Sunday, December 4
USAFA, CO
1:00 pm MT
Air Force Academy
4-4,0-0Mountain West
63
vs
60
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UTEP
-62,00 CUSA
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2
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4
F
UTEP
13
14
16
17
60
Air Force
16
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17
63
Falcons Overcome UTEP 63-60 in Pilson’s Return to Action
12/4/2022 5:56:00 PM | Women's Basketball
UNITED STATES AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. – Leading up to the Air Force women's basketball team's Sunday home game against UTEP, the Falcons- based on experience- understood that it would require a complete game to take down the Miners for the first time in program history.
In a 40-minute affair which took similar shape to their overtime loss in El Paso just last season, Sunday's game was once again a wire-to-wire ordeal, falling to the final possession in the waning seconds of regulation. Yet this time around, it was the Falcons who emerged on top, claiming a 63-60 win in Clune Arena and handing UTEP its second loss of the season.
The Falcons (4-4) were led on the floor by a returning Kayla Pilson, who missed the last five games due to a hand injury sustained in practice. Pilson, logging 30 minutes of floor time Sunday, posted 17 points on 8-11 from the field, along with three rebounds, two assists, and three steals. All three steals made by Pilson resulted in Air Force points in the contest.
Air Force opened the game with an early 7-0 lead fueled by a rapid four points earned in the paint by sophomore Madison Smith. After UTEP's Avery Crouse and Air Force senior Nikki McDonald traded threes on opposite ends, Pilson opened her afternoon with a pair of consecutive scoring drives to push the Falcons back out to a seven-point lead.
A pair of quick three-pointers for UTEP cut the Falcons' lead to one as the first quarter came to a close. Senior Kamri Heath stymied the Miners' advance with nine seconds remaining in the first quarter with a midrange bucket to give Air Force a 16-13 lead after one. Heath finished the game with nine points, four rebounds, two assists, and two steals.
Falcons' starters led the charge into the second quarter, with McDonald, Heath and Smith each finding the net in the first two minutes to keep Air Force ahead. Smith's driving layup off a Pilson steal at 8:08 pushed Air Force to a nine-point lead- the largest deficit of the game. Five more points for Pilson capped by a three-pointer found at the left wing by sophomore Jo Huntimer and a layup for McDonald assisted by Pilson held off a UTEP surge in the closing minutes of the half, with the Falcons holding onto a four-point advantage at the break. Pilson closed her first half with nine points on 4-5 shooting.
Smith led the third quarter for Air Force, scoring on a three-pointer and second-chance layup within the second minute of the half to keep the Falcons ahead by seven. With 4:09 remaining in the third, Pilson managed a driving layup generated on her own steal, turning over UTEP's Erin Wilson. With the Falcons' offense cooling off late in the third, Pilson's sixth made basket of the afternoon with 2:13 remining in the quarter broke up a UTEP scoring run, allowing Air Force to hold onto a 46-43 advantage entering the final frame.
Smith, leading the Falcons in scoring through the first three quarters, earned her fourth and fifth fouls in succession with eight minutes remaining in regulation, fouling out of the game. It wasn't but 35 seconds later that a Montrose Soleil layup gave UTEP its first lead of the contest. From there, the lead exchanged hands four times before a 5-0 run completed by a pair of made free-throws for Heath gave Air Force a one-point lead which they would not give up.
Leading 61-60 with just three seconds remaining, UTEP's Jazion Jackson drove up the middle for the winning score but was called on an offensive foul drawn by McDonald, giving possession back to the leading Falcons. A pair of made free-throws for Huntimer sealed the Air Force win.
Smith, in the sixth start of her Air Force career, bowed out of the contest with 13 points on 6-7 shooting in just 20 minutes played, putting up her fifth double-digit performance in eight games.
McDonald closed Sunday with 14 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals.
Head Coach Chris Gobrecht on UTEP, and overcoming the Miner's strengths:
"That's a tough team and they do a good job of playing to their strengths. They're big, they're physical, and we had such a tough time with them, especially in the second half. They were going hard to the offensive glass, and we had a tough time stopping drives down the middle. This is something we're going to see a lot of, so I think it was very good experience for our pressure defense because this is how teams try to beat it- They try to lull us, holding the ball at the top for a long time, then they go, and you're caught flat-footed. So, this was a good learning experience for us.
"That's the first time anyone has pressed us all game- and I'll give them credit, I didn't think they would. I knew they had the press and it was a big part of their game, so I knew we were going to have to deal with it. But that was a big adjustment for us today, breaking a press and trying to get into an offense."
On where the difference was found after Smith fouled out:
"I think we had some good stops, and some calls went our way. Nikki (McDonald) getting the charge was huge, Jo (Huntimer's) free throws, Faith (Shelton)'s drive down the middle and her quality minutes today … I think it was just going to be one of those games, and during the timeouts, I warned them that this was going to be a battle to the end. So put your seatbelt on and let's just plan on it being close."
On Kayla Pilson's return and contributions to Sunday's win:
"(KP) rebounds the ball well and she gives us another athletic body on the floor- which against a team like that is hugely important. She just gives us a different dimension, which played a big part in our win tonight. I'm very happy to see her back and playing well."
