Seven-Seed Falcons Square off With No. 10 Utah State in Opening Round of MW Championship
3/8/2025 2:12:00 PM | Women's Basketball
March has arrived and Air Force Women's Basketball, prepared for postseason play, heads to Las Vegas for the 2025 Credit Union 1 Mountain West Women's Basketball Championship. The seven-seeded Falcons are set to open their postseason bid on Sunday evening in Game 3 of the tournament, taking on No. 10 Utah State at 5:30 p.m. MT at the Thomas & Mack Center.
Follow Along:
The entire tournament will be broadcast on the Mountain West Network, with CBS Sports covering the championship round on Wednesday; XtraSports AM 1300 and Sirius XM Radio (channels 162 or 202) will carry the radio broadcast from inside Thomas & Mack with Ryan Kaufman on the call; Live statistics will be provided via StatBroadcast; Links to each can be found on the women's basketball page on goairforcefalcons.com.
The Bracket:
At No. 7, a win on Sunday evening would pit Air Force against two-seed Wyoming in a quarterfinal bout set for Monday at 6 p.m. MT. Semifinals are scheduled for 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday, and the championship the same time the following day.
Falcons at a Glance:
Madison Smith and Milahnie Perry both lead Falcon scoring, averaging 15.9 and 15.4 points per game on the season, ranking sixth and seventh, respectively. 31.0 combined points per game makes the duo the highest scoring pair in the Mountain West this season.
Sophomore Jayda McNabb, while also averaging 8.1 points per game, leads Air Force in rebounding, averaging 6.8 (3.6 OFF/G, 3.2 DEF/G). McNabb's 6.8 rebound rate ranks tenth in the Mountain West across all games and second on the offensive glass.
Senior point guard Jo Huntimer's 4.6 assists per game and 3.02 assist/ turnover ratio (7th in the nation) both rank second in the Mountain West.
Defensively, Air Force tops the Mountain West in turnovers forced per game (19.7), turnover margin (+2.97, 22nd nationally) and steals per game (10.7, 33rd nationally). Madison Smith, sporting 68 steals on the season and averaging 2.43 per contest, leads the Mountain West in both categories. Three of Air Force's starting five (Smith, Huntimer, McNabb) rank top eight in steals against the Mountain West with no other program in the league sporting more than one inside the top 10.
Maddie Loves March:
Following the Falcons' Senior Day win over Boise State on March 1, Head Coach Stacy McIntyre said Madison Smith is playing as if she is "on a mission" to close out her Falcon career.
Through the past five games for Air Force, Smith has shot .506 (45-89) from the field and an even .500 (18-36) from three-point range, earning her back-to-back Mountain West Player of the Week honors along the way.
In addition to being a force on the offensive side, Smith led the Mountain West in steals for the duration of 2024-25; Six steals on her Senior Day against Boise State (March 1) tied the most by a player in league play this season.
A Historic Start...
Air Force opened Mountain West play in 2024-25 at 10-2, marking its first ever 10-win non-conference in Air Force's Division I history and the first such occurrence since the 1991-92 season. Starting 9-1 on the year with just an overtime loss at Army (Nov. 15), Air Force got off to its best ten-game start since Maj. Danny Fowler's 1982-83 Falcons went 12-1. The Falcons opened 6-0 in Clune Arena for the first time since 1985-86, when Air Force started at home with seven-straight wins.
And Historic Finish?
Head coach Stacy McIntyre is one win short of claiming the winningest season by a head coach in their inaugural year at Air Force (17), a title currently shared by McIntyre, then-Capt. Chuck Holt (1979-80) and then-Capt. Danny Fowler (1981-82).
A Cool Grand:
Combining for 53 points at San Jose State (Jan. 11), Smith and Perry both eclipsed the 1,000-point mark for their respective careers, becoming the 19th and 20th players to do so in Air Force history, and the fourth-such duo to collectively claim the honor in the same season.
Service Before Self:
Jo Huntimer leads Air Force in total assists (139), sporting the most in a single season in Air Force's Division I history.
Huntimer currently leads the Mountain West in assists while also sporting the second-best assist/turnover ratio against league opponents this season 3.50). 410 career assists currently ranks second in Air Force DI history and sixth all-time (451, Briana Autrey-Thompson, 2018-22) - a spot in the record books secured in the Falcons' win over Milwaukee on Nov. 28 in Puerto Rico. 133 assists on the season ties the program Division I single-season record. Handing out 11 assists on a Senior Day win against Boise State in Clune, Huntimer tied the most by all MW competitors in a single game this season.
Ride The Hot Hand:
Through an 11- game stretch to close out the regular season, sophomore guard Keelie O'Hollaren is averaging .454 from the field (49-108) and .423 from three-point range (30-71).
Winning Trends:
Air Force has ...
