Women’s Basketball Closes Non-Conference With 69-40 Win at Portland State

PORTLAND, Ore. – Air Force Women's Basketball put a bow on a historic start to its 2024-25 season, closing non-conference play with a 69-40 road win at Portland State on Friday afternoon at Viking Pavilion.

Lake Oswego, Oregon native Keelie O'Hollaren – playing in front of a contingent of family and friends – along with fellow junior Milahnie Perry, both logged a game high 18 points, with O'Hollaren going 4-9 from three-point range to notch a season best; Sophomore Alexis Cortez contributed an additional season high 14 points; Senior Madison Smith finished with 11 points and eight rebounds.

In the same season in which the Falcons started 9-1 on the way to their best start in the program's Division I history and an untouched 6-0 mark at home, the Falcons finished non-conference play at 10-2, marking the first 10-win non-conference finish in the program's Division I history.

Air Force (10-2, 0-0 MW) struck early, going up 6-2 behind Perry's first pair of jumpers and a second-chance look for McNabb, but PSU leveled the scoreboard as both teams entered the first-quarter under-five timeout tied at 8-all. From there, the Falcon defense ratcheted down, as Air Force outscored PSU 13-2 for the remainder of the quarter. Perry finished the first with eight points and a 4-5 showing from the field. Sophomore Jordyn Devaughn capped the Falcons' first quarter run with a three-pointer, beating the first-quarter buzzer on the left wing to lift Air Force to a 21-10 lead.

In the second, the Falcons dominated the entire floor up to halftime, holding PSU to 1-9 from the floor and 0-6 to close out the half, while ripping off a 15-0 run which ended on yet another buzzer-beating play, as senior Jo Huntimer dropped in one from deep beyond the arc as time expired to give the Falcons a 36-12 advantage.

PSU found some rhythm after halftime, scoring 17 points in the frame to Air Force's 18. After a baseline jumper for Perry and fast break score for Smith lifted the Falcon tally to 42, the Vikings boke free of a 13-minute scoring drought while earning a 7-2 run, forcing a Falcon timeout. Air Force and PSU went shot-for-shot down the late minutes of the third quarter before O'Hollaren's third three-pointer of the game cooled the PSU down.

The final quarter saw Air Force's lead whittle down to as little as 18 points, before Perry found her first three of the game above the right wing and converted an and-one over Portland State's Alaya Fitzgerald to push the Falcons back up to a 60-36 advantage. A seven-point push for O'Hollaren late in the contest all but secured the Falcons' tenth win of the season.

Up Next:
Air Force is back in Clune Arena on Dec. 29 to open Mountain West play against New Mexico.

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