Air Force women's basketball picks up on its home stand on Wednesday, hosting UCCS in Clune Arena at 6:30 p.m.
In a 40-minute affair which took similar shape to their overtime loss in El Paso just last season, Sunday's game was once again a wire-to-wire ordeal, falling to the final possession in the waning seconds of regulation. Yet this time around, it was the Falcons who emerged on top, claiming a 63-60 win in Clune Arena and handing UTEP its second loss of the season.
The Falcons (4-4) were led on the floor by a returning Kayla Pilson, who missed the last five games due to a hand injury sustained in practice. Pilson, logging 30 minutes of floor time Sunday, posted 17 points on 8-11 from the field, along with three rebounds, two assists, and three steals. All three steals made by Pilson resulted in Air Force points in the contest.
Air Force opened the game with an early 7-0 lead fueled by a rapid four points earned in the paint by sophomore Madison Smith. After UTEP's Avery Crouse and Air Force senior Nikki McDonald traded threes on opposite ends, Pilson opened her afternoon with a pair of consecutive scoring drives to push the Falcons back out to a seven-point lead.
A pair of quick three-pointers for UTEP cut the Falcons' lead to one as the first quarter came to a close. Senior Kamri Heath stymied the Miners' advance with nine seconds remaining in the first quarter with a midrange bucket to give Air Force a 16-13 lead after one. Heath finished the game with nine points, four rebounds, two assists, and two steals.
Falcons' starters led the charge into the second quarter, with McDonald, Heath and Smith each finding the net in the first two minutes to keep Air Force ahead. Smith's driving layup off a Pilson steal at 8:08 pushed Air Force to a nine-point lead- the largest deficit of the game. Five more points for Pilson capped by a three-pointer found at the left wing by sophomore Jo Huntimer and a layup for McDonald assisted by Pilson held off a UTEP surge in the closing minutes of the half, with the Falcons holding onto a four-point advantage at the break. Pilson closed her first half with nine points on 4-5 shooting.
Smith led the third quarter for Air Force, scoring on a three-pointer and second-chance layup within the second minute of the half to keep the Falcons ahead by seven. With 4:09 remaining in the third, Pilson managed a driving layup generated on her own steal, turning over UTEP's Erin Wilson. With the Falcons' offense cooling off late in the third, Pilson's sixth made basket of the afternoon with 2:13 remining in the quarter broke up a UTEP scoring run, allowing Air Force to hold onto a 46-43 advantage entering the final frame.
Smith, leading the Falcons in scoring through the first three quarters, earned her fourth and fifth fouls in succession with eight minutes remaining in regulation, fouling out of the game. It wasn't but 35 seconds later that a Montrose Soleil layup gave UTEP its first lead of the contest. From there, the lead exchanged hands four times before a 5-0 run completed by a pair of made free-throws for Heath gave Air Force a one-point lead which they would not give up.
Leading 61-60 with just three seconds remaining, UTEP's Jazion Jackson drove up the middle for the winning score but was called on an offensive foul drawn by McDonald, giving possession back to the leading Falcons. A pair of made free-throws for Huntimer sealed the Air Force win.
Smith, in the sixth start of her Air Force career, bowed out of the contest with 13 points on 6-7 shooting in just 20 minutes played, putting up her fifth double-digit performance in eight games.
McDonald closed Sunday with 14 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals.
Head Coach Chris Gobrecht on UTEP, and overcoming the Miner's strengths:
"That's a tough team and they do a good job of playing to their strengths. They're big, they're physical, and we had such a tough time with them, especially in the second half. They were going hard to the offensive glass, and we had a tough time stopping drives down the middle. This is something we're going to see a lot of, so I think it was very good experience for our pressure defense because this is how teams try to beat it- They try to lull us, holding the ball at the top for a long time, then they go, and you're caught flat-footed. So, this was a good learning experience for us.
"That's the first time anyone has pressed us all game- and I'll give them credit, I didn't think they would. I knew they had the press and it was a big part of their game, so I knew we were going to have to deal with it. But that was a big adjustment for us today, breaking a press and trying to get into an offense."
On where the difference was found after Smith fouled out:
"I think we had some good stops, and some calls went our way. Nikki (McDonald) getting the charge was huge, Jo (Huntimer's) free throws, Faith (Shelton)'s drive down the middle and her quality minutes today … I think it was just going to be one of those games, and during the timeouts, I warned them that this was going to be a battle to the end. So put your seatbelt on and let's just plan on it being close."
On Kayla Pilson's return and contributions to Sunday's win:
"(KP) rebounds the ball well and she gives us another athletic body on the floor- which against a team like that is hugely important. She just gives us a different dimension, which played a big part in our win tonight. I'm very happy to see her back and playing well."
Air Force women's basketball picks up on its home stand on Wednesday, hosting UCCS in Clune Arena at 6:30 p.m.
Team Stats
UTEP
USAFA
FG%
.407
.441
3FG%
.375
.273
FT%
.667
.571
RB
36
33
TO
20
13
STL
6
9
Game Leaders
Pts
17
FGM
8
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
14
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Pts
13
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's BasketballG/F
/ Women's BasketballG
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