Women's 2026 Mountain West Championship brack through the quarterfinals. Image courtesy of the Mountain West Conference. (TheMW.com)Eric EvelhochTue, March 10, 2026 at 2:39 AM UTC·3 min readLAS VEGAS – Upsets have been the order of the top half of the bracket in the 2026 Mountain West Championships, highlighted by ninth-seeded Air Force upsetting San Diego State to earn their second trip to the tournament semifinals, while fifth-seed Boise State held off a rally from New Mexico. Meanwhile the other spot in the final comes down to the two teams that finished tied for second place during the regular season in UNLV and Colorado State. Check back here to get full recaps and coverage of both contests.
No. 9 Air Force 68, No. 5 Boise State 66Milahnie Perry and the Falcons (16-17) have authored the most unlikely run in Mountain West tournament history to reach the program's first title game, becoming the first No. 9 seed to advance to the championship game and the fifth team that had to play a first round game to advance to the final since the current tournament format was established in 2014.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe decisive stretch came when Air Force dashed off a 9-0 run that began with just under six minutes to play in the fourth quarter. Alyssa Cortez was left open in the left corner for a triple that pulled the game level at 57-57, then Perry found Emily Adams for a go-ahead layup with 4:20 to play, and the Academy's all-time leading scorer followed up by knocking down back-to-back buckets.
Perry scored a game-high 27 points —16 in the second half — and dished six assists, while Keelie O'Hollaren came off the bench to score 15 points on 4-for-8 shooting from downtown. The Falcons battled foul trouble in the second half to two key contributors, with Adams fouling out on an offensive foul with 3:28 remaining after scoring 9 points with seven rebounds. Defensive Player of the Year Jayda McNabb also added 5 points with seven boards and six helpers.
Air Force knocked down nine 3-pointers against the Mountain West's top 3-point shooting team entering the game, as Boise State attempted a season-low three shots from beyond the arc (eight fewer than previous low) and focused on getting the ball inside. Libby Hutton led the Broncos with 25 points and seven rebounds as Boise State outscored Air Force 46-26 in the paint, and also got 10 points apiece from Tatum Thompson and Danni Bayes.
The teams traded big quarters in the first half, with the Falcons leading 18-11 after the first and the Broncos taking a 20-11edge in the second for a 31-29 lead at the break. Boise State had lost just twice all season when holding the lead at the half, but could never quite shake AFA as they could never build a multi-possession lead in the final 20 minutes. The second half saw nine lead changes and nine ties, with six changes and seven ties in a whipsaw third quarter.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAfter getting swept in the season series by both SDSU and Boise State, Air Force was also swept in the season series by both teams in the second semifinal. UNLV eked out a 64-58 win at Clune Arena on Jan. 3 in a game that the Falcons were within a possession with 14 seconds remaining, then the Lady Rebels ran away 78-47 in Las Vegas on Jan. 21. The series against Colorado State was similar as well, with the Rams squeaking out a 65-63 win that was within a possession in the final minute on the road and then taking a 66-52 result in Fort Collins.
No. 2 UNLV (21-10) vs. No. 3 Colorado State (24-7) - 7:30 p.m.This story will be updated.
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