Thrilling finish leads women’s basketball to 65-63 victory in season debut over Denver

U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. – On a night of firsts for many of the newest members of the Air Force women's basketball team, the Falcons' finish against regional neighbor Denver on Monday was one that many of the more seasoned members of the roster have become all too familiar with.

Rightfully dubbed the "Cardiac Cadets," the 2022-23 Falcons withstood 14 games which finished inside of two possessions or less, with not one of those contests resulting in overtime. The Falcons' 2023-24 season opener against DU had a similar air about it, as Air Force held on into the final possession of regulation to claim its fourth-straight win over Denver, defeating the Pioneers 65-63 in Clune Arena.

Junior Madison Smith led the pack in scoring, totaling 18 for the night – Yet it was her efforts in the waning seconds of regulation that pushed Air Force across the finish line. After a red-hot start that had the Falcons out to as high as a 16-point advantage early on in the second quarter, DU had slowly crawled back into the contest, eventually tying and taking its first lead of the entire game with just 45 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. Smith, defending Pioneer Jojo Jones (12 pts, 13 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl), let her opponent slip past her in the paint, allowing Denver to put itself in a winning position.

Smith, in response, drove up the floor and cut into the right of the paint, taking a reverse layup that brought the score back to 63-all. After a missed layup on the other end for Jones, DU's Angelina Robles was drawn into a foul on a driving Smith with just 1.5 seconds remaining, who otherwise would have been left with a last-second heave from well beyond the three-point line to avoid overtime. Smith, an 83 percent free-throw shooter in 2022-23, made both of her attempts to clinch the victory for Air Force.

Including Smith, three Falcons scored in double-digits on the evening; sophomore Milahnie Perry finished with 11 on the night, and freshman Keelie O'Hollaren made her collegiate debut to the tune of 16 points on 4-6 from three-point range and 6-14 from the field. O'Hollaren's 16 points is the most by a freshman since Perry totaled 22 against Wyoming on Jan. 11.

Fellow newcomer Jayda McNabb, starting for the Falcons in her first game, totaled nine points on the evening and three blocks – one more than any individual Falcon had in 2022-23.

A hot start for Air Force proved critical in its Monday victory, as the Falcons opened the contest making six of its first seven baskets on the way to a rapid 15-3 lead just over five minutes into the game. Through that stretch, the Falcons managed to hold DU to just 2-16 and 1-7 coming out of the second quarter. DU's scoring efforts largely outpaced the Falcons throughout the next three quarters in part behind a 22-point, 4-9 three-point effort from sophomore Emma Smith.

Monday's victory marks head coach Chris Gobrecht's 70^th career Air Force win, and the Falcons' fourth-straight win over DU - The first such streak for the Falcons over Denver since winning five in a row from 1978-80 as a member of Division II.

Madison Smith on her finish:
"I had some big errors defensively that can't be happening in the regular season. Luckily, we were able to come through at the end … I wasn't thinking (about the last shot of the game), I was just trying to make up for my errors on defense."

Smith on whether there was a game plan for the Falcons' final possession:
"No – My teammates and I were laughing about it in the locker room. I think I was looking for someone to foul me, because I knew I couldn't make a half-court shot."

On the freshmen:
"The freshmen … play a huge role on this team. We have some major contributors on this team that are underclassmen, and I think that is really good for this program going forward."

Keelie O'Hollaren on her debut:
"I talked to my family before (tonight), and it was just all about gratitude and I'm just really grateful to be here and have a chance … I was just trying to come out tonight and make the most of the opportunity."

O'Hollaren on the 2023 freshman class:
"I love all of the freshmen. We get along well, and I'm really happy to be playing alongside them. Every single one of them has a (role to play) with this team … the learning curve is steep, but we're all learning together.

"We're a brand-new team, and we've got a lot of new pieces, so its just part of the growing pains and we'll figure out the defense so maybe that gap (holds)."

Head coach Chris Gobrecht on Monday's result and her first impressions of the 2023-24 Falcons:
"Thank goodness for that good start. I felt like we just tried desperately to stay ahead of (Denver) all night. But that's a young team. And there were times when we had four freshmen on the floor … I think what is happening is we're asking older kids who have been role players to now have to step up and define what's going to happen out there a little bit. And I think they'll learn how to do that.

"I figured it'd take a little time to come along offensively, even though we have spurts where we look unstoppable. But … when you try to run a motion with a bunch of kids that haven't played together before, its going to take a little while for it to click a little bit.

"(Teams) are going to do what Denver did to us – Don't pass it, just get out of the way and dribble. And so we have to learn to play team defense in that situation, and that's where - to me - our inexperience comes in. We don't understand yet how to rotate over, how to rotate down onto shooters, and that kind of thing."

Gobrecht on her 2023-24 freshmen:
"(They are) the most talented freshman class we've ever had across the board. And even the freshmen that didn't play – They're really good. They give our kids a run for their money in practice. It's just that Keelie and Alexis in particular played at a really high level in their high school and club programs, so they've made the adjustments a little bit easier.

"Jayda McNabb played at (USAFA Prep), and she's just a little bit older, and she is just a kid that plays everywhere. So those are just three really good freshmen … and they're only going to keep getting better, so that's kind of exciting."

Coach on if O'Hollaren has a green light to shoot the three:
"Absolutely – Because her release is so quick. So, if she gets a little bit of daylight, I don't ever want her second-guessing it, because she does have such a quick release. And that kind of puts her in a different category as a shooter … There's a difference when you can lock and load that quick. And she wants somebody to always be thinking about her scoring the ball. She's a scorer through and through – but she keeps working hard at the other stuff too."

Coach G's impressions on game script and how the Falcons adjusted:
"I was not pleased at all with how (Denver) kept driving to the rim, but we didn't adjust well to how the game was being called, and then we got really timid. And that's when they just started going right past us. But a big part of experience is knowing how to help across, rotate to shooters and all that … we just need to keep working on it … We got the right stuff, they just still got a lot to learn."

Up Next:
Air Force women's basketball (1-0) opens on the road with a Veteran's Day matchup with the Houston Cougars on Nov. 10.

Thrilling finish leads women’s basketball to 65-63 victory in season debut over Denver

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Team Stats

Madison Smith

Keelie O'Hollaren

Milahnie Perry

Jayda McNabb

Players Mentioned

Jayda McNabb

Keelie O'Hollaren

Milahnie Perry

Madison Smith

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