Milahnie Perry’s climb up Air Force’s scoring chart is nearly complete.

The senior sits in third place on the program’s all-time list at 1,688 points. She needs 18 points to match Michelle Johnson (1977-81) in second place and 50 to catch Melissa Standley (1986-90) in the top spot.

This all seems a little surreal for the Florida native once so homesick as a freshman that she didn’t know if she’d stick it out at the academy.

Those times seem as distant as the names falling behind her on the Falcons’ all-time point chart.

“I feel like I’ve had a very good time here,” Perry said. “I had faced some struggles, there were some challenges, but that’s what you get here. Ultimately, I’m very happy that I did stay and made it to senior year.”

Perry’s scoring has, for the most part, accelerated of late as the team has turned her loose as a high-volume shooter.

She has averaged 18 shots over her past seven games, hitting 35% and averaging 19.4 points.

At 5-foot-7, she gets her points in a variety of ways. She has hit 103 3-pointers in her career but has largely abandoned that recently. She hasn’t hit a 3-pointer in the past five games. It’s in the midrange where she is most likely to pull up. She also frequently penetrates the lane, as she did when hitting the game-winner in the closing seconds vs. Grand Canyon on Feb. 7. That aggression often results in trips to the line, where she has shot 79% over the past month – including three games with 10-plus attempts.

“They had two people guarding her today, and she still had 20 points,” junior Keelie O’Hollaren said after a recent victory over San Jose State. “She’s just able to create in any situation and also create for her teammates.

“It’s going to be hard without her next year for sure.”

Perry is also climbing the single-season scoring chart, which is familiar territory. She has scored 428 points this season and has at least four games remaining. She would need to average 22.8 points to pass her 519 points from last season, which stands as the No. 2 mark for the program since it began competing at the NCAA Division I level in 1996-97. Perry’s 535 points in 2023-24 stands as the program’s D1 record.

It’s conceivable that the top three scoring seasons for the Air Force women at the top level of college basketball could all belong to Perry.

“I don’t really think about it,” Perry said of her ascent up the record book. “Just the fact that I am able to do that is just a blessing and I’m very grateful.”

Coach Stacy McIntyre, who has been with Perry throughout her Air Force time as a recruiter, associate head coach and head coach for the past two seasons, is all the more impressed having seen the full backstory and struggles Perry went through to arrive at the finish line in such decorated fashion.

“It speaks to who she is,” said McIntyre, whose Falcons (12-15, 6-11 Mountain West) host Wyoming (9-17, 6-11) in a “Field Trip Game” at 11 a.m. Wednesday. “The growth and the maturity to make a decision to come to the Air Force Academy says a lot about not just who they are, but where they want to go. Not only has she done great things on the court, she’s also going to do great things when she leaves the Air Force Academy.”

Air Force women’s basketball leading scorers

1. Melissa Standley (1986-90) – 1,738

2. Michelle Johnson (1977-81) – 1,706

3. Milahnie Perry (2022-26) – 1,688*

4. Stacey Goss (1982-86) – 1,655

5. Riley Snyder (2018-22) – 1,614*

* Played in Division I era