Falcon Women’s Hoops Gets Tripped Up at Utah State

LOGAN, Utah- Air Force came up short of a fourth-quarter rally, falling to Mountain West foe Utah State, 64-55, Saturday afternoon at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum, Logan Utah. The Falcons drop to 8-16 with a 4-9 mark in MWC play while the Aggies snap a seven-game losing streak to improve to 11-13, 6-7 MWC.

Sophomore guard Emily Conroe led the Falcons with a game-high 19 points and nine rebounds, coming up just one board short of her third double-double performance this season. Conroe, the Falcons' leading rebounder in league play, also shot 75.0 percent from deep (3-4) and 58.3 percent from the field. She has 12 double-figure scoring performances this season, eighth in Mountain West play.

Sophomore teammate Kaelin Immel added 13 points to the final tally for her 15^th double-digit scoring performance of the season. She also added three rebounds and two assists to her stat line.

The Falcon freshmen made significant contributions as Briana Autrey, Haley Jones and Riley Snyder combined for 20 points. Freshman teammate Coco Kuchins added a career-high six rebounds, bringing the freshmen rebounding total to 18 on the night. Jones, a six-foot guard, scored nine points and collected four rebounds while Snyder, a six-foot forward, tallied eight points and six rebounds. The Falcons out-rebounded Utah State, 38-32.

Utah State was led by Rachel Brewster and Shannon Dufficy who scored 17 and 16 points, respectively. They combined for 17 rebounds on the day as Dufficy registered her 15^th double-double this season. The Aggies outshot the Falcons, 43.1 percent from the field to Air Force's 38.3 percent from the field.

Both teams had a significant number of turnovers as the Aggies committed 20 to Air Force's 19. Air Force tallied 26 points in the paint compared to the much taller Aggies' 22 points from within the paint.

Air Force returns home to host Fresno State at 7 p.m. MT, Wednesday, Feb. 20, in Clune Arena. The meeting will mark the first, and only, regular season game between the Falcons and Bulldogs. Fresno State (15-7, 8-3 MWC) is currently sitting at third in the MWC standings. Air Force has yet to beat Fresno State in the 13-game series.

Quarter by Quarter Breakdown

First Quarter: USU 14, AF 12
Air Force Starters: Haley Jones, Briana Autrey, Emily Conroe, Riley Snyder, Kaelin Immel
-Snyder dropped the first-four points for AF in the paint, forcing a USU timeout (7:57)
-AF built a four-point lead on four USU turnovers in the first five minutes, AF leads 9-5 (5:19)
-USU tied at nine (2:47), then takes a three-point lead via a three-ball from Dufficy (2:00)
-Conroe knocked down a crucial three to knot the game at 12 (0:37)
-USU knocked down a jumper with two seconds remaining in the quarter
- AF shot 35.7 percent from the field while USU shot 60.0 percent
-The Aggies turned the ball over eight times to AF's five
-Conroe and Dufficy led the quarter in scoring with five points apiece

Second Quarter: USU 27, AF 24
-USU opened the second quarter on a 5-0 run off of an AF turnover
-Snyder ended the run with a jumper just shy of the three-point line (8:28)
-USU knocked down two three-balls five minutes into the quarter but AF kept it close with buckets in the paint, USU leads 23-22 (5:00)
-USU went on a two-minute scoring drought headed into the media timeout (3:45), USU leads, 23-22
-USU closed a 3:30 scoring drought with a bucket in the waning seconds of the half
-AF shooting improved to 42.9 percent in 14 attempts while USU's shooting dropped to 26.7 percent in 15 on the quarter
-Conroe led the Falcons with nine points and six rebounds while Immel and Snyder had six points apiece
-Both teams struggled with first-half turnovers, USU committed 12 to AF's 11

Third Quarter: USU 46, AF 44
-AF forced a USU turnover to start the second half but the Falcons did not capitalize with a basket
-USU added the first bucket (8:21) to extend to a 29-24 lead
-AF went on a 5-2 run to get within two points (6:05), then Conroe knocked down her second three-ball to knot the game at 12 (5:47)
-AF took the lead, 38-36, via a steal taken to the house by Immel leading into the media timeout (3:24)
-USU's Gorman knocked down a critical three-ball to keep the Aggies close by, teams tied 40-40 (2:11)
-The Falcons and Aggies went bucket-for-bucket to close the quarter, 46-44, in favor of USU
-AF shooting continued to improve as the Falcons knocked down nine field goals in 19 attempts (47.4 percent), USU shot 7-14 (50.0 percent)
-AF turned the ball over one more time than the Aggies in the quarter (5-4)
-Conroe and Immel had 14 points apiece to close the quarter, USU was led by Brewster with 22 points

Fourth Quarter:
-Conroe added two points from the free-throw line to open the quarter, USU's Brewster knocked down her 24^th point in response (8:55)
-AF went on a four-minute scoring drought while USU went on a 7-0 run to lead AF 53-46 heading into the media timeout (4:58)
-AF was shooting 1-8 (12.5 percent) at the media timeout, USU was 3-7
-USU's Gorman knocked down a deflating three-ball to give the Aggies a 10-point lead, 62-52 (1:30)
-USU added a bucket while AF Conroe drained her third three-ball to end the game, 64-55 in favor of USU
-AF saw its worst shooting in the fourth quarter, hitting only three of 12 attempts (25.0 percent) while USU hit 5-12 (41.7 percent)

Falcon Women’s Hoops Gets Tripped Up at Utah State

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Team Stats

Emily Conroe

Kaelin Immel

Haley Jones

Riley Snyder

Players Mentioned

Briana Autrey-Thompson

Emily Conroe

Kaelin Immel

Haley Jones

Coco Kuchins

Riley Snyder

Players Mentioned

Briana Autrey-Thompson

Emily Conroe

Kaelin Immel

Haley Jones

Coco Kuchins

Riley Snyder

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