- In winning games held 15 of 17 opponents to less than 70 points;
- Scored more points off of turnovers than opponents in all 17 wins this season;
- Led in the game with five minutes to go in 16 of 17 wins this season.
An Even Dozen:
Air Force has 12 steals or more in 15 games in 2024-25. The Falcons' streak of six-straight contests with 12 or more takeaways to open 2024-25 was the longest active streak in Division I at the time.
Last Time Out:
Air Force Women's Basketball battled back from a double-digit deficit on Tuesday evening at New Mexico and claimed a late lead over the Lobos, but the Falcons ultimately fell on the wrong side of the scoreboard, going down 77-74 to UNM in The Pit.
Senior Madison Smith led all scoring, putting up 21 points (9-18 FG, 3-8 3FG, 6 REB, 3 AST, 1 STL); Junior Milahnie Perry followed up with 18 and sophomore Keelie O'Hollaren added 11 on 3-5 from three-point range.
Air Force closed the opening quarter with a 24-19 lead over the Lobos behind an eight-point start for Smith and 2-3 showing from three-point range for O'Hollaren. The Falcons climbed to a five-point advantage twice in the opening ten minutes and New Mexico answered at both, before Jordyn Devaughn drove the Lobo basket at the first-quarter buzzer to lift the Falcons back to a 24-19 lead.
In the second quarter, the Falcons hung within a possession for most of the game and experienced three lead changes, before the Lobos claimed a late advantage that held through to the late stages of the game. Air Force finished the half shooting 13-33 (.455) from the field and 5-12 (.417) but trailed 42-38 at the break.
The third quarter was dictated by scoring runs that first saw UNM go up by 11, followed by a 10-2 swing for the Falcons to cut the Lobos' lead back to a single basket. New Mexico answered by closing out the third quarter on an 8-2 run broken up by a pair of last-minute baskets by Perry and senior Jo Huntimer (7 PTS, 5 REB, 6 AST) to leave Air Force with just a 61-56 deficit to cover with 10 minutes remaining.
In the fourth quarter, Air Force outscored UNM 18-16, tying the game off a Huntimer three-pointer with 2:31 remaining and taking the lead off of Perry free throws with less than two minutes to go.
With 12 seconds remaining, Lobo Destinee Hooks drew a shooting foul driving against Smith with 12 seconds to go gave the Lobos back a 75- 74 lead; Hooks missed her free throw and the resulting rebound put the ball back in Air Force's hands.
Smith, taking the inbound pass after a Falcon timeout, found the open-look Air Force needed to get a game winner but was fouled with the Lobos last free whistle. With four seconds to go, a mishandled inbounds pass out to Perry gave possession back to UNM, effectively sealing the game.
Follow Along:
The entire tournament will be broadcast on the Mountain West Network, with CBS Sports covering the championship round on Wednesday; XtraSports AM 1300 and Sirius XM Radio (channels 162 or 202) will carry the radio broadcast from inside Thomas & Mack with Ryan Kaufman on the call; Live statistics will be provided via StatBroadcast; Links to each can be found on the women's basketball page on goairforcefalcons.com.
The Bracket:
At No. 7, a win on Sunday evening would pit Air Force against two-seed Wyoming in a quarterfinal bout set for Monday at 6 p.m. MT. Semifinals are scheduled for 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday, and the championship the same time the following day.
Falcons at a Glance:
Madison Smith and Milahnie Perry both lead Falcon scoring, averaging 15.9 and 15.4 points per game on the season, ranking sixth and seventh, respectively. 31.0 combined points per game makes the duo the highest scoring pair in the Mountain West this season.
Sophomore Jayda McNabb, while also averaging 8.1 points per game, leads Air Force in rebounding, averaging 6.8 (3.6 OFF/G, 3.2 DEF/G). McNabb's 6.8 rebound rate ranks tenth in the Mountain West across all games and second on the offensive glass.
Senior point guard Jo Huntimer's 4.6 assists per game and 3.02 assist/ turnover ratio (7th in the nation) both rank second in the Mountain West.
Defensively, Air Force tops the Mountain West in turnovers forced per game (19.7), turnover margin (+2.97, 22nd nationally) and steals per game (10.7, 33rd nationally). Madison Smith, sporting 68 steals on the season and averaging 2.43 per contest, leads the Mountain West in both categories. Three of Air Force's starting five (Smith, Huntimer, McNabb) rank top eight in steals against the Mountain West with no other program in the league sporting more than one inside the top 10.
Maddie Loves March:
Following the Falcons' Senior Day win over Boise State on March 1, Head Coach Stacy McIntyre said Madison Smith is playing as if she is "on a mission" to close out her Falcon career.
Through the past five games for Air Force, Smith has shot .506 (45-89) from the field and an even .500 (18-36) from three-point range, earning her back-to-back Mountain West Player of the Week honors along the way.
