Falcons Suffer Overtime Loss to Texas Pan Am, 68-67

Nov. 21, 2003

The Air Force women's basketball team opened the season with a disappointing loss to Texas Pan American in the opening game of the Radisson Inn Air Force Classic. In a nail-biter, the Falcons mounted a double-digit comeback in the second half to tie the game and send it to overtime, but three costly misses at the free throw line and the Falcons ended up with a one-point loss, 68-67.

The Falcons fell behind early, missing five of their first six shots, and after just six minutes, the Broncs led 11-2. Pan Am extended its led to 12 points midway through the half. Air Force battled back, pulling to within four points of the lead late in the half, but Pan Am used a late 7-0 run and led 40-29 at the half.

Both teams came out sluggish in the second half. At the 10:24 mark, the Broncs took a 14-point lead, their largest of the game. That's when the Falcons made their move. Freshman Jacki Novak scored four straight points and freshman point guard Andrea Taylor added three free throws to cut the lead in half. Several more free throws and a fade away jumper by Shawna Neff capped an 11-0 run and the Falcons trailed by just three points.

After Pan Am's Amanda Carlow drained a three-pointer to end the run, Taylor and Novak notched consecutive field goals, followed by a lay up by Jennifer Roesch to tie the score at 57 apiece. Air Force took its first lead of the game (59-58) at the 2:31 mark on two Taylor free throws. Following a Pan Am basket, Taylor hit a jumper to tie the score at 61-61 with 40 seconds remaining in the game. Air Force regained possession on an offensive foul turnover and with 20 seconds left set up for the final shot. Letricia Castillo's jumper fell short and Amoy Jackson's attempt at a put back was blocked as time expired.

Pan Am scored three consecutive field goals in overtime to take a six-point lead. Castillo nailed a three-pointer from two feet beyond the arc to cut the lead in half. Air Force would then go 1-of-2 on consecutive trips to the foul line and trailed by a single point. After a 30-second violation by the Broncs, the Falcons had 5.8 seconds to go the length of the court. Taylor dribbled around two defenders for an open look, but the shot as time expired was short.

Jackson notched 15 points and nine rebounds in the loss. Castillo and Taylor each added 15 points for the Falcons. Air Force finished the game shooting 41.5 percent (22-of-53) from the field. They had 38 rebounds and 31 turnovers. The Falcons missed 14 free throws, going 20-of-34 (58.8 percent) from the charity stripe.

The Falcons will be back in action on Saturday (Nov. 22) in the consolation game of the tournament as they take on either Dayton or Boise State. Tip off is 3 p.m. MST.

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