Air Force Academy
UC Irvine
Falcons Fall to Cal Irvine, 86-59
12/21/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 21, 2002
The Air Force women's basketball team suffered a non-conference road loss, falling to sharp-shooting Cal Irvine 86-59. The Falcons defense struggled after a two-week lay off, as the team gave up 86 points. The loss snapped a two-game winning streak, as the Falcons drop to 4-3 overall.
Cal Irvine built a 12-point lead midway through the first half. Shawna Neff nailed back-to-back three pointers to cut the lead in half. The Falcons were unable to cut deeper into the deficit, allowing the Anteaters to rebuild its lead. Air Force went into halftime trailing by 13 points - its largest deficit of the game.
The Anteaters kept a comfortable lead throughout the second half. Air Force was able to cut the lead to single digits once in the second half, but several quick treys dampened any hopes of a Falcon comeback.
Irvine notched 12 three-point field goals (12-for-24, .500), the most surrendered by the Falcons all season. Irvine finished the game shooting .438 (32-for-73) from the field. Five Irvine players were in double figures, including Wendy Gabbe and Courtney Ferguson, who each had 21 points.
The game marked just the second time this year the Falcons were held under 60 points. Air Force was 22-for-55 (.400 percent) from the floor. LaToya Howell was the team's leading scorer with 23 points. Neff was the only other player in double figures in scoring, finishing with 14 points. Howell led the team in rebounds (7), assists (5) and steals (4).
The 27-point loss was the worst of the year for the Falcons. They had matched their best start in Division I history, and were looking for their first-ever third consecutive road victory. Air Force will be back in action on Dec. 28th against Sacramento State. It will be the team's first home game in a month. They will then host Weber State on Dec. 30th. Both games are set to tip at 7 p.m. MST.
Fast Facts: Air Force head coach Ardie McInelly was an assistant coach at Weber State for five seasons before taking the head coaching job at Idaho State in 1996 ... Cal Irvine nearly topped the 90-point mark. The last time the Falcons gave up 90-plus points was in the team's final regular season game of the 1999-00 season when they lost to Utah 92-42
