Air Force Academy
Minnesota
Air Force Falls to No. 17 Minnesota, 88-75
11/30/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
by Sean Verano
Nov. 30, 2002 - The Air Force women's basketball team suffered a disappointing 88-75 loss to No. 17 Minnesota in the championship game of the Air Force Class. The Falcons finished 1-1 in this year's Thanksgiving weekend tournamet to capture second place.
After notching an impressive victory over Winthrop on Friday, the Falcons went into the championship game against the nationally-ranked Gophers. The Falcons stayed within 10 points of the powerhouse Gophers in the final minutes of the game and outscored them in the second half, but suffered the loss in an entertaining and heart-felt effort.
A large portion of the Falcon's strong performance Saturday evening can be attributed to Falcon guard Latoya Howell, who put up a 38 points, and was 17-of-18 from the free throw line.
"I was just able to get to the line tonight," Howell said. "I took it to the hole as much as I could."
Howell's 38 points tied an Air Force (Division I) single-game record, and was her career best as a Falcon. She added three rebounds and four assists, and was named to the all-tournament team.
"Latoya just keeps getting better and better with each game," head coach Ardie McInelly said. "Both her and the team got better tonight and I'm very pleased with them."
Shawna Neff and Nicole Goss each netted 11 points in the loss. Briana Thomas led the team in rebounding in the second straight game, notching five boards. Air Force was outrebounded by Minnesota 39-25. Air Force shot 24-for-60 (.400 percent) from the field.
Lindsay Whalen, who notched 14 points and nine assists in the game, was named tournament MVP. Corrin Von Wald added 17 points and Janel McCarville had 19 points and nine rebounds. Both were named to the all-tournament team.
The Falcons (2-2) will be back in action on Dec. 4, when they head to California to take on Cal State Fullerton. They will close out the road trip on Dec. 6 against Cal Poly SLO. Both games tip at 8 p.m. MST.
