Women’s basketball claims 68-60 win over Northern Colorado

U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. – The Air Force women's basketball team, facing off against Northern Colorado on Saturday afternoon in its third game in seven days, claimed a 68-60 victory over the Bears on Saturday afternoon in Clune Arena.

Air Force (6-4) found points from a number of contributors in critical moments on Saturday, as four Falcons finished in double digits. Junior Madison Smith led all scoring with 20 points on 8-11 (.727, season high) shooting, tying a season-high set against UCCS on Tuesday. Milahnie Perry, finishing with 17 and going 6-7 from the free throw line, extended her streak of double-digit games to ten. Senior Dasha Macmillan set a season-best, earning 15 points off of 7-11 (.636) from the field. Freshman Keelie O'Hollaren found her stride on Saturday, adding 12 points. Air Force improved to 6-0 when three or more players score in double digits.

UNC (3-4) opened on a 6-0 run, taking advantage of an 0-6 shooting start for the Falcons. Coming out of the first media timeout, a Keelie O'Hollaren layup along the left baseline, followed by a three-pointer out on the right wing on the following possession sparked a 9-0 run to claim the Falcons' first lead of the contest with just over three minutes remaining in the first quarter. After a three from UNC's Seneca Hackley, Air Force found itself tied at 11 at the end of the quarter.

Opening the second, the Bears took a four-point lead in the opening three minutes, but a second-chance bucket for freshman Jordyn Devaughn and midcourt steal turned fast-break layup for Madison Smith on back-to-back possessions rapidly brought Air Force back to a 15-all tie. From that point, the Falcons embarked on a 15-2 streak, going for nine-straight points which included a successful and-one opportunity for Macmillan at the 2:39 mark. The Falcons' strong half finished with Smith beating the halftime buzzer as Alexis Cortez drove into UNC traffic, kicked it out to a waiting Smith on the left wing, whose basket put Air Force out to a 29-20 lead at half.

Air Force, up by just a point at the start of the fourth quarter, was fueled to the finish line by a 15-point showcase for Perry in the final eight minutes of regulation. An 8-0 Air Force run comprised of five points from Perry and O'Hollaren's second made three of the game, extended the Falcons' lead back out to seven, before a Jayda McNabb steal at midcourt-turned fast break for Perry gave Falcons a 50-41 lead with seven to go. Air Force managed to get ahead by as many as 15 points, but UNC continued to chip away at the Air Force lead, cutting the score back to as little as 63-58 inside of the final minute. The Falcons went 7-8 from the free throw line in the final 60 seconds with UNC in foul territory to clinch the win.

Dasha Macmillan on being matched up against opponents' biggest players:
"I will say its kind of fun to play against girls that are bigger than you, because I think it's a challenge … and its fun to (play our game and to) frustrate them and make them perform not as well.

Macmillan on providing an offensive boost:
Usually, I am focused on defense primarily, so offense is kind of a plus if I can get there. It feels nice (being able to find an offensive rhythm); It's very rewarding, because I put most of my energy into playing defense."

Head Coach Chris Gobrecht's first impressions:
"I think that everything (Air Force) did to get the lead was fantastic. I felt great about how we were playing defense, felt great about the kind of shots we were getting and shots we were knocking down. Everything was a positive. The only negative was the turnovers, and I thought that was where our inexperience really showed … obviously that's what he have to take a look at, because maybe next time we don't have a 14, 15 point lead, and we can't let that happen. I think it's a really good lesson from that standpoint.

"For us to build that lead with Taylor (Britt) in foul trouble and Jayda in foul trouble … that was a good feeling, to be able to have them on the floor and to be able to leave with the lead was a really nice feeling."

Coach on Milahnie Perry's performance and her continued successes this season:
She was big in the fourth quarter. She's such a good player. Don't underestimate her just because of her size. She's got great elevation, great touch on the ball and we're out there asking her to play point guard."

On Dasha's contributions against UNC:
"That's probably the best I've seen her play. And for her to have that kind of defensive assignment night-after-night against players with four, five inches on her over and over again, she just keeps working."

"… She's a very intelligent player … Her senior status really shows up in how well she understands what's going on. And she also talks to her team the whole time, and that's invaluable. That's what you want from a senior. She talks to her team the whole time, kind of tells them what's going on, what they need to fix and then she has this humongous assignment every night of guarding these sequoias in the key. She just keeps battling."

Up Next:
Air Force women's basketball returns to Clune Arena on Saturday, Dec. 16 to host Weber State at 1 p.m.

Women’s basketball claims 68-60 win over Northern Colorado

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Team Stats

Madison Smith

Milahnie Perry

Dasha Macmillan

Keelie O'Hollaren

Players Mentioned

Alexis Cortez

Dasha Macmillan

Jayda McNabb

Keelie O'Hollaren

Milahnie Perry

Madison Smith

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