Courtesy of Air Force Athletics 

U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. – On Thursday evening, Air Force Women’s Basketball mustered a late rally to pull within two points of Northern Colorado. The Falcons fell short in completing their comeback, as Air Force closed the curtain on a historic postseason run going down 79-72 to the Bears in the opening round of the 2026 Women’s National Invitational Tournament.

Junior Keelie O’Hollaren led Air Force scorers, finishing with 15 points (6-17 FG). Both senior Emily Adams and junior Jordyn Devaughn contributed 10 points apiece to follow up.

Northern Colorado led 23-17 at the close of the first quarter. Air Force and UNC traded blows throughout the opening stages of the contest, resulting in three lead changes. The Bears pulled ahead on the scoreboard, outscoring the Falcons 14-5 down the last three minutes of the first quarter, resulting in a six-point UNC advantage after 10 minutes.

A quick five-point outburst from O’Hollaren in the first minute of the second quarter pulled the Falcons back into a point-point affair. UNC quickly regained its lead and built up a 48-33 advantage to close the opening half. O’Hollaren’s eight first-half points paced Air Force scoring, with O’Hollaren and Devaughn both leading the Falcons on a 6-12 first-half performance from three-point range.

Air Force outscored Northern Colorado 22-18 in the third quarter and pulled back into a single-digit game three times in the period. UNC answered the bell at each challenge, leaving the Falcons with a 66-55 deficit to cover with 10 minutes left to play.

The Falcons rallied, outpacing UNC 14-5 to start the final quarter. Air Force pulled within a point at 71-70 with 3:48 remaining behind a rounded effort which included O’Hollaren, Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year Jayda McNabb and freshman Julia Leach. UNC responded by outscoring Air Force 8-2 down the stretch to seal the game.

The Falcons (16-19, 7-13 MW) led Northern Colorado in free throw percentage (.769), three pointers made (eight) and attempted (25), points off of turnovers (21), offensive rebounds (14), second-chance points (10) and bench points (26).