Yeah, that one has me stumped too.... their tails are like razor studs and it wrapped around her body like an anaconda and didn't hurt her like all the psycho aliens..... LOL. Not sure what its motivation was there.
After reading a few reviews and boards, and watching it again a few times.... your assessment is right and if you blink you'll miss it, there is a facehugger shown emerging from the nearby pipes when they are face to face implying that some face time about to occur.
Still though, try to be realistic, from all we know about the creatures, those tails and splines are razor sharp (shown multiple times hitting steel bars, walls, etc.)... she was free falling probably near terminal velocity and it just "catches" her without any damage? That was a bit tough to believe based on the scene... hell her neck didn't even snapback on the sudden stop.
I know it's movie magic and leave reality at the door, but the legacy and dissection of something this silly is what gives the installment (among many other things) a bad showing...in my opinion.
It obviously 'dampened' her fall by matching her velocity and then rapidly easing her to a stop, all within a second or whatever it was! But yeah... those tails are designed to slice and dice!