The ceiling hasn’t yet been set for this Air Force women’s basketball team, but the floor is rising by the week.

The Falcons handled Utah State with relative ease, 78-72, on Saturday.

It was their second consecutive weekend with a low-stress road victory over a team near the bottom of the Mountain West standings.

Air Force (12-13, 5-7 MW) – winners of three of the past four – will navigate the final six games of the regular-season in a longshot bid for a top-five finish (and first-round bye in the conference tournament).

After the past two Saturdays — the Falcons walloped San Jose State 78-56 a week ago, forcing more than a turnover per minute in the Spartans’ gym — the team has clearly demonstrated it will avoid a bottom-two finish.

The Falcons seized control from the start in Logan, Utah, jumping to a 9-2 lead. The margin swelled to 12 in the second quarter, as Milahnie Perry scored 17 of her game-high 24 points before halftime on 7-of-8 shooting.

Perry entered the day ranked fourth in the Mountain West in scoring (17.8 ppg), fifth in assists (3.9 apg before adding four more Saturday) and eighth in steals (1.6 spg before adding two more) as the sophomore builds a case for first-team all-conference recognition.

Perry has averaged 26 points in her past three games.

The Falcons also had double-digit scoring performances from senior Dasha Macmillan (12), junior Madison Smith (10) and freshmen Alexis Cortez (10) and Keelie O’Hollaren (10).

Freshman Jayda McNabb led with seven rebounds, including four on the offensive side to add to her Mountain West lead.

She scored four points with four assists, two steals and the team’s lone blocked shot.

Air Force led by as many as 17 points and kept a double-digit cushion for the majority of the second half.

Utah State (4-18, 1-10) surged for 28 points in the fourth quarter (including a 3-pointer at the buzzer to draw the final score closer), but Air Force helped itself by making 15-of-18 free throws in the game and 7-of-8 in the final quarter.

This marks the fifth time since moving to the NCAA Division-I level in 1996-97 that the Falcons have won five conference games in a season, with all coming in the past seven years under coach Chris Gobrecht.

Air Force’s Milahnie Perry works against Utah State’s Cheyenne Stubbs on Saturday in Logan, Utah.

COURTESY OF UTAH STATE ATHLETICS

Air Force’s Milahnie Perry inbounds against Utah State on Saturday in Logan, Utah. (PHOTO COURTESY OF UTAH STATE ATHLETICS)