Women’s Basketball Falls in MW Championship

LAS VEGAS – On Tuesday night, Air Force Women's Basketball's historic run in the 2026 Credit Union 1 Mountain West Women's Basketball Championships came to a close, as the Falcons fell 56-42 to No. 3 Colorado State.

Senior Milahnie Perry led Air Force scoring with 14 points (6-18 FG). The All-MW selection capped an all-time three-game performance in postseason play scoring 82 total points in three games. In the wake of her collective performance leading Air Force in knocking off No. 8 Wyoming, No. 1 San Diego State and No. 5 Boise State, Perry was named an All-Tournament selection and tournament MVP. Senior Emily Adams was also named an All-Tournament honoree. She ended the evening with 12 points (4-15 FG, 4-4 FT) while adding six rebounds. Junior Alexis Cortez finished out Air Force's tournament bid with 11 points and nine rebounds.

CSU led 17-14 at the close of the first quarter. Air Force got on the board first, but the Rams started the game on an 11-2 run to lead 11-4 after four minutes of play time. Adam's game-high eight first-quarter points anchored the Falcons in the first 10 minutes. Air Force closed the quarter on a 6-0 streak to pull back within three at the close of the opening frame.

Opening the second quarter, Cortez pulled out five points on a left-corner three and driving layup to get Air Force back into a brief lead, but a pair of Ram baskets got CSU back in front at 21-19. The Falcons got back in front again behind another Cortez layup, but CSU's Brooke Carlson evened the score on the other end at 26-all with seven seconds to go in the half.

Colorado State opened the third quarter on an 8-2 run, pushing a 34-28 lead. A pair of baskets for both Adams and Perry late in the quarter pulled Air Force back within a basket at the end of the frame (34-32).

The Falcons held Colorado State within a single possession through the first four minutes of the fourth quarter, but the Rams amassed scoring runs of nine and seven points in the final six minutes to secure the Mountain West title.

No. 9 Air Force became the first-ever nine seed in the MW Tournament to make the title game. The Falcons ended their championship bid with their first-ever three-win postseason run and first-ever pair of All-Tournament nods in Perry and Adams.

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