Falcons tourney run ends after loss to Lady Rebels

LAS VEGAS, Nev.- Air Force was unable to extend its captivating run in the Air Force Reserve Mountain West Conference Tournament, as the Falcons fell to top-seed UNLV 61-50 on Tuesday.

"I thought it was a very hard-fought game, obviously," said head coach Chris Gobrecht. "I was very proud of the effort that our players gave tonight. I thought they played their tails off. I thought they played about as hard as they could possibly play. We just needed to get a few more shots to fall or we needed to get a few more free throws that I thought we probably earned."

Riley Snyder led all players with 19 points, finishing 7-13 from the field. Snyder was a potent scorer from all levels of the floor, knocking down three of her five three-point tries. In two Mountain West Tournament games, Snyder averaged 18 points, having shot 56.5% on 23 total attempts.

"It's just so difficult because we did have such a great season and we just didn't want it to end," said Snyder. "We knew that this was our chance and to kind of have that come to a close in a game like that...yeah, it just, it's really hard. Especially for the seniors who poured so much into this program for four years. So, yeah, it's really tough for us."

Kamri Heath was the other Falcon to finish in double-figures, finishing with 12 points. Heath was 6-13 on the day, primarily finding success with her mid-range jumper as she has all season long.

Briana Autrey-Thompson contributed 8 points in 17-plus minutes off of the bench. She led Air Force with four rebounds. Jo Huntimer shared the game-high with UNLV's Essence Booker, as both players managed four assists. Huntimer's 116 assists this season is tied for the fourth-most in a single season in the Division I era, and the second-highest total by an Air Force freshman in that same span.

Air Force's pressure on defense paid its dividends, as the Falcons created 21 UNLV turnovers, though the Falcons were unable to capitalize on the extra possessions. Air Force finished the evening shooting just under 29%, and only 17.6% from beyond the arc.

Coach Gobrecht's team did well to frustrate UNLV, but the Lady Rebels still connected on 49% of their shots, while decisively winning the battles for points in the paint and in transition.

The Falcons hung with the Lady Rebels throughout the entirety of the game, trailing just 27-23 at halftime. The lead shrunk to just a single basket on multiple occasions early in the 3rd quarter, but the Air Force offense wasn't consistent enough from the field to make up the game-long deficit.

"We had to play that hard and we had to bring the defense," said Gobrecht. "And sometimes though when you're working that hard on one end of the floor it can be tough to have things flow on the other end."

Air Force will await the potential for postseason play.

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