No one in Clune Arena was surprised when Air Force senior Milahnie Perry made a clutch layup to win a nail-biter over Grand Canyon. 

After trailing by nine in the fourth quarter, the Antelopes took a one-point lead with a minute left. But a layup by Perry with eight seconds remaining lifted Air Force basketball to a 65-64 win after a deflection by junior Marissa Hargrove held off Grand Canyon. 

The win Saturday is the team’s third in a row after taking down Utah State on Wednesday and Fresno State the week before. 

“That was huge,” Falcons head coach Stacy McIntyre said. “Grand Canyon is playing well at the right time of year, but so are we. I think this team just really believed that. Just can’t say enough about team effort and time and score down the stretch. Every coach in the country is spending time on time and score situations, but when you actually execute it and get a W, it makes it much better.”

It was a big day for Perry, whose team-leading 26 points helped the senior reach 1,623 career points to surpass the program’s previous Division I scoring record of 1,615 held by Riley Snyder (2018-22). Air Force women’s sports were NCAA Division II until moving to Division I in 1996-97. 

Perry earned the record, which is also fourth all-time, with 18 points at the start of the third quarter on a free throw after scoring 17 points in the first half, and is 116 points from the all-time record set by Melissa Stanley (1986-90). 

“Perry is just fun to watch,” McIntyre said. “There is something to be said for somebody that can always be willing to go get the bucket that the team needs. For her to be able to do what she does on the offensive end of the floor and the leadership she provides, with the help of her teammates she wills the team to the end.” 

The achievement earned a standing ovation from the 941 spectators at Clune Arena. 

“I just try to win basketball games,” Perry said. “A lot of people told me about (the record) coming in. But I try my best to not think about it, because I just wanted the game to come to me and have that win for the team. All the glory to God. Thank my parents, coaches, team, for all their support.”

Perry went 7-for-8 from the foul line in the first half. Perry led three Falcons in double figures with junior Jayda McNabb and Keelie O’Hollaren scoring 14 and 11 points, respectively, while senior Emily Adams nearly recorded a double-double with eight points and 10 rebounds.  

Julianna LaMendola led Grand Canyon (9-15, 8-6 Mountain West) with 26 points, including three 3-pointers, and went 3-for-3 from the foul line. The Antelopes shot 39% from the field and went 11-for-12 (92%) from the foul line while Air Force shot 38% overall and 16-for-20 (80%) from the charity stripe.  

The Falcons (11-12, 5-8 MW) trailed by as many as seven points in the first half before it went on a 15-2 run over six minutes to go up 21-15 into the second quarter. The Falcons maintained a 37-33 edge at the half, and continued their momentum to lead 54-49 after the third quarter. 

Air Force hopes to continue its momentum when it travels to Reno, Nevada, on Wednesday to face Nevada at 7:30 p.m. MT.

“We have the talent, we have all the pieces, and we put that together today and the last two games,” Perry said. “I’m proud of how far we’ve come. It’s important to take it practice by practice, game by game. We can’t lower our energy, we have to allow it to keep taking us far.”