Wednesday, February 21
San Diego, Calif.
7:00 PM MT
Air Force Academy
12-16,5-10Mountain West
63
at
73
San Diego State
18-10,9-6Mountain West
1
2
3
4
F
Air Force
16
19
18
10
63
San Diego St.
16
16
15
26
73
Women’s basketball falls late at San Diego State
2/22/2024 12:03:00 AM | Women's Basketball
SAN DIEGO – The Air Force women's basketball team was locked into a battle for the second time this season with San Diego State on Wednesday night, but in this instance fell prey to the SDSU defense late in the game, losing 73-63 to the Aztecs, 73-63, at Viejas Arena.
Senior Dasha Macmillan, working to will the Falcons to a victory, tied her career high scoring 20 points on 8-13 FG and 2-3 from three. Freshman Keelie O'Hollaren added 14 points on 4-6 from three-point range, and Milahnie Perry posted 12.
Air Force (12-16, 5-10 MW), despite nearly out-rebounding its first Mountain West road opponent of the season (leading San Diego State in the figure until the final minutes of the contest), faced down a season-high 24 fouls on Wednesday night, leaving the Falcons with a 27-9 discrepancy in free throw attempts on the evening and allowing the Aztecs 19 points from the stripe. Free throws notwithstanding, Air Force held a lead for the majority of the contest and exchanged the lead with SDSU seven times throughout the evening, but fell cold late in the contest, going 0-11 down the final eight minutes of regulation, loosening its grip on the Aztecs and allowing the opponent to slip away late.
Opening the game, Macmillan got the Falcons out to a quick start, as the Air Force senior went 4-5 from the field in the opening quarter, scoring the first pair of Air Force baskets and pairing with freshman Jayda McNabb on back-to-back three-pointers to give the Falcons an early five-point lead. San Diego State, beating the Falcons in transition, scored eight first-quarter points off the fast break to even the tally at 16-16 at first quarter buzzer. The Falcons returned the favor, as five forced turnovers down the back half of the first quarter held San Diego State without a basket through the final five minutes of the period, relegating the Aztecs to just free throws and leaving the contest tied at 16-all entering the second.
SDSU opened the second quarter on a 7-2 run to garner a 23-18 lead three minutes in, but Macmillan responded with a jumper off the left baseline and a deep three-pointer at the top of the arc on consecutive drives, bringing the tally back to even at 23-all. Starting at 5:32, O'Hollaren back-to-back threes triggered a 12-2 Air Force run, giving the Falcons enough breathing room to hold a 35-32 lead at halftime. Going into the locker room, Air Force held a 23-19 advantage in rebounding over SDSU, with nine of ten Falcons logging minutes in the first half contributing to the figure, and Madison Smith/Alexis Cortez accounting for nine.
Exchanging the lead four times in the third quarter, the San Diego State defense began to clamp down on the Falcons, leading Air Force into committing eight turnovers in that space, but found itself on the receiving end of a 10-2 Falcon run to close the quarter, built primarily from O'Hollaren's third and fourth threes of the night to leave Air Force with a 53-47 lead going into the final stretch of regulation.
Entering the final frame, the Falcons' lead quickly evaporated, as SDSU's Abby Prohaska and Adryana Quezada landed a trio of baskets in the first minute to even the score once again at 53-all. Air Force responded once again, adding six to its tally off free throws from Perry and baskets for freshman starters Jayda McNabb and Alexis Cortez. But those ultimately proved to be the Falcons' last of the night, as Air Force failed to produce any more than four points from a pair of trips to the free throw line the remainder of the contest, allowing San Diego State to end the night on a 14-2 run. With just under a minute remaining, O'Hollaren, getting hands on a Prohaska possession at midcourt, drove in transition, drew the shooting foul from under the basket and made good on her free throws to cut the SDSU lead back to 69-63, but with the Aztecs up two possessions heading into foul territory, the Falcons were unable to bridge the gap.
