Women’s Basketball Falls Short in Mountain West Opener

U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. – Air Force Women's Basketball, looking to put a bow on a historic start to its season in 2024 and extend early successes into Mountain West play, was unable to overcome shooting woes throughout Sunday's contest, as the Falcons fell 69-63 To New Mexico in Clune Arena.

The Falcons' go-to scorers, junior Milahnie Perry and senior Madison Smith, once again led offensive production, scoring 19 and 18 points, respectively. Sophomore Jordyn Devaughn added 10 points to the score sheet, notching a season high.

Both UNM and Air Force (10-3, 0-1 MW) went back and forth in the early stages of the game, as UNM and Air Force traded leads before the Lobos bookended the opening quarter with a 10-0 run to lead 22-15.

In the second, Perry and Devaughn both hunted down baskets on back-to-back drives, cutting the Falcons' deficit to one possession, but the Lobos closed the first half outscoring Air Force 6-2, sending the Falcons into the locker room down only 31-25 despite going 5-18 from the field in the second quarter.

Entering the third quarter, the Falcons whittled away at New Mexico's lead behind four points apiece for both Devaughn and fellow sophomore Keelie O'Hollaren. A 6-0 Falcon run from O'Hollaren's four and a jumper from junior Emily Adams cut Air Force's deficit down to a single point, but UNM answered with six points in the Falcon paint, resulting in a 43-39 Lobo lead heading into the final quarter.

Air Force, down by as much as nine points with just under three minutes to go in the game, managed to quickly cut the UNM lead back to a one-possession game again behind a pair of made three-pointers for Smith. With two minutes remaining, a travel call on UNM's Viane Cumber was converted into Smith's second trey in the quarter cut the Lobos' advantage to 60-58 with 1:20 to go to give the Falcons a final shot at taking back the lead, but Cumber's fourth-made three-pointer of the game fell on the following possession, essentially putting the game out of reach for the Falcons.

In foul territory, O'Hollaren sunk a three-pointer from the left corner, leaving the Falcons only down 65-61 with 13 seconds to go, but not enough time to overcome Lobo free throws as time expired.

Up Next:
Air Force Women's Basketball is in Boise, Idaho, taking on Boise State on New Years Day at 6:30 p.m. MT at ExtraMile Arena.

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