Air Force to Play Army
12/7/2000 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Game 7: Air Force at Army
Friday - Dec. 8 w 5:30 p.m. MSTSITE: Christl Arena, West Point, N.Y.
RADIO: None
NOTES: Expect this Service Academies matchup to be a battle in the trenches, as the Falcons are hoping to win the first leg of women's basketball's equivalent of the Commander-in-Chief's trophy. Army will be looking for a measure of revenge after losing last season's game at Air Force by 17 points.
RECORDS: The Falcons are 2-4 after going 1-2 in their three consecutive games last weekend. Army enters the game with a 5-1 record.
COACHES: Air Force is coached by Sue Darling (Arizona, 1983). This is Darling's third year as head coach of the Falcons. She has compiled a 9-45 record. Army is coached by Sherri Abbey-Nowatzki (New York, 1989). Abbey-Nowatzki is in her third season with the Lady Cardinals. In her first two seasons, she compiled a 16-40 record.
SERIES: Air Force and Army have met five times, beginning in 1985. Air Force has defeated Army four of those times, including a 75-58 win last season.
Game 8: Air Force at Lafayette
Sunday - Dec. 10 w 11 a.m. MSTSITE: Allan Kirby Sports Center, Easton, Pa.
RADIO: None
NOTES: Megan Thiedeman's eight three-point field goals last season against Lafayette is an Air Force record for most three-pointers made in a single game.
RECORDS: Lafayette is 2-4, with victories over St. Francis-N.Y. and Sacred Heart.
COACHES: Air Force is coached by Sue Darling (Arizona, 1983). This is Darling's third year as head coach of the Falcons. She has compiled a 9-45 record. Lafayette is coached by Pat Fisher (East Stroudsburg, 1960). Fisher has coached at Lafayette for 20 years, and has compiled an overall record of 288-263.
SERIES: Air Force and Lafayette have met just once -- last season at the Air Force Classic tournament. Air Force defeated the Leopards 78-56. It was the Falcons' largest margin of victory of the season.
Scouting the Lady Knights
Army is off to a terrific start, beginning the season with a 5-1 record (they play Farleigh Dickinson on Dec. 5). Their only defeat was a six-point loss to Stony Brook. The bench is solid, although not real deep. The five starters have accounted for 70 percent of the team's minutes. Army is averaging almost 65 points per game behind Therese Kelley, who is scoring 19.2 points per game. She also leads the team in rebounding with an 8.3 per game average. Kelley gets support from Dawn Halfaker and Megan Dempsey, who are combining for 18.5 points per game.
Scouting the Leopards
Lafayette is off to a slow start, beginning the season with a 2-4 record. Their two wins came against St. Francis-N.Y. (77-51) and Sacred Heart (57-55). Last season, the Leopards were 7-22. The Leopards are averaging 58.8 points per game. They are led by two players who are averaging double figures in scoring: Jennifer Bayer (14.0 ppg) and Christal Rocha (11.8 ppg). Bayer, a center, also leads the team in rebounding with 7.2 per game. There are no real deep threats, as the team is just 13 of 54 from beyond the arc.
Looking Ahead
Following the road trip back east, the Falcons will have 10 days rest before playing again. It is the longest stretch between games this season. The Falcons will head to Reno to take on Nevada on Dec. 21 at the Lawlor Events Center. Nevada has a solid team -- they beat Sweet Sixteen team UAB to open the season.
Probable Starting Line-UpsAir Force's Probable Starters# Name Pos Ht Yr 11 Morgan Bennett G 5-9 So. 22 Ali Tomlinson G 5-6 Jr. 25 Rozalyn Russ F 5-8 Jr.32 Wendy Stillman C 6-1 So. 34 Samantha Clifton F 5-11 Jr.Army's Probable Starters# Name Pos Ht Yr44 Therese Kelley F 6-2 Sr.34 Dawn Halfaker G 5-9 Sr.10 Megan Dempsey G 5-5 Sr.30 Halaevalu Helu G/F 5-11 Jr.50 Katie Macfarlane F 6-0 Fr. Lafayette' Probable Starters# Name Pos Ht Yr33 Jennifer Bayer C 6-1 So.14 Christal Rocha G 5-7 Sr.30 Colleen Fitzpatrick F 5-11 Fr.45 Elise Palac F 5-11 Sr.24 Megan Haughey G 5-8 Fr.
Recapping the Classic
Air Force won its opening game of the Air Force Classic tournament, defeating Lamar (Texas) 68-59. Four players finished the game in double figures, as the Falcons had its highest scoring output of the season. Morgan Bennett tied a career high, scoring 17 points to pace the Falcons. Ali Tomlinson finished the game with 11 points, while Wendy Stillman and Rozalyn Russ scored 10 points apiece. Russ led the team on the boards, grabbing seven rebounds. Tomlinson had six steals and a career-high eight assists.
The Falcons defense, which had a season-high 15 steals, kept Lamar's shooters out of double figures in scoring. Kristen Tofte and Nakita Miles led the Lady Cardinals with nine points each. In the championship game of the Air Force Classic tournament, the Falcons fell behind early and could never catch up, losing to North Texas 66-43. North Texas opened the game on a 13-0 run and never looked back. Falcons shot just 16 percent in the first half, hitting just four of 25 field goals. Air Force was 0-8 from the three-point line, finishing the half trailing 34-12.
