San Diego State stunned in opener by Air Force’s sterling seniors, complete effort

LAS VEGAS – For one of the few times this season, the San Diego State women’s basketball team looked like the side without a returning senior and just four regular players with three years experience or more — young.

It came at the worst time, as the top seeded Aztecs saw their Mountain West tournament come to an unceremonious early end at the hands of the seasoned No. 9 seed Air Force Falcons, 83-76 on Sunday afternoon at the Thomas & Mack Center.

Naomi Panganiban scored 29 points to lead all SDSU scorers, but the Scarlet and Black went cold for a 3:36 stretch in the fourth quarter, during which Milahnie Perry and the Falcons turned a 3-point deficit into a 63-58 lead that they would hold onto the rest of the way. 

It was the Mountain West’s first quarterfinal upset of a No. 1 seed since San José State topped Colorado State in 2015 and the fourth time the top seed dropped in their first tournament game.

Air Force’s senior combination carried them in critical moments, with Perry scoring a career-high 33 points while Emily Adams added 20 points, going 10 of 11 at the free throw line and grabbing eight rebounds. Air Force out-rebounded SDSU 33-22 for the game and 20-9 in the second half, where they outscored the Aztecs 57-44.

The game turned when the Aztecs committed one of their nine turnovers for the game when the Falcons pressed after Alexis Cortez scored a putback off a stepback miss by Perry. Defensive Player of the Year Jayda McNabb stole Bailey Barnhard’s inbounds pass and was fouled, kicking off an 8-0 Air Force run for a lead they’d never give up.

Panganiban scored 20 of her points in the second half and made three straight triples to pull within 79-76 with 17 seconds remaining, but the Falcons made their free throws down the stretch. For the game, Air Force hit 27 of 31 free throws, while the Aztecs made 11 of 16 and 9 of 13 in the second half.

Out of halftime Air Force seemingly couldn’t miss, turning around a 6-point deficit thanks to an 8-of-11 shooting quarter. Alexis Cortez, Perry and Keelie O’Holllaren all hit 3-pointers, as the Falcons twice put SDSU in 5 point holes.

But each time SDSU clawed back thanks to individual spurts, as first it was Hamilton drawing an and-one on a driving score and then a jumper. Then inside the final 94 seconds of the third quarter Panganiban converted a pair of free throws, then knocked down her second 3-pointer of the game.

The teams traded the lead five times over the final minute, with the Falcons taking a 55-54 lead after three after a pair of Adams free throws.

SDSU took advantage of wide open paths to the rim left by the Air Force defense, getting their first four points out of the half-court set on straight-line drives to the basket. Nala Williams scored the first two of the game, getting her second on the fast break after a steal by Natalia Martinez.

Perry knocked down the first three field goals of the game for Air Force, establishing her pull-up elbow and mid-post jump shots early. Defensive duties were shared between Williams and Kaelyn Hamilton, but the senior all-conference selection mixed her moves to score 8 of her 12 first half points in the opening 10 minutes.

While the Scarlet and Black led for the entirety of the first quarter, they did not attempt a 3-pointer until just over two minutes remaining.  The first didn’t fall until Kennedy Lee nailed a long ball nearly three minutes into the second quarter to stop a 6-0 spurt by the Falcons to start that gave Air Force their first lead.

The lead changed hands five times in the second quarter with three ties, but after a Perry layup gave Air Force a 24-21 lead with 4:48 before half, the Aztecs didn’t allow a field goal the rest of the way.

SDSU scored 11 of the final 13 points in the quarter, buoyed by getting the ball to Lee and Maria Konstantinidou in the paint. The final 7-0 kick for the Aztecs came when Panganiban took advantage of a defensive switch that had forward Emily Adams marking her, so the guard rocked her to sleep with the dribble before stepping back and filling up a 3-pointer.

The 6 point edge at halftime mirrored the regular season finale, as SDSU closed again with a late transition layup — this time instead of Hamilton breaking free it was Panganiban finishing off the 32-26 scoreline.

San Diego State will await their postseason future, as the program’s seventh Mountain West regular season championship and 67 NET ranking coming into the Mountain West Championships should be appealing for the non-NCAA postseason tournaments.

This story will be updated.