Surges near the end of both halves propelled the Air Force women back above .500 in Mountain West play.
The Falcons topped San Jose State 77-70 Monday night at Clune Arena, capitalizing on a 9-0 run to close the second quarter and a 7-0 spurt late in the fourth quarter to hold the Spartans at arm’s length.
Freshman Milahnie Perry played a crucial role in both, scoring five points in both stints – including a 3-pointer with 3:39 remaining after San Jose State (2-16, 0-7 Mountain West) had closed to within five points.
Perry finished with a team-high 21 points, one off a career-high set last week. She averaged 20 points during a three-game home stand in which the Falcons went 2-1. Perry hit 8-of-14 shots, including 3-of-6 3s as the team shot 55.6% from the field.
Point guard Jo Huntimer scored a career-high 16 points, hitting 5-of-8 shots. Huntimer also had seven assists.
The Falcons (9-10, 4-3) are above .500 and matched last season’s seven-game start in the conference. Prior to 2022 — the best season the Falcons have posted since moving up to Division I in 1996-97 as they finished fifth in the Mountain West, reached the conference semifinals and reached and won a game in the WNIT — the Falcons had never been above .500 at any point during a conference season as a Division I team.
Air Force travels to Utah State on Thursday before taking a week off.