Women’s basketball falls in opening round of Mountain West Tournament

LAS VEGAS – Early foul trouble and shooting struggles marred the Air Force women's basketball team in the early stages of its first-round contest against Fresno State in the 2024 Mountain West Basketball Championships, forcing the Falcons into an early deficit from which they could not recover. Air Force's 2023-24 campaign came to a close as the Falcons fell, 62-44.

The Falcons (15-17, 8-10 MW), despite touting the third-best scoring offense and single-best three-point output across the Mountain West this season, struggled to gain momentum throughout Sunday's contest. Air Force shot .283 (15-53) for the game and .200 (3-15) from three-point range, resulting in its lowest scoring output of the year and allowing Fresno State an early lead in the contest which the Bulldogs would retain throughout.

A slow start for the Falcons was buoyed by an early three-pointer for All-Mountain West selection Milahnie Perry, who led Air Force scoring with 13 points (4-16 FG, 2-5 3FG, 3-3 FT). The Bulldogs, who were held to zero baskets until the 4:35 mark in the opening quarter, managed to claim the ultimate lead early on, going on an 8-2 run. Senior Dasha Macmillan (6 PTS) was found beneath the Fresno basket and landed a hook shot to bring Air Force back within a possession with 33 seconds remaining in the first quarter, but a shooting foul called on Perry with five seconds to go left Air Force down 17-12.

In the second, Falcon starters Alexis Cortez and Madison Smith joined Jayda McNabb in early foul trouble, as Air Force was suddenly forced to put the majority of its starting lineup on ice, resulting in Fresno taking off to outscore the Falcons 16-2 to open the period. A 5-2 spurt and 7-0 stretch to end the half fueled by five points for Perry brought the Falcons back within 11 points, trailing 37-26 at the halftime buzzer.

Fresno bought back its sizable lead early in the second half, as it took a Keelie O'Hollaren jumper from near the free-throw line to cut off a 6-0 start to the half for the Bulldogs. From there, Fresno went 1-11 from the field, going without a basket for six minutes of play time, but the Falcons could not capitalize, going 0-6 for themselves, proving any efforts to make up ground in the third unsuccessful.

With the Falcons trailing 49-31 to enter the final frame, Air Force and Fresno both logged a 13-point fourth quarter, with Cortez and Bulldog Mia Jacobs (25 PTS, 7-17 FG, 10-11 FT) each leading their respective squads down the stretch with six points. Cortez, along with Smith's five for the final quarter, proved not enough to close the gap, as Fresno outscored Air Force 12-4 down the stretch to end the Falcons' 2023-24 campaign.

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