Wednesday, January 29
Fresno, CA
7:00 PM MT
Air Force Academy
4-17 (2-8MW)
52
at
61
Fresno State
17-4 (10-0MW)
1
2
3
4
F
Air Force
10
7
20
15
52
Fresno State
14
15
17
15
61
Photo by: Darcie Ibidapo
Air Force Falls at Fresno State, 61-52
1/29/2020 10:11:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Air Force women’s basketball came within two points of the lead in the fourth quarter but let the comeback slip away
FRESNO, Calif. - Air Force came up short against Mountain West Conference front-runner Fresno State, 61-52, Wednesday afternoon in the Save Mart Center. The Bulldogs remain undefeated in the league with a 10-0 mark, improving to 17-4 on the season overall. The Falcons drop to 4-17 with a 2-8 mark in the conference.
Riley Snyder, who sparked Air Force rallies on multiple occasions, led the Falcons with 16 points by way of three three-pointers, a trio of buckets and a free throw. She shot 46-percent on the night and added two assists and a rebound to her stat line.
Air Force guards Kaelin Immel and Briana Autrey-Thompson tallied 11 points each, both shooting roughly 37-percent on the night. Autrey-Thompson registered a game-high four assists and collected four rebounds. Immel snagged two boards and registered two blocks to round out her stat line.
Freshmen Kamri Heath, Allyah Marlett and Nikki McDonald combined for 10 points and eight rebounds, led by Heath's six points off the bench and McDonald's five rebounds.
The Bulldogs were led by Aly Gamez who scored 16 points and snagged a game-high nine rebounds. Hanna Cavinder tallied 13 points and five rebounds while Wytalla Motta scored 11 and collected six boards. Fresno State out-rebounded Air Force, 47-33, and scored 42-of-61 points in the paint.
Both teams got off to a slow start in the Save Mart Center with Fresno State hitting just one in their first five shots while Air Force shot 2-10 from the field by the first media timeout (4:22). A three-pointer from Riley Snyder lifted the Falcons out of their shooting rut, helping Air Force track the Bulldogs down to a 14-10 score by the end of the first quarter.
After a quick bucket exchange to open the second quarter, Fresno State went on an 8-0 scoring run to build an eight-point lead, 22-12, by the five minute mark. Air Force was scoreless for more than four minutes. The Bulldogs capitalized on the Falcons' missed shots, going on a 12-1 scoring-run by the time Air Force sunk a bucket in the paint. At the halftime horn, Fresno State led Air Force, 29-17. The Bulldogs were shooting 37-percent from the field to Air Force's 25-percent- both teams only hit one three-ball in the first half.
Air Force shooting improved early in the second half as the Falcons were shooting 36-percent, scoring 10 points by the media time out (4:43). Fresno State's shooting stayed about the same, also adding 10 points by the media time, holding a 12-point lead, 39-27. Air Force found some traction after the media timeout, cutting their largest deficit of the game (16 points) two just nine, behind Snyder's six-point burst to close the third quarter at 46-37. AF outscored Fresno state, 20-17, in the third.
Air Force and Fresno State opened the final quarter exchanging a pair of buckets before Snyder hit her third three-pointer of the game to bring Air Force within seven points, 52-45, at the media timeout (5:00). The Falcons continued to ball out of the break, going on a 9-0 run behind an Immel three-pointer and an Autrey-Thompson steal that lead to a fast-break bucket, bringing Air Force within two points, 52-50. Fresno State was kept alive by a three-pointer by one of the Cavinder twins, re-extending to a five-point lead. The Falcons were unable to close the gap by the end of regulation, finalizing the loss, 61-52.
Next up, Air Force will take Saturday off before returning to the home court against Nevada, Wednesday (Feb. 5), at 6:30 p.m. The Falcons won the first meeting between the teams, 68-61, in Reno, Nevada.
Riley Snyder, who sparked Air Force rallies on multiple occasions, led the Falcons with 16 points by way of three three-pointers, a trio of buckets and a free throw. She shot 46-percent on the night and added two assists and a rebound to her stat line.
Air Force guards Kaelin Immel and Briana Autrey-Thompson tallied 11 points each, both shooting roughly 37-percent on the night. Autrey-Thompson registered a game-high four assists and collected four rebounds. Immel snagged two boards and registered two blocks to round out her stat line.
Freshmen Kamri Heath, Allyah Marlett and Nikki McDonald combined for 10 points and eight rebounds, led by Heath's six points off the bench and McDonald's five rebounds.
The Bulldogs were led by Aly Gamez who scored 16 points and snagged a game-high nine rebounds. Hanna Cavinder tallied 13 points and five rebounds while Wytalla Motta scored 11 and collected six boards. Fresno State out-rebounded Air Force, 47-33, and scored 42-of-61 points in the paint.
Both teams got off to a slow start in the Save Mart Center with Fresno State hitting just one in their first five shots while Air Force shot 2-10 from the field by the first media timeout (4:22). A three-pointer from Riley Snyder lifted the Falcons out of their shooting rut, helping Air Force track the Bulldogs down to a 14-10 score by the end of the first quarter.
After a quick bucket exchange to open the second quarter, Fresno State went on an 8-0 scoring run to build an eight-point lead, 22-12, by the five minute mark. Air Force was scoreless for more than four minutes. The Bulldogs capitalized on the Falcons' missed shots, going on a 12-1 scoring-run by the time Air Force sunk a bucket in the paint. At the halftime horn, Fresno State led Air Force, 29-17. The Bulldogs were shooting 37-percent from the field to Air Force's 25-percent- both teams only hit one three-ball in the first half.
Air Force shooting improved early in the second half as the Falcons were shooting 36-percent, scoring 10 points by the media time out (4:43). Fresno State's shooting stayed about the same, also adding 10 points by the media time, holding a 12-point lead, 39-27. Air Force found some traction after the media timeout, cutting their largest deficit of the game (16 points) two just nine, behind Snyder's six-point burst to close the third quarter at 46-37. AF outscored Fresno state, 20-17, in the third.
Air Force and Fresno State opened the final quarter exchanging a pair of buckets before Snyder hit her third three-pointer of the game to bring Air Force within seven points, 52-45, at the media timeout (5:00). The Falcons continued to ball out of the break, going on a 9-0 run behind an Immel three-pointer and an Autrey-Thompson steal that lead to a fast-break bucket, bringing Air Force within two points, 52-50. Fresno State was kept alive by a three-pointer by one of the Cavinder twins, re-extending to a five-point lead. The Falcons were unable to close the gap by the end of regulation, finalizing the loss, 61-52.
Next up, Air Force will take Saturday off before returning to the home court against Nevada, Wednesday (Feb. 5), at 6:30 p.m. The Falcons won the first meeting between the teams, 68-61, in Reno, Nevada.
Team Stats
AFA
FS
FG%
.349
.397
3FG%
.211
.111
FT%
.571
.650
RB
33
47
TO
15
15
STL
12
9
Game Leaders
Pts
16
FGM
6
3FGM
3
FTM
1
Pts
11
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
6
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's BasketballAir Force Women's Basketball 24 25 Season Highlights
Friday, April 11
Women's Basketball 24-25 Highights
Friday, April 11
Warfighter Letricia Baxley
Monday, April 07
Stacy McIntyre and Player WNIT UVU
Friday, March 21
