Air Force Falcons Rally Falls Short for Second Straight Mountain West Contest

The Air Force Falcons women’s basketball team had plenty of chances to upend the Nevada Wolf Pack on Saturday.

Nov 20, 2013; Colorado Springs, CO, USA; A general view of the Air Force Falcons logo at Clune Arena before the start of the game against the Colorado Christian Cougars. / Isaiah Downing-Imagn Images

Another late rally fell short for the Air Force Falcons women’s basketball team as they dropped a 62-59 contest to the Nevada Wolf Pack on Saturday in Reno, Nev.

The Falcons (11-9, 1-7 in Mountain West) scored the final 11 points of their loss to Wyoming on Wednesday but lost by 12 points. This time, the Falcons nearly took advantage of an epic slump by the Wolf Pack (9-12, 4-4) but couldn’t finish the deal.

Nevada missed 11 of its final 12 field goals and didn’t hit a field goal in the final three minutes of the contest. Nevada’s last field goal was with 2:56 left, as Audrey Roden scored on a driving lay-up to make it 53-48 Wolf Pack.

The Falcons had more than enough time to tie or overtake the Wolf Pack. Right after Roden’s layup, Air Force’s Jordyn Devaughn drained a 3-pointer to cut the lead to two points.

From there, the Wolf Pack did just enough to hold off the Falcons. Two free throws by Roden were answered by two free throws from Air Force’s Madison Smith, which cut the lead to two points again with 2:02 left.

Smith missed a lay-up that would have tied the game with 1:03 remaining. Air Force fouled to stop the clock and the Wolf Pack’s Izzy Sullivan made one free throw to push the lead back to three points with 1:02 remaining.

On the next possession, Air Force’s Milahnie Perry missed a lay-up and the Falcons had to foul again. Nevada’s Victoria Davis made one free throw, but that pushed the lead to 57-53 with 29 seconds left.

Air Force answered immediately as Keelie O’Halloren made a 3-pointer with 24 seconds left to trim the lead to one point. The Falcons fouled to stop the clock, but Davis made both free throws to push the Wolf Pack lead back to three points.

Air Force’s Emily Adams missed a layup on the next possession and the Falcons fouled again. Davis made one free throw to push the lead back to four points with five seconds remaining.

Air Force caught a break as O’Halloren was fouled on a 3-point attempt and she made all three shots with three seconds remaining. But Nevada’s Dymonique Maxie made two free throws with no time on the clock for the game’s final margin.

O’Halloren had 22 points, including five 3-pointers, to lead Air Force. Smith added 14 points. Maxie led Nevada with 16 points, while Sullivan scored 14 and Roden added 12 points.

The Falcons will split next week between USAFA and Fort Collins, Colo. On Wednesday, Air Force will host Utah State at 6:30 p.m. mountain. That game will be broadcast on the Mountain West Network and on XtraSports AM 1300.

Then, on Saturday, the Falcons will head to Colorado State for a 1 p.m. showdown.