Air Force Academy
San Diego St
Falcons Fall to San Diego State, 83-79
2/21/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 21, 2002
USAF, Colo. - (Feb. 21) Air Force suffered a heart-breaking loss, falling to San Diego State 83-79. The Falcons remain winless in the league, falling to 4-20 overall and 0-11 in the Mountain West.
The Falcons fell behind in the first half and struggled to catch up for the remainder of the game. The Aztecs made their first six three-point attempts and led by as much as 12 points in the half. Air Force chipped away at the lead and the teams headed to the locker rooms at halftime with San Diego State leading by five, 45-40.
Air Force opened the second half on a 5-0 run to tie the score, but they would never take the lead. Trailing by six points with 44 seconds remaining, Latoya Howell nailed a jumper, then stole the ensuing inbounds pass and made a lay up to pull the team to within two. But the team fell just short of the victory.
Howell finished the game with career-high 30 points. It was the most scored by a Falcon this year and the single most scored in a Mountain West game. She also had seven rebounds, seven steals (tying a Division I single game record) and five assists. Shawna Neff had 13 points and Wendy Stillman scored 10. Samantha Clifton notched seven rebounds.
Five San Diego State players finished the game in double figures in scoring, including Ashonda Williams and Claire Swinbank, who had each had 16 points. Jamey Cox added 15 points and Atim Otii had 12 points. Swinbank led the team on the boards with eight rebounds.
The Falcons shot 46.4 percent (26-of-56) from the field and 37.5 percent (6-of-16) from three-point range. The team was 84.0 percent (21-of-25) from the free throw line. The 83 points surrendered by Air Force was the most given up all season.
Air Force (4-20, 0-11 MWC) will be back in action on Saturday, Feb. 23, when they host UNLV. Seniors will be recognized, as it is the team's final home game of the year. Tip off is set for 5 p.m.