The Falcons played better in the second half. They hit numerous three-pointers and jump shots. Although the team could never climb out of its early deficit, the Falcons played even with North Texas the entire second half. Freshman Janea Childress led the team in scoring for the first time in her career. She scored 10 points and was the only Air Force player to finish the game scoring in double figures. Morgan Bennett and Ali Tomlinson were named to the all-tournament team.
For North Texas, Heather Trout had 12 points and Kristin Tramonte scored 11 points. Rosalyn Reades led the team with five assists and was named tournament most valuable player.
Snapping the Losing Streak
When Air Force defeated Fullerton in California, the team snapped its 19-game road losing streak. The Falcons did not win on the road last season, and had not won a road game in over a year. Their last road win was against San Jose State in California on Jan. 4, 1999.
Hack Attack
Over half the Falcons' points in the Fullerton victory came on free throws, as the team was 36 of 54 from the charity stripe. Fullerton committed 34 personal fouls in the game, while the Falcons were whistled 26 times. The 60 combined fouls is a new Air Force Division I record. Rozalyn Russ also set records at the line. Her 15 free throws made and 21 free throws attempted are new Air Force Division I records.
Newcomers
Of the 13 players on the Falcons' roster, seven of them were not on the team last season. Ali Tomlinson, a junior, leads the group of newcomers. Tomlinson played for the Falcons as a freshman, but did not play last season. A starting point guard, Tomlinson brings speed and intensity to the team. Junior Brooke Bauer joins the squad after spending two seasons at junior varsity. She adds depth at the post position. The remaining five newcomers are all freshman. Janea Childress joins the team after spending a season at the Academy's prep school. Amoy Jackson, a guard, and Shawna Neff, a forward, are the Falcons' top recruits. They looked solid in the team's exhibition games. Kaitlin Mandelkow, Dorothy Albright Melonie San Pietro and Erica Palmer round out the Falcons' freshman class. They should get solid minutes off the bench.
Extreme Connection
Falcons' starting forward and team captain Rozalyn Russ has connections with the eXtreme Football League. Her brother Steve Russ was selected by the Los Angeles Xtreme in the inaugural XFL draft. Steve played in the NFL for a number of years before Los Angeles made him their second pick overall.
Amoy Makes First Starts
Freshman Amoy Jackson was impressive in the Falcons' first two exhibition games. When Samantha Clifton was held out of the starting lineup due to injury, Jackson was called upon to make her first career start against Denver. She played well, scoring eight points and grabbing three rebounds in 27 minutes. Against Fullerton, Jackson scored 10 points, marking the first time in her career she hit double figures in scoring.
Nothing But Neff
Freshman Shawna Neff has come off the bench to give the Falcons quality minutes. Neff scored her first career points, knocking down a three-pointer and a 10-foot jump shot. Against Southern Utah, Neff scored a career-high 10 points, marking the first time she hit double figures in scoring.
From Downtown
Fans who watched the Falcons' season opener may have been wondering what happened to the deep shot. The Falcons did not attempt a three-pointer in the first half. Compare that to last season, when the team averaged eight trey attempts per game. No worries. The Falcons attempted 32 three-pointers in their loss to Southern Utah. Last season, Air Force had 30+ trey attempts just three times.
Holding onto the Rock
Through six games, the Falcons are averaging 18.7 turnovers per game. This is a slight improvement over last season, when the team averaged 20.1 turnovers per game. In losses to Denver and Baylor, the Falcons have given it up 45 times combined. Their best game in controlling the ball was against Southern Utah, when the team had just 12 turnovers.
Logging the Minutes
Sophomore Wendy Stillman has logged 211 minutes this year. Only Morgan Bennett (218) and Rozalyn Russ (217) have had more playing time. Last season, Stillman played 60 minutes the entire season. She has more than tripled that total in the Falcons' first six games this season.
Key to Success
The key to the Falcons success this season will be their scoring output. The team lost seniors Megan Thiedeman and Mollie Peters, who accounted for 65 percent of Air Force's scoring last season. The Falcons will look to returners Rozalyn Russ, Samantha Clifton and Morgan Bennett to increase their offensive production.
2000-01 Schedule Notes
The Falcons remaining non-conference schedule is no walkover. It includes Nevada and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi-teams which soundly defeated Air Force last season. The Falcons will face Penn and Navy-schools with a history of having solid basketball programs.
First Career Points
Freshman Melonie San Pietro scored her first career points, knocking down a three-pointer late in the game against Southern Utah. Freshman Kaitlin Mandelkow also notched her first career points against the Thunderbirds, hitting a short jumper on a nifty move in the paint. Junior Brooke Bauer scored her first career points against Fullerton, knocking down two free throws. Janea Childress scored her first points against North Texas, going 4-5 from the field, including two three-pointers. Childress was the Falcons' high scorer in the game.
Two-Sport Athletes
For the second year in a row, the Falcons have a two-sport athlete on their roster. Freshman Melonie San Pietro joins the squad after spending the fall playing on the Academy's soccer team. Last season, Morgan Bennett also played soccer, but chose to focus on basketball this year. Erica Palmer also played for the Falcons' soccer team. Palmer, who started the season on junior varsity, joined the Falcons' varsity squad to help fill a void when Samantha Clifton injured her ankle.
Sister, Sister
For the first time in 18 years, sisters will take the court on the same women's team. Sisters Sarah and Dorothy Albright will join each other on the court for the Falcons' varsity squad. Sarah, a junior, played on the varsity squad last season. Dorothy, a freshman, was expected to play junior varsity this season but was impressive in tryouts. The last sisters to play for the Falcons were Stacy and Martha Brodzik in 1982.
