Falcon Comeback Stalls as Women’s Basketball Falls to CSU

U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. – They went down big and rallied late, but the Air Force Women's Basketball team was unable to overcome its early deficit, falling in the final seconds, 65-58, to Colorado State in Clune Arena on Saturday.

Junior Milahnie Perry led all scoring for the game, earning 15 points (5-16 FG, 3-6 FT, 3 REB, 1 BLK) and senior Madison Smith added 14 (4-10 FG, 2-5 3FG, 4-6 FT, 5 REB, 4 STL). Sophomore Keelie O'Hollaren put up nine points.

Senior Jo Huntimer and sophomore Jayda McNabb, while adding eight and seven points, respectively, both contributed 10 rebounds on the way to a season high for Air Force in boards while out-rebounding CSU in the process.

Air Force (14-11, 4-9 MW), after a back-and-forth, one-possession first quarter, were outscored by CSU 22-8 in the second, leaving the Falcons to work in a deficit through the second half of Saturday. The Falcons, down by as much as 17 in the fourth, made a furious comeback that saw them down by just a single possession in the final minutes, but Mountain West Preseason Player of the Year Emma Ronsiek was able to close out the game for Colorado State.

Five Falcons scored points in the opening quarter, as Air Force and CSU battled through five lead changes, ending an 18-17 Air Force lead after the first ten minutes.

Early in the second quarter, the Falcons built up a 21-17 lead, as Huntimer hitched possession over to Smith in the right corner for her second three-pointer of the game, but CSU was able to tie and eventually retake the lead. A 13-0 run by the Rams got CSU out to a 34-24 advantage, before a Huntimer floater along the left baseline broke a six-minute dry spell for Air Force. A corner three for CSU's Hannah Simental in the final seconds of the half left the Falcons down 39-26 at the break.

After spending the third quarter down by double digits and falling behind 57-40 early in the fourth, Air Force rallied behind its defense, holding CSU to 3-8 shooting from the field the rest of the way and allowing the Falcons to put up a 16-2 run. Colorado State, the nation's leader in limiting turnovers and the only program in the country to average less that 10 per game, was forced into five turnovers in the fourth quarter, as Smith and McNabb combined for five steals and generating nine points in the process. Down 59-53 with 2:25 to go, Huntimer sunk her second three-pointer of the game from the right wing to pull Air Force back within a possession.

On the resulting CSU possession, Ronsiek found the Falcon basket on a left-side drive, leaving the Falcons down 61-56 with a minute to go and effectively stalling Air Force's final push for a lead.

Up Next:
Air Force Women's Basketball is on the road to complete season series with Utah State (Jan.19) and Fresno State (Feb. 22) before returning to Clune Arena on Jan. 26 to host San Diego State.

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