1 week Ago
Milahnie Perry made a key shot, ended up on her backside and slapped the floor with both hands. The Air Force junior, who set the women’s single-season scoring mark last year, has shown plenty in her time with the Falcons. This bit of emotion was something new.
It also seemed to provide a jolt as Air Force went on the road and beat Northern Colorado 73-66 on Monday night in Greeley. “It was just all the frustration built up,” said Perry, who started the game 5-of-19 from the floor before that shot and then finished by hitting 4 of her final 5 shots en route to 21 points. “It was like a break in having a rough game and was just a lot of emotion that came out.
A lot of passion.” Perry scored 15 points over the final 14 minutes of the game. Her shot, that elicited a rare celebration, was part of a 3-point play and broke a 49-49 tie late in the third quarter in a game where Air Force struggled to gain separation from the Bears.
Air Force (3-0) forced nine turnovers in the first quarter and led by eight points, but the Bears stuck around in large part because of a front court that went 6-foot-2, 6-2, 6-3 – Air Force’s tallest starter is 5-11. The Bears tied the game for the final time at 54-54 with 7:57 remaining, but Keelie O’Hollaren answered with a 3-pointer and then sophomore guard Jordyn DeVaughn hit driving buckets on consecutive possessions to secure just the third 3-0 start for Air Force since it began playing at the NCAA Division I level nearly 30 years ago. “We feel ecstatic,” Perry said.
“We’re really confident in each other and we’re really happy that all of our work is paying off.” Madison Smith scored 20 points with five rebounds, three assists and two steals in another statsheet-filling night for the senior co-captain. Jayda McNabb had six points and a team-high six rebounds.
Jo Huntimer, the other co-captain, had five assists with just one turnover. Despite the height disparity, Air Force had edges in paint scoring (44-38) and second-chance points (15-14). It also had a 30-9 edge in points off turnovers.
Northern Colorado (1-2) was led by Aniah Hall’s 17 points and 13 rebounds. The Bears played in the WNIT last year. They fell 81-66 to Colorado on Friday.
Air Force is 3-3 all-time against UNC after the Bears had taken three of the first four in the in-state series. The Falcons will try to start 4-0 for the first time in 20 years when they travel to Army on Friday..
