Air Force Opens MW Slate at Utah State

GAME 06 & 07: AIR FORCE (2-3, 0-0 MW)
at UTAH STATE (2-4, 0-1 MW)
Game 06: 2 p.m. MT, Thursday, Dec. 31
Game 07: 2 p.m. MT, Saturday, Jan. 2
Dee Glen Smith Spectrum, Logan, Utah

Air Force opens the Mountain West Conference slate with a two-game series at Utah State on December 31 and January 2. Both games are slated for a 2 p.m. MT start. The Falcons split last season's series with the Aggies, 1-1, winning in Logan and taking a loss at USAFA.

THE SERIES AGAINST THE AGGIES
-Air Force is 5-12 against Utah State in the all-time series
-The Falcons are 2-6 when playing the Aggies in Logan
-AF and USU split the series last season, 1-1, with Air Force winning on the road and losing at home
-Utah State won the last meeting by a point, 53-52, at USAFA
-78 is the most points AF has scored against USU

UP NEXT
Air Force returns to the Academy to host Boise State in a two-game series, on January 6 and 8. Tip-off is slated for 6 p.m. MT on Wednesday (Jan. 6), and 2:30 p.m. MT on Friday (Jan. 8). The Falcons will take the court with their sights set on ending a 14-game losing streak to the Broncos.

LAST TIME OUT
Air Force women's basketball (2-3) rolled to a 94-65 win over Portland State (1-1) Monday afternoon (Dec. 28) in non-conference action at Clune Arena. The 94 points was the most scored in the Chris Gobrecht era at the Academy and the second-most in Div. I play for the Falcons.

Junior forward Riley Snyder scored 27 points to lead the Falcons. The game marked her third-straight 20-point performance this season. Freshman Kayla Pilson scored 12 and Nikki McDonald added 10 points, marking season-high scoring numbers for the young Falcons.

Air Force shot a scorching 60.9 percent from the field and 53.3 percent from three-point range. The Falcons defense held the Vikings to 36 percent shooting on the day, while forcing 24 turnovers.

AUTREY-THOMPSON LEADS FROM THE FRONT
Air Force point guard Briana Autrey-Thompson is the Falcons' second leading scorer after five games, averaging 16.4 points per game, a mark that ranks her in a tie for eighth in the Mountain West. She led the Falcons with a 25-point showing in the season-opener against Denver, marking a career-high performance for the junior out of Suffolk, Virginia. Two games later, she pushed her career scoring high to 26 points against Western Colorado.

Autrey-Thompson has displayed her utility on both sides of the ball, averaging 4.8 assists per game (3rd in MW) and averaging 4.2 steals per game (1st in MW, 5^th in the NCAA). Air Force is averaging 13.0 steals per game, to lead the MW and ranking ninth in the NCAA. The Falcons have picked off 65 steals this season, the most in the MW.

SNYDER SCORES
Riley Snyder leads the Falcons in scoring at the conclusion of the non-conference schedule, averaging 19.2 points per game so far this season, a mark that ranks her second in the Mountain West. She is on a three-game 20-point-plus scoring streak. Snyder has also been one of the Falcons' most prolific shooters, knocking down 89-percent of shots from the charity line (3^rd in the MW). Her 2.20 three-pointers per game ranks her sixth in the league.

Snyder is trending upwards on the career points ladder with 826 to date, a mark that ranks her 15th in the Division I era. Her 427 points last season is the third most single-season points in the Division I era, behind two of Immel's single-season marks [(2017-18, 464, 1st) (2019-20, 445 pts, 2nd)].

PUTTING IN THE TIME
Junior guard Emily Conroe has played in 96 career games making 82 starts. With the exception of one missed game due to COVID quarantine protocol, she has played in every game that Air Force has scheduled since she arrived in 2017.

AROUND THE MOUNTAIN WEST
• Air Force is averaging 13.0 steals per game, ranking ninth in the NCAA. The Falcons have recorded a total of 65 steals this season, which is the most in the MW. Briana Autrey-Thompson is fifth in the nation in steals per game (4.2).
• Boise State owns a turnover margin of 9.33, which is the sixth best mark in the nation. The Broncos have forced 66 turnovers, while turning the ball over just 38 times.
• Colorado State has posted the third-best assist-to-turnover ratio (1.73) in the NCAA in 2020-21. The Rams are also 15th in the nation in assists (140) dished out.
• Colorado State and Boise State rank in the top 25 in the nation in field goal percentage. The Rams are No. 11 with a 49.6 field goal percentage, while the Broncos are No. 20 with a 48.2 field goal percentage.
• Colorado State's McKenna Hofschild has dished out 51 assists this season, which is the most in the Conference and third in the country and just five assists behind the national leader.
• Nevada is shooting 78.5 percent from the free-throw line, which tops the Mountain West and ranks 15th in the nation. The Wolf Pack have made 62 of their 79 attempts from the charity stripe.
• New Mexico is averaging 20.0 assists per game this season, good for the eighth-highest assist average in the country.
• San José State is limiting opponents to shooting 33.9 percent from the field, which is the 27th-best field goal percentage defense in the Division I women's basketball.
• SJSU's Ayzhiana Basallo is one of 13 players nationally with a perfect shooting percentage at the free throw line. She has made all 10 attempts from the charity stripe.
• UNLV has made 124 free throws this season, ranking No. 11 in the nation.
• Utah State is averaging 32.7 defensive rebounds

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Players Mentioned

Briana Autrey-Thompson

Emily Conroe

Nikki McDonald

Kayla Pilson

Riley Snyder

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