Women’s basketball rewrites record book in win over Utah State

U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. – Concluding its 2023-24 home schedule on Wednesday morning, the Air Force women's basketball team surpassed one milestone after another on its way to a crushing 85-46 win over Utah State at Clune Arena.

Sophomore Milahnie Perry ended her day with a game-high 20 points (8-14 FG, 2-2 FT, 4 AST, 2 BLK, 1 STL), giving her 499 on the season to claim the Falcons' Division I scoring record, surpassing the previous benchmark set by Riley Snyder (490) in 2021-22.

Freshman Keelie O'Hollaren followed up scoring 18 points, going 6-12 (both team season highs) from three-point range while paving the way for Air Force tying its season-high figure in three-pointers made (12). With 58 made threes this year, O'Hollaren surpasses Mariah Forde's 57 (2016-17) to earn the most made threes by a freshman in program history. Falling just shy of her first career double-double, O'Hollaren's nine rebounds tied a game high and proved a career best.

Fellow freshman Jayda McNabb, who was just two rebounds short of claiming the Division I program record for most boards by a freshman, surpassed Alecia Steele's 184 (2004-05) in the early stages of the second quarter. McNabb closed her night with seven points, seven rebounds, two assists and three steals.

The Falcons (14-16, 7-10 MW), in front of a thousand young fans from seven varying schools in the Colorado Springs area attending Field Trip Day, captured their highest margin of victory ever against a Mountain West opponent (39), while earning their first 30-plus-point victory over a conference foe. A 39-point margin of victory is the most ever earned against Mountain West opposition, and the highest since a 29-point home victory over San Diego State on Feb. 8, 2006.

Air Force logged its highest scoring output of the season (85 points), shooting .500 (32-64) from the field for the second time in 2023-24. 32 made baskets, 12 threes and six blocked shots on the defensive end for the Falcons all mark season bests, while facing season lows from opponents in points (46), made shots (14), field goal percentage (.250), and assists (4).

A 10-2 Air Force run to start the contest got the Falcons out to an early lead from which the Aggies (5-23, 2-15 MW) were unable to return. Utah State only trailed by eight at the first quarter behind six-point showings for both Cheyenne Stubbs (11 PTS, 4-4 FT, 2 REB, 1 AST) and Allyzee Verdan (10 PTS, 4-8 FG, 9 REB), but faced down another 7-2 run to open the second to give the Falcons a double-digit lead which they would hold onto for the remainder of the game. An 8-14 shooting quarter and 4-6 showing from three – led by a 3-4 performance from O'Hollaren – resulted in Air Force holding a 40-24 lead at half.

Entering the second half the Falcon offense never relented, scoring at a 44-percent clip led off by a pair of baskets on the opening pair of Air Force possessions by senior Dasha Macmillan and topped by an eight-point quarter for Perry to extend the Falcons' lead 61-32.

The Falcons started the final quarter on another 10-0 streak, which effectively ended the afternoon for the Air Force starters. Freshman Jordyn Devaughn led the charge down the stretch for Air Force, scoring eight points on 4-4 shooting and staving off any chance of Utah State gaining any ground.

Up Next:
Air Force women's basketball concludes its 2023-24 regular season at Boise State on Saturday, set for a 2 p.m. tip off.

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