As teams begin sorting themselves late in the Mountain West season, the Air Force women can confidently say they reside north of the conference cellar.

How much higher? Stay tuned.

The Falcons shrugged aside a threat from San Jose State on Saturday at Clune Arena, winning 77-61 after trailing 11-2 in the early minutes and by two at halftime.

Air Force hit 28 of 34 free throws and forced 15 second-half turnovers in turning an uncomfortable situation into a comfortable victory.

“(Because of our trust in each other) we can take a moment to go, ‘OK, we’re good. Let’s move forward, be us and do what we can do,’” said junior Keelie O’Hollaren, who scored 18 points and matched Jayda McNabb with a team-high seven rebounds. “We proved that to ourselves tonight.”

The victory completed Air Force’s season sweep of last-place San Jose State (3-23, 1-13 Mountain West).

“We expect to win those games,” said Falcons coach Stacy McIntyre, whose 11 years with the team (the first nine as an assistant) have seen progression from the days when the Falcons would routinely win two or fewer and there was rarely, if ever, the expectation of victory. “That’s when you know your program is going in the right direction.”

Air Force (12-13, 6-9) improved to 4-1 in the second half of the conference season and sits at eighth place in the 12-team Mountain West standings, a half-game ahead of Wyoming, two up on Nevada and more sizable cushions over Utah State and San Jose State.

This week brings games at Boise State (20-6, 11-4) on Wednesday and New Mexico (17-9, 9-6).  

“We know how we can play,” said Milahnie Perry, who scored 20 points on Saturday in moving past Stacey Goss (1982-86) and into third place on the program’s all-time scoring list. “So we’re going to go do that moving forward.”

Perry, a senior who hit 14 of 16 free throws in Saturday’s win, now has 1,663 points with at least six games remaining on the schedule. She is 43 points behind No. 2 Michelle Johnson (1977-81) and 75 points shy of all-time leader Melissa Standley (1986-90).

Perry has scored as least 20 points in four of the last five games — coinciding with the team’s 4-1 spurt — and is averaging 22.4 points.

“We just kind of adapt to each game,” Perry said of the recent run.

That’s what the team knows it needs to do down the stretch, while also embracing what it can control — namely, the defensive pressure that sets it apart.

“Really it’s ultimately just all about getting ready for the (Mountain West) tournament and proving to ourselves that we can play with these top conference teams,” O’Hollaren said. “And when the time comes and we play them in the tournament, we know we can be ready and we know we can beat them.”