Wednesday, January 6
USAFA, CO
6 p.m. MT
Air Force Academy
3-5,1-2Mountain West
76
vs
52
Boise State
5-1,2-1Mountain West
1
2
3
4
F
Boise St.
17
7
16
12
52
Air Force
14
22
25
15
76
Photo by: U.S. Air Force photo / Trevor Co
Air Force Flies by Boise State, 76-52
1/6/2021 9:19:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Air Force women’s basketball impacts the record book as they posted their largest margin of victory over a MW opponent since joining the league in 1999
USAF ACADEMY, Colo. – In its first conference win of the season, Air Force impacted its Division I record book with a stunning 76-52 victory over Mountain West front runners Boise State (5-1, 2-1 MW), beating the Broncos by 24 points for the Falcons' largest margin of victory over a MW opponent since joining the league in 1999. Air Force (3-5, 1-2 MW), is back in the win column against Boise State for the first time since 2013.
On a stellar night for Air Force, five Falcons posted double-figure scoring marks, led by senior guard Emily Conroe's 14 points. Riley Snyder, Air Force's leading scorer averaging 19.0 points per game, dropped 13 points while teammates Briana Autrey-Thompson (7 rebounds, 5 assists) and Audrey Gadison (4-4 3FG) scored 12 apiece. Sophomore forward Nikki McDonald equaled her career-best with a 10-point showing while also picking off three steals and three rebounds.
The Falcons, who are eighth in the nation in steals per game, put on a defensive clinic in Clune Arena, picking off 16 steals and helping the Broncos turn the rock over 25 times. Air Force's shackle-defense held the Broncos to a season-low seven points in the second quarter. Conroe and Autrey-Thompson led the game with four steals apiece. Unsung heroes Cierra Winters (4 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals) and Kayla Pilson (4 points, 2 assists, 1 rebound) were also linchpin defenders in the Air Force effort, causing turnovers and taking charges to deter the Broncos from gaining momentum in key points of the game.
Air Force shot well above their season averages, knocking down 42-percent of shots from the floor and 47-percent from long range. Gadison scored her career-high 12 points in her first four field goal attempts, where she shot perfect from beyond the arc (4-4). She finished four-of-five from the floor on the evening. Conroe had the best shooting percentage from the floor, hitting 87-percent of attempts from the field (7-8). At the free throw line, the Falcons hit 84-percent (16-19), led by senior guard Kaelin Immel who was perfect from charity stripe (6-6), along with Autrey-Thompson who knocked down four-of-five attempts.
Following a 13-2 Air Force scoring run in the third quarter, the Falcons held a 21-point advantage over the Broncos heading into the fourth. Air Force stayed the course and did not let up, putting on another 13-point scoring run and amassing a 34-point lead with less than five minutes remaining in the game. The Falcons held the lead over Boise State for 25-minutes, a time stamp that had not been previously achieved against the Broncos.
Boise State was led by Jade Loville's 16 points. Both the Falcons and Broncos snagged 38 rebounds on the game.
"For us personally as a coaching staff, we've never beat Boise, so it means a great deal to beat Boise" head coach Chris Gobrecht said. "I wouldn't have cared if was by two points, I was just happy to get the win!"
"We just had a good night," Gobrecht continued. "We had two three-pointers off the glass and were in the right place to pick the ball up off the floor, it was just our night. All said, I think it was fueled by our pressure defense. That is a very proud program, and we know that they're going to come back on Friday with smoke pouring out of their ears so we've got to get ready."
The Falcons and Broncos will conclude their two-game series at 2:30 p.m., Friday (Jan. 8), in Clune Arena.
On a stellar night for Air Force, five Falcons posted double-figure scoring marks, led by senior guard Emily Conroe's 14 points. Riley Snyder, Air Force's leading scorer averaging 19.0 points per game, dropped 13 points while teammates Briana Autrey-Thompson (7 rebounds, 5 assists) and Audrey Gadison (4-4 3FG) scored 12 apiece. Sophomore forward Nikki McDonald equaled her career-best with a 10-point showing while also picking off three steals and three rebounds.
The Falcons, who are eighth in the nation in steals per game, put on a defensive clinic in Clune Arena, picking off 16 steals and helping the Broncos turn the rock over 25 times. Air Force's shackle-defense held the Broncos to a season-low seven points in the second quarter. Conroe and Autrey-Thompson led the game with four steals apiece. Unsung heroes Cierra Winters (4 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals) and Kayla Pilson (4 points, 2 assists, 1 rebound) were also linchpin defenders in the Air Force effort, causing turnovers and taking charges to deter the Broncos from gaining momentum in key points of the game.
Air Force shot well above their season averages, knocking down 42-percent of shots from the floor and 47-percent from long range. Gadison scored her career-high 12 points in her first four field goal attempts, where she shot perfect from beyond the arc (4-4). She finished four-of-five from the floor on the evening. Conroe had the best shooting percentage from the floor, hitting 87-percent of attempts from the field (7-8). At the free throw line, the Falcons hit 84-percent (16-19), led by senior guard Kaelin Immel who was perfect from charity stripe (6-6), along with Autrey-Thompson who knocked down four-of-five attempts.
Following a 13-2 Air Force scoring run in the third quarter, the Falcons held a 21-point advantage over the Broncos heading into the fourth. Air Force stayed the course and did not let up, putting on another 13-point scoring run and amassing a 34-point lead with less than five minutes remaining in the game. The Falcons held the lead over Boise State for 25-minutes, a time stamp that had not been previously achieved against the Broncos.
Boise State was led by Jade Loville's 16 points. Both the Falcons and Broncos snagged 38 rebounds on the game.
"For us personally as a coaching staff, we've never beat Boise, so it means a great deal to beat Boise" head coach Chris Gobrecht said. "I wouldn't have cared if was by two points, I was just happy to get the win!"
"We just had a good night," Gobrecht continued. "We had two three-pointers off the glass and were in the right place to pick the ball up off the floor, it was just our night. All said, I think it was fueled by our pressure defense. That is a very proud program, and we know that they're going to come back on Friday with smoke pouring out of their ears so we've got to get ready."
The Falcons and Broncos will conclude their two-game series at 2:30 p.m., Friday (Jan. 8), in Clune Arena.
Team Stats
Boise
USAFA
FG%
.390
.419
3FG%
.000
.471
FT%
.462
.842
RB
38
38
TO
25
17
STL
8
16
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
14
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
13
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
3
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
4
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's Basketball
G/F
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's Basketball
G
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