In addition to being a force on the offensive side, Smith led the Mountain West in steals for the duration of 2024-25; Six steals on her Senior Day against Boise State (March 1) tied the most by a player in league play this season.
A Historic Start...
Air Force opened Mountain West play in 2024-25 at 10-2, marking its first ever 10-win non-conference in Air Force's Division I history and the first such occurrence since the 1991-92 season. Starting 9-1 on the year with just an overtime loss at Army (Nov. 15), Air Force got off to its best ten-game start since Maj. Danny Fowler's 1982-83 Falcons went 12-1. The Falcons opened 6-0 in Clune Arena for the first time since 1985-86, when Air Force started at home with seven-straight wins.
And Historic Finish?
Head coach Stacy McIntyre is one win short of claiming the winningest season by a head coach in their inaugural year at Air Force (17), a title currently shared by McIntyre, then-Capt. Chuck Holt (1979-80) and then-Capt. Danny Fowler (1981-82).
A Cool Grand:
Combining for 53 points at San Jose State (Jan. 11), Smith and Perry both eclipsed the 1,000-point mark for their respective careers, becoming the 19th and 20th players to do so in Air Force history, and the fourth-such duo to collectively claim the honor in the same season.
Service Before Self:
Jo Huntimer leads Air Force in total assists (139), sporting the most in a single season in Air Force's Division I history.
Huntimer currently leads the Mountain West in assists while also sporting the second-best assist/turnover ratio against league opponents this season 3.50). 410 career assists currently ranks second in Air Force DI history and sixth all-time (451, Briana Autrey-Thompson, 2018-22) - a spot in the record books secured in the Falcons' win over Milwaukee on Nov. 28 in Puerto Rico. 133 assists on the season ties the program Division I single-season record. Handing out 11 assists on a Senior Day win against Boise State in Clune, Huntimer tied the most by all MW competitors in a single game this season.
Ride The Hot Hand:
Through an 11- game stretch to close out the regular season, sophomore guard Keelie O'Hollaren is averaging .454 from the field (49-108) and .423 from three-point range (30-71).
Winning Trends:
Air Force has ...
- In winning games held 15 of 17 opponents to less than 70 points;
- Scored more points off of turnovers than opponents in all 17 wins this season;
- Led in the game with five minutes to go in 16 of 17 wins this season.
An Even Dozen:
Air Force has 12 steals or more in 15 games in 2024-25. The Falcons' streak of six-straight contests with 12 or more takeaways to open 2024-25 was the longest active streak in Division I at the time.
Last Time Out:
Air Force Women's Basketball battled back from a double-digit deficit on Tuesday evening at New Mexico and claimed a late lead over the Lobos, but the Falcons ultimately fell on the wrong side of the scoreboard, going down 77-74 to UNM in The Pit.
Senior Madison Smith led all scoring, putting up 21 points (9-18 FG, 3-8 3FG, 6 REB, 3 AST, 1 STL); Junior Milahnie Perry followed up with 18 and sophomore Keelie O'Hollaren added 11 on 3-5 from three-point range.
Air Force closed the opening quarter with a 24-19 lead over the Lobos behind an eight-point start for Smith and 2-3 showing from three-point range for O'Hollaren. The Falcons climbed to a five-point advantage twice in the opening ten minutes and New Mexico answered at both, before Jordyn Devaughn drove the Lobo basket at the first-quarter buzzer to lift the Falcons back to a 24-19 lead.
In the second quarter, the Falcons hung within a possession for most of the game and experienced three lead changes, before the Lobos claimed a late advantage that held through to the late stages of the game. Air Force finished the half shooting 13-33 (.455) from the field and 5-12 (.417) but trailed 42-38 at the break.
The third quarter was dictated by scoring runs that first saw UNM go up by 11, followed by a 10-2 swing for the Falcons to cut the Lobos' lead back to a single basket. New Mexico answered by closing out the third quarter on an 8-2 run broken up by a pair of last-minute baskets by Perry and senior Jo Huntimer (7 PTS, 5 REB, 6 AST) to leave Air Force with just a 61-56 deficit to cover with 10 minutes remaining.
In the fourth quarter, Air Force outscored UNM 18-16, tying the game off a Huntimer three-pointer with 2:31 remaining and taking the lead off of Perry free throws with less than two minutes to go.
With 12 seconds remaining, Lobo Destinee Hooks drew a shooting foul driving against Smith with 12 seconds to go gave the Lobos back a 75- 74 lead; Hooks missed her free throw and the resulting rebound put the ball back in Air Force's hands.
Smith, taking the inbound pass after a Falcon timeout, found the open-look Air Force needed to get a game winner but was fouled with the Lobos last free whistle. With four seconds to go, a mishandled inbounds pass out to Perry gave possession back to UNM, effectively sealing the game.
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