Saturday, December 10
USAFA, CO
1:00 pm MT
Air Force Academy
70
vs
73
Utah Tech
Pilson Posts Career-High Double-Double in One-Possession Loss to Utah Tech
12/10/2022 4:57:00 PM | Women's Basketball
U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. – At Clune Arena on Saturday in another tight contest for the Air Force women's basketball team, the Falcons held a Utah Tech squad averaging 91.4 points per-game (fifth-most in the nation) to its lowest score of the season, but ultimately fell to the Trailblazers, 73-70, in the waning seconds of the contest.
Air Force (5-5, 0-0 MWC) was led on the floor by junior Kayla Pilson, who reset her career-high with 21 points on 9-14 from the field. In addition, Pilson logged 11 rebounds and two steals on the afternoon, recording double-digit boards in consecutive games.
Senior Kamri Heath posted 13 points, two rebounds and two steals in her ninth double-digit outing of the Falcons' non-conference schedule.
Sophomore Madison Smith got the Falcons going on the right foot in the opening quarter with a rapid five points in the first four minutes of play, with Pilson following up with a six-point surge in the final two minutes, driving a Falcon 8-0 run to close the quarter and keep Air Force out to a seven-point lead.
In the second, after a three-minute dry spell for the Falcons was broken up by a Milahnie Perry three-pointer from the left wing, Air Force managed to hold onto a seven-point lead until Pilson got the Falcon offense moving again off her own steal to drive the length of the field for a right-side layup with 53 seconds remaining in the half. With Utah Tech owning possession with the shot clock off, junior Taylor Britt managed to turn over Trailblazer Macie Warren to give Pilson a transition layup with two seconds remaining, awarding Air Force a 38-31 lead heading into the locker room.
Utah Tech flipped the script on the Falcons to start the second half, opening up an 8-0 run to gain its first lead since the early minutes of the contest. From there, the lead exchanged hands eight times, with Air Force ultimately heading into the final quarter with a 52-51 lead after a second-chance layup from senior Nikki McDonald beat the buzzer.
Pilson opened the fourth quarter with a pair of successful attempts at the rim, improving her total to 19 and surpassing her previous high set against UTEP on Dec. 4. A subsequent three-pointer from McDonald gave the Falcons a 59-54 lead with 7:42 remaining in regulation.
After a 5-0 Utah Tech run tied the contest at 59 apiece, freshman Faith Shelton answered with a layup of her own, matched by Trailblazer Amber Kartchner on the opposite end to keep the score even. Shelton responded in-kind, scoring off a backdoor find from Perry to give the lead back to Air Force. With two minutes remaining, sophomore Jo Huntimer drove in a layup assisted by Britt, drawing the shooting foul and making good on her trip to the line to take a four-point Falcon lead.
Utah Tech's Warren responded with a pair of layups of her own, drawing the and-one opportunity to tie and ultimately take a 71-70 lead with 50 seconds remaining. A couple of Trailblazer free-throws with the Falcons in foul territory pushed the Utah Tech lead to three, with 12 seconds to go.
On the final possession, Smith's three-point attempt to tie was tipped and sent out of bounds, giving the Falcons one final opportunity to even the score with 2 seconds to go. Britt was found off the right wing with a look at the basket that would not go, sealing the one-possession victory for Utah Tech.
To close non-conference play, the Falcons are back on the road to take on Northwestern (Dec. 17) and Oklahoma State (Dec. 20), before returning to Clune Arena on Dec. 29 to open Mountain West play against Utah State.
Air Force (5-5, 0-0 MWC) was led on the floor by junior Kayla Pilson, who reset her career-high with 21 points on 9-14 from the field. In addition, Pilson logged 11 rebounds and two steals on the afternoon, recording double-digit boards in consecutive games.
Senior Kamri Heath posted 13 points, two rebounds and two steals in her ninth double-digit outing of the Falcons' non-conference schedule.
Sophomore Madison Smith got the Falcons going on the right foot in the opening quarter with a rapid five points in the first four minutes of play, with Pilson following up with a six-point surge in the final two minutes, driving a Falcon 8-0 run to close the quarter and keep Air Force out to a seven-point lead.
In the second, after a three-minute dry spell for the Falcons was broken up by a Milahnie Perry three-pointer from the left wing, Air Force managed to hold onto a seven-point lead until Pilson got the Falcon offense moving again off her own steal to drive the length of the field for a right-side layup with 53 seconds remaining in the half. With Utah Tech owning possession with the shot clock off, junior Taylor Britt managed to turn over Trailblazer Macie Warren to give Pilson a transition layup with two seconds remaining, awarding Air Force a 38-31 lead heading into the locker room.
Utah Tech flipped the script on the Falcons to start the second half, opening up an 8-0 run to gain its first lead since the early minutes of the contest. From there, the lead exchanged hands eight times, with Air Force ultimately heading into the final quarter with a 52-51 lead after a second-chance layup from senior Nikki McDonald beat the buzzer.
Pilson opened the fourth quarter with a pair of successful attempts at the rim, improving her total to 19 and surpassing her previous high set against UTEP on Dec. 4. A subsequent three-pointer from McDonald gave the Falcons a 59-54 lead with 7:42 remaining in regulation.
After a 5-0 Utah Tech run tied the contest at 59 apiece, freshman Faith Shelton answered with a layup of her own, matched by Trailblazer Amber Kartchner on the opposite end to keep the score even. Shelton responded in-kind, scoring off a backdoor find from Perry to give the lead back to Air Force. With two minutes remaining, sophomore Jo Huntimer drove in a layup assisted by Britt, drawing the shooting foul and making good on her trip to the line to take a four-point Falcon lead.
Utah Tech's Warren responded with a pair of layups of her own, drawing the and-one opportunity to tie and ultimately take a 71-70 lead with 50 seconds remaining. A couple of Trailblazer free-throws with the Falcons in foul territory pushed the Utah Tech lead to three, with 12 seconds to go.
On the final possession, Smith's three-point attempt to tie was tipped and sent out of bounds, giving the Falcons one final opportunity to even the score with 2 seconds to go. Britt was found off the right wing with a look at the basket that would not go, sealing the one-possession victory for Utah Tech.
To close non-conference play, the Falcons are back on the road to take on Northwestern (Dec. 17) and Oklahoma State (Dec. 20), before returning to Clune Arena on Dec. 29 to open Mountain West play against Utah State.
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