Boise State Drops Heartbreaker to Air Force

Monday, March 9

Las Vegas, Nev.

6 p.m. MT

Boise State

25-9,14-6Mountain West

Air Force

16-17,7-13Mountain West

Air Force

Boise St.

3/9/2026 8:56:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Gamebook

LAS VEGAS – Boise State fell to Air Force, 68-66, in a heartbreaking semifinal of the 2026 Credit Union One Mountain West Women's Basketball Championship on Monday night.

Air Force (16-17, 7-13 MW) struck first when Emily Adams drove to the rim for a layup. Boise State (25-9, 14-6 MW) responded with back-to-back layups from Libby Hutton and Dani Bayes to take a 4-2 lead. Alexis Cortez sparked an 8-0 Falcons run with a 3-pointer, and Milhanie Perry capped the surge with another triple. Hutton stopped the run with an and-one layup to pull Boise State within three.

Keelie O'Hollaren and Jayda McNabb combined for five points before freshman Morgan Maldonado finished a layup. O'Hollaren answered with a 3-pointer to extend the Falcons' lead to 18-9 with three minutes remaining in the first quarter. Hutton added another layup before the period ended, but Boise State trailed 18-11 after one.

Hutton opened the second quarter strong with an and-one layup and a jumper, cutting the deficit to 18-16 with 8:29 remaining. Perry answered with a jumper, but Mason Borcherding kept Boise State within reach with a layup. Bayes then drilled a 3-pointer at the 4:39 mark to give the Broncos a 22-20 lead.

Air Force snapped a four and a half minute scoring drought on two Cortez free throws, ending Boise State's 8-0 run. Maldonado answered with a layup and Tatum Thompson followed with her first points of the game. Perry hit a 3-pointer before Hutton converted two free throws to put Boise State ahead 30-27. Perry added a late layup, but a Pasco free throw gave the Broncos a 31-29 lead heading into halftime.

The third quarter opened with an Adams layup to tie the game at 31. McNabb gave Air Force the lead with a layup assisted by Perry, but Tatum Thompson responded with a jumper to even the score. Perry hit another jumper before Hutton and Tatum Thompson answered with back-to-back baskets to give Boise State a 37-35 edge.

The teams traded baskets for much of the quarter with the lead changing three times. Borcherding scored consecutive layups to give the Broncos a 47-45 advantage. McNabb ended a brief Air Force scoring drought with a jumper, but Pasco and Hutton combined for three points to send Boise State into the fourth quarter with a 50-47 lead.

O'Hollaren opened the final period with a 3-pointer to tie the game at 50 with 8:41 remaining. Hutton answered with a layup before Bhret Clay knocked down another Falcons triple. Hansen converted an and-one layup to give Boise State a 55-53 lead, and Hutton added another basket inside.

Cortez tied the game again at 57 with a 3-pointer before Adams gave Air Force a 59-57 lead with a layup. The Falcons followed with a 9-0 run while Boise State went scoreless for more than four minutes, building a 63-57 advantage with 2:07 remaining.

Hutton cut the deficit with a layup, and Bayes added two free throws to make it 63-61 with 57 seconds left. Perry answered with two free throws, and Tatum Thompson responded with a jumper. O'Hollaren and Bayes traded free throws before Cortez added another at the line to push Air Force ahead 67-64.

Bayes converted two late free throws to pull Boise State within one, but Perry sealed the game with a final free throw, handing the Broncos a 68-66 semifinal loss.

Top Broncos

Libby Hutton notched 25 points and seven rebounds.
Dani Bayes collected 10 points.
Tatum Thompson tallied 10 points and two assists.

Notables

This marks only the second loss for Boise State while outrebounding the opponent.
The Broncos are 4-1 in their orange uniforms.
Boise State grabbed a season-high 46 bench points.
Boise State is the only MW team with three players with 400+ points scored this season (Tatum Thompson (482), Natalie Pasco (425), Dani Bayes (418)).The only DI teams with more such players than the Broncos this season are South Carolina (four) and UCLA (four).
Air Force won just its sixth game over Air Force. Boise State leads the all-time series 26-6.
Mya Hansen tied her season high in rebounds with six.
Libby Hutton tied her career-high 25 points.
Hutton notched a career-high 10 field goals.
Hutton scored 63.6% of Boise State's points in the first quarter (7-of-11).
Tatum Thompson's rebound gives her 50 for her MW Tournament career as she is the only active MW player with 50+ rebounds in the tournament.

Quotables
"Air Force just pressures you into making tough twos," assistant coach Cariann Ramirez said. "It was a hard shot battle. I am heartbroken for our seniors, but credit to Air Force for their game planning and their seniors. Being in the semifinal is huge for us because we worked so hard to be here, but again I am heartbroken for our team."