AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. (Interstat) — Air Force defeated Saint Mary’s 61-37 in a women’s NCAA Division I basketball game Saturday at Clune Arena. The Falcons improved to 2-0, while the Gaels fell to 0-2. A crowd of 507 watched Air Force use a fast start and a decisive third quarter to pull away.

Air Force opened with a 9-0 run. Keelie O’Hollaren made a jump shot at 9:27 of the first quarter, Alexis Cortez made two free throws, O’Hollaren hit a 3-pointer and Jordyn DeVaughn made a floating jump shot. Saint Mary’s answered with a Charlece Ohiaeri layup, but O’Hollaren hit another 3-pointer. Ohiaeri made a 3-pointer and two layups, and Natallia Urlacher added a layup as the Gaels tried to stay close. Eva Love made a jump shot and a pullup jumper late in the first quarter. Air Force scored 17 points in the first quarter, while Saint Mary’s scored 12.

The Falcons added nine points in the second quarter and Saint Mary’s scored 10. O’Hollaren made a 3-pointer early in the second, and Jayda McNabb made two layups. Saint Mary’s got a layup and a jump shot from Lucy Aherne, a layup and free throw from Evelyn Tounkara, a 3-pointer and a layup from Niveya Henley. Love added a layup late in the half for Air Force. The Falcons went into halftime with a 26-22 lead.

The third quarter was the decisive stretch. Air Force scored 19 points in the period and held Saint Mary’s to six. Julia Leach made a layup early in the third, and Tounkara answered with a layup for Saint Mary’s. Aherne made a layup, but O’Hollaren made a 3-pointer, Love made a jump shot and DeVaughn made a layup. Saint Mary’s got a late layup from Henley, but Air Force carried a comfortable lead into the fourth quarter.

Air Force closed with 16 fourth-quarter points while Saint Mary’s scored nine. Chloe Parker made a 3-pointer, Leach made a layup and a jump shot, and Natallia Urlacher made a layup for Saint Mary’s. O’Hollaren made a jump shot and two free throws, DeVaughn made a 3-pointer, and McNabb made two free throws. Eva Love made a free throw and a layup, and Saint Mary’s got a late layup from Ave Odegard and a pullup jump shot from Audrey Bhesania.

Saint Mary’s scored 37 points from 62 possessions, an offensive rating of 59.2. Air Force scored 61 points from 69 possessions, an offensive rating of 88.1. Saint Mary’s shot 17 of 46 from the floor, 2 of 7 from three-point range and 1 of 1 from the free throw line. Air Force shot 24 of 59 from the floor, 6 of 22 from three-point range and 7 of 9 from the free throw line. Air Force had 11 offensive rebounds to Saint Mary’s four. The Falcons had 14 assists and the Gaels had 13. Saint Mary’s had four blocks and Air Force had three. Saint Mary’s committed 20 turnovers and Air Force committed 17. Saint Mary’s had 28 points in the paint and Air Force had 24. Air Force had 23 points off turnovers and Saint Mary’s had six.

Jayda McNabb was Air Force’s top star, finishing with six points, 11 rebounds and four assists in 35 minutes. Keelie O’Hollaren led the Falcons in scoring with 20 points and seven rebounds in 30 minutes, adding one assist and one block. Julia Leach had eight points, three rebounds and one block in 22 minutes. Jordyn DeVaughn had nine points, two rebounds and seven assists in 33 minutes. Eva Love had 11 points, three rebounds and one assist in 21 minutes. Alexis Cortez had four points, two rebounds, one assist and one block in 34 minutes. Chloe Parker had three points, one rebound and one assist in six minutes. For Saint Mary’s, Evelyn Tounkara had seven points, seven rebounds and one assist in 26 minutes. Lucy Aherne had six points, three rebounds, two assists and one block in 27 minutes. Charlece Ohiaeri had seven points, two assists and one block in 20 minutes.

Air Force next hosts San Francisco, and Saint Mary’s next hosts Chico St. Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Air Force 60, Saint Mary’s 57. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Air Force with a 67 percent probability to win.