Air Force pulls away from SDSU, wins 59-46

SAN DIEGO, Calif.- Entering Thursday night, Air Force had won three of the previous five matchups with San Diego State. That figure extends to four out of the last six, as the Falcons separated from the Aztecs in the third quarter en route to a 59-46 win at Viejas Arena.

After being forced into a six-woman rotation on Monday against Nevada, Air Force was nearly back to full-strength on Thursday, as the lineup was boosted by the returns of Riley Snyder and Haley Jones.

Snyder scored a game-high 17 points to go with eight rebounds, as she finished 7-12 from inside the arc. Jones, who hadn't seen game action since January 15, came off the bench to post her second double-double of the season. The senior scored 11 points to go with her 14 rebounds, six of which came on the offensive side of the floor. Jones also managed a game-high four steals.

Cierra Winters was also in double-figures with 11 points while dishing out a team-high four assists. Her performance against the Aztecs extends her streak of 10+ points to 12-consecutive games.

The Air Force defense harassed San Diego State for much of the evening, holding the Aztecs to a 31.4% field goal percentage. That figure fell even further from behind the three-point line, where the home side made only two of 14 attempts. The smaller Falcons also controlled the glass, outrebounding the Aztecs 42-35, including 14-9 in terms of offensive rebounds. Air Force's work underneath the rim led to a 32-20 advantage in regards to points in the paint as well as a 15-4 edge in second-chance points.

Both teams failed to take control in the first-half, as neither side shot above 31% over the first 20 minutes. Even so, the Falcons carried a 24-21 lead into halftime.

The Falcons best work came in the third quarter, as Air Force shot 57%, including 3-3 from deep. Air Force opened the quarter on a 14-6 run to take a 38-27 lead just before the period's media timeout at the 5:03 mark. The biggest basket came with 10 seconds left in the quarter, as the Air Force offense ran the shot clock down to four seconds before Taylor Britt buried a corner three to extend the Falcons lead to 47-33.

The visitors led by as many as 16 points early in the final frame, and never less than 10 throughout the fourth quarter. The Air Force defense kept San Diego State from regaining momentum, limiting the Aztecs to 33% shooting over the final 10 minutes, including 0-4 from three-point range.

Now 11-9 overall, the Falcons have secured the highest win total in a season in Chris Gobrecht's tenure at Air Force with nine regular season games still remaining. As well, Air Force's five conference wins before the month of February is the most since the program joined the Mountain West in 1999. Air Force's record for Mountain West wins is seven, set in 2019-20.

Next, Air Force travels to Las Vegas to play conference-leader UNLV on Saturday, January 29. Tip-off is scheduled for 3:00 pm MT.

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Team Stats

Riley Snyder

Haley Jones

Cierra Winters

Taylor Britt

Players Mentioned

Taylor Britt

Haley Jones

Riley Snyder

Cierra Winters

Players Mentioned

Taylor Britt

Haley Jones

Riley Snyder

Cierra Winters

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