Up Next:
Air Force women's basketball returns to Clune Arena for Senior Day, hosting San Jose State on Saturday at 1 p.m.
Senior Dasha Macmillan, working to will the Falcons to a victory, tied her career high scoring 20 points on 8-13 FG and 2-3 from three. Freshman Keelie O'Hollaren added 14 points on 4-6 from three-point range, and Milahnie Perry posted 12.
Air Force (12-16, 5-10 MW), despite nearly out-rebounding its first Mountain West road opponent of the season (leading San Diego State in the figure until the final minutes of the contest), faced down a season-high 24 fouls on Wednesday night, leaving the Falcons with a 27-9 discrepancy in free throw attempts on the evening and allowing the Aztecs 19 points from the stripe. Free throws notwithstanding, Air Force held a lead for the majority of the contest and exchanged the lead with SDSU seven times throughout the evening, but fell cold late in the contest, going 0-11 down the final eight minutes of regulation, loosening its grip on the Aztecs and allowing the opponent to slip away late.
Opening the game, Macmillan got the Falcons out to a quick start, as the Air Force senior went 4-5 from the field in the opening quarter, scoring the first pair of Air Force baskets and pairing with freshman Jayda McNabb on back-to-back three-pointers to give the Falcons an early five-point lead. San Diego State, beating the Falcons in transition, scored eight first-quarter points off the fast break to even the tally at 16-16 at first quarter buzzer. The Falcons returned the favor, as five forced turnovers down the back half of the first quarter held San Diego State without a basket through the final five minutes of the period, relegating the Aztecs to just free throws and leaving the contest tied at 16-all entering the second.
SDSU opened the second quarter on a 7-2 run to garner a 23-18 lead three minutes in, but Macmillan responded with a jumper off the left baseline and a deep three-pointer at the top of the arc on consecutive drives, bringing the tally back to even at 23-all. Starting at 5:32, O'Hollaren back-to-back threes triggered a 12-2 Air Force run, giving the Falcons enough breathing room to hold a 35-32 lead at halftime. Going into the locker room, Air Force held a 23-19 advantage in rebounding over SDSU, with nine of ten Falcons logging minutes in the first half contributing to the figure, and Madison Smith/Alexis Cortez accounting for nine.
Exchanging the lead four times in the third quarter, the San Diego State defense began to clamp down on the Falcons, leading Air Force into committing eight turnovers in that space, but found itself on the receiving end of a 10-2 Falcon run to close the quarter, built primarily from O'Hollaren's third and fourth threes of the night to leave Air Force with a 53-47 lead going into the final stretch of regulation.
Entering the final frame, the Falcons' lead quickly evaporated, as SDSU's Abby Prohaska and Adryana Quezada landed a trio of baskets in the first minute to even the score once again at 53-all. Air Force responded once again, adding six to its tally off free throws from Perry and baskets for freshman starters Jayda McNabb and Alexis Cortez. But those ultimately proved to be the Falcons' last of the night, as Air Force failed to produce any more than four points from a pair of trips to the free throw line the remainder of the contest, allowing San Diego State to end the night on a 14-2 run. With just under a minute remaining, O'Hollaren, getting hands on a Prohaska possession at midcourt, drove in transition, drew the shooting foul from under the basket and made good on her free throws to cut the SDSU lead back to 69-63, but with the Aztecs up two possessions heading into foul territory, the Falcons were unable to bridge the gap.
Up Next:
Air Force women's basketball returns to Clune Arena for Senior Day, hosting San Jose State on Saturday at 1 p.m.
Team Stats
USAFA
SDSU
FG%
.348
.397
3FG%
.292
.308
FT%
.889
.704
RB
41
43
TO
20
17
STL
6
14
Game Leaders
Pts
20
FGM
8
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
14
FGM
4
3FGM
4
FTM
2
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
7
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
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