WBB Preview: Fresh Off First MWC Win, Utah State Looks For Another At Air Force

After getting its first conference win of the season, and of the Wes Brooks era, Utah State is on the hunt for another one as it heads to the Air Force Academy.

Air Force is a tricky team to get a read on because of how lopsided its record is. The Falcons went 10-2 in non-conference play with an overtime loss to Army and a loss to Oregon, but they have been in a free fall since starting their Mountain West slate. 

They have mostly come up short in their 1-7 start to league play, but they have shown promise. They looked good in a dominant win over Fresno State, earning a 65-36 blowout victory just one game after the Bulldogs handed Utah State a 20-point loss. They have fallen by less than 12 points in each of their conference losses save for a trip to UNLV, which they dropped 84-51.

The Falcons, after a great start that included a six-game win streak, have, apparently, forgotten how to win basketball games. This potentially coincides with Utah State suddenly learning how to win, though Utah State’s current one-game win streak is a small sample size.

Still, it could be an opportunity for Utah State to force the Falcons to play the role it has played all year if they can’t get out of their own way. It would be refreshing for the Aggies to earn a win by being in the right place at the right time, by putting together 40 minutes of competent and competitive basketball, and watching as their opponent fails to do so.

For all their flaws, the Falcons are well-coached and very experienced. Air Force has a band of dangerous players who are all scary in their own way. Players like Milahnie Perry, Jayda McNabb, Jo Huntimer, Madison Smith, Keelie O’Hollaren, Alexis Cortez, Jordyn DeVaughn and Emily Adams give the team a well-rounded approach on both ends and provide multiple paths to victory.

Against an Aggie team that’s off its game, the Falcons will have plenty to get the job done, but against an Aggie team playing near its best, the Falcons might not be able to hold up. Both teams are 1-7 in conference and 1-4 in their last five. They will both be desperate for a win as the Falcons try to return to the win column that they were so acquainted with early and as the Aggies fight to get another taste of victory.

It would be easy to favor the Falcons on their home court in this game, but after notching their first conference win, the Aggies might just be piecing something together. Utah State just enjoyed spectacular performances from its freshmen, who lifted the team past San Jose State. This was headlined by career performances from both Elise Livingston and Taliyah Logwood. Livingston dropped 22 and Logwood had a 17-point, 11-rebound double-double. Freshmen can be finicky, and predicting what a first-year player will do on a basketball court is a fool’s errand, especially when they are up against a disciplined and experienced service academy team. But, the Aggies have plenty of weapons even if Logwood and Livingston can’t exactly replicate what they did in their last game.

Logwood’s performance wasn’t too far out of the ordinary, as she is still averaging 9.4 points and 4.6 rebounds, so a regression to the mean for her would still result in an impactful performance. Livingston is averaging 6.4 points and climbing. Even though her last game represented a career-high, it’s far from a flash in the pan. Instead, it appears to be a part of a larger trend in which she is unlocking her scoring ability with an average of 13 points per game across her last four outings.

The Aggies don’t necessarily have an overwhelming number of players who will get going offensively, but they do have an overwhelming number of players who can. Along with Logwood and Livingston, the Aggies can usually count on offense from Jamisyn Heaton, Mia Tarver, CJ Latta, Denae Skelton and Cheyanne Stubbs (if she’s healthy, as she seems to be).

Defensively, the Aggies did a great job keeping San Jose State off target from deep. If they can rattle Air Force, it would be a huge win for an Aggie team that has struggled to defend the three this year.

Players To Know

Milahnie Perry: No Air Force athletics team is complete without an undersized overachiever. In fact, Perry may as well have been handpicked by football coach Troy Calhoun himself – she’s tough, scrappy, and no fun to play against. 

Perry has been one of the league’s most prolific scorers for a couple of years now. She was third in the conference in scoring last year with 16.7 points per game and was the only Falcon named to the All-Mountain West team. This year, she was named to the preseason All-Mountain West team and is paying that off, leading her team in scoring with 15.8 points per game and adding 2.8 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 1.3 steals along the way.

She’s capable from all three levels and is shooting 41.1 percent from the field, 26.6 percent from deep, and 74.7 percent from the stripe. She also gets to the line at a higher clip than anyone else on the team, or on Utah State’s.

Jayda McNabb: McNabb was Air Force’s freshman standout last year, earning a place on the conference’s All-Freshman team with 6.0 points, 6.3 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.8 per game. She led her team in rebounds and blocks.

She presents a very formidable foe in the post, but one the Aggies will likely be prepared for. She is tough and creative, making her a pain to play against on either end, and she also adds valuable spacing for the team as she presents a different look than players like Perry, Smith, Huntimer and O’Hollaren. But, Utah State has held up pretty well against similarly talented post players this season.

This year, the 5-10 sophomore is again leading the team in rebounds and blocks, averaging 7.7 points, 7.5 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 1.9 steals and 1.2 blocks per game.

Keelie O’Hollaren: Compared to some of the team’s bigger stars like Perry, Huntimer and Smith, O’Hollaren might fly under the radar, but she’s worth keeping an eye on.

O’Hollaren comes off the bench for the Falcons but could be in for a big night against the Aggies if they can’t keep her off the three-point line. If the Aggies go back to allowing their opponents to put up career numbers from deep, as they have for much of their MWC slate, O’Hollaren will be first in line.

She and Smith are fantastic shooters and can pour it in from deep on high volume. She’s leading the team in three-pointers made with 34 and has a 27 percent hit rate, while averaging 8.9 points, 1.8 rebounds and a steal in her almost 20 minutes per game as a solid role player and major contributor off the bench.