Air Force Falcons Squanders Chances at First Mountain West Hoops Victory

The Air Force Falcons women’s basketball team had chances to beat the Nevada Wolf Pack down the stretch in Saturday’s game.

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

The Air Force Falcons women’s basketball team dropped its third straight Mountain West contest on Saturday, falling at home to Nevada, 58-55.

The Falcons (10-5, 0-3 in Mountain West) entered the fourth quarter down five points to the Wolf Pack (7-9, 2-1) and, even though they made five of their final six field goals and briefly took the lead, the Falcons couldn’t hold it.

Nevada was just as hot from the floor, and it built as much as a six-point lead before Air Force made one final surge to tie the game.

Down 52-46 with 3:05 left, a free throw by Jayda McNabb, a 3-pointer by Keelie O’Hollaren, another jumper by O’Hollaren and a basket from McNabb gave the Falcons a 53-52 lead with 1:22 remaining.

Nevada regained the lead on two free throws from Imbie Jones with 56 seconds left. Air Force took the lead for the last time on a jumper by Jo Huntimer with 33 seconds remaining.

Then, the Wolfpack took the lead for good on a jumper by Audrey Roden with 27 seconds left.

Air Force worked for a go-ahead basket but turned the ball over. The Falcons fouled Lexie Givens, who made both free throws for the Wolf Pack, with six seconds left.

The Falcons’ Madison Smith missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer that would have tied the game.

Both teams were turnover prone, with Nevada committing 19 and Air Force committing 16. The Wolf Pack shot 40% from the floor while the Falcons shot 36%. Nevada’s 46% shooting from the 3-point line was a major difference in the game, and it helped them rally from a five-point deficit after the first quarter to take a five-point lead into halftime, 30-25.

McNabb, who fouled out late in the game, was Air Force’s leading scorer with 13 points. She had a team-high 10 rebounds for a double-double. She also blocked two shots.

Huntimer and Smith had nine points each. Huntimer also had a team-high seven assists while Smith also had two steals.

Milhanie Perry, who leads Air Force with more than 16 points per game, had just six points on 2-of-14 shooting as Nevada paid extra attention to her all afternoon.

Givens and Victoria Davis each had 15 points for Nevada. Givens finished with 10 rebounds for a double-double, while Davis had six rebounds and five steals. Jones had six points and eight rebounds.

The Falcons have had a hard time in this series, as the loss dropped them to 4-20 against the Wolf Pack all-time.

Air Force is off for a week before traveling to California to take on San Jose State on Jan. 11 at 2 p.m. mountain.