyah Marlett gave Air Force a jolt of energy as Nevada's lead was cut to three. Shortly after, Nevada rallied to a 5-0 scoring run while the Falcons found themselves in the shooting doldrums, hitting just 1-11 attempts from the field after the media timeout. Winters stalled the Pack's momentum as she picked off a steal and fed Immel for a fast break layup. Nevada finished the final two minutes of the quarter scoreless while Conroe scored in the waning seconds to bring the Falcons within four points, 53-49.
The difference of the game was in the fourth quarter where the Falcons outscore the Wolf Pack, 19-8. Snyder drained a three-pointer out of the break to bring Air Force within one. Following an exchange of buckets, both teams hit scoring slumps with the Falcons hitting just 2-8 from the field and Nevada going on a three-minute scoring drought heading into the media timeout.
Out of the timeout, Winters scored her 10th point, marking a career high for the sophomore and bringing Air Force back to a one-point deficit. Moments later Riley Snyder was fouled down low and headed to the line where she hit one-of-two attempts to tie the game at 56. An emotional response by a Nevada player drew a technical foul, yielding the Falcons the possession after free throws. At that point, Air Force began to walk away with the game as Immel drained a three and Conroe tacked an additional bucket for a 61-57 lead. Air Force finished the game at the line where they added the final seven points of the night.
Next up, Air Force continues action on the road with a pair of non-conference match ups against Long Beach State (Dec. 18) and Cal State Fullerton (Dec. 21). The game against Long Beach State marks the first meeting between the teams while the game against the Titans will be the fifth meeting. Air Force leads Fullerton 3-1 in the all-time series.
Team Stats
USAFA
Nevada
FG%
.375
.426
3FG%
.227
.333
FT%
.750
.714
RB
39
39
TO
11
17
STL
10
8
Game Leaders
Pts
22
FGM
6
3FGM
2
FTM
8
Pts
11
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
10
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's BasketballG
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