Air Force Academy
Weber St
Falcons Lose Nail-Biter, 53-48
1/10/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 10, 2004
The Air Force women's basketball team suffered a disappointing 53-48 loss to Weber State on Saturday (Jan. 10) to remain winless on the road. The Falcons kept the game close and put themselves in a position to win the game, but several critical misses late in the game cost the team a chance for victory. It was the final non-conference game of the season for the Falcons, who fall to 3-10 overall.
The Falcons got off to a slow start, scoring just 12 points in the first half. It was the lowest single half total this season for Air Force, as only two players scored in the half - Shawna Neff and Letricia Castillo, who each had six points. The teams headed to the locker room with Weber State leading 23-12.
Air Force came out on fire in the second half, opening the half 8-of-10 from the field and scoring the half's first eight points. They scored as many points in the first six minutes as they did the entire first half and overcame the double-digit deficit. They took their first lead of the game at the 14:01 mark, 29-28.
For the next nine minutes, the teams battled in an exciting game - exchanging leads several times. With Air Force clinging to a one point lead (39-38), the Wildcats hit back-to-back three pointers to pull ahead by five. Neff answered with a trey to cut the lead to two, but Weber State would score another three on its next possession to extend its lead back to five with just over four minutes to play.
With less than two minutes remaining, Castillo nailed a three-pointer to cut the lead to two. Air Force would steal the in-bounds pass, but they would miss several short-range jumpers that would have tied the game at 48 apiece. A foul would send the Wildcats to the line, where they would make one of two free throw attempts and give the team a three-point lead. Air Force would not score on its next few possessions and their fate was sealed.
Letricia Castillo had a career-high 18 points to lead all scorers. Shawna Neff added 12 points and a team-high eight rebounds. Amoy Jackson and Andrea Taylor each had seven rebounds, but the Falcons were out-rebounded 45-31. The difference was Weber State's Julie Gjersten, who collected 14 boards and 17 points for the double-double. Despite shooting just 23.1 percent from the field, the Falcons finished the game shooting 38.2 percent (21-55). They had a season-low 15 turnovers in the game.
The Falcons will begin conference play on Saturday (Jan. 17), as they host Mountain West opponent New Mexico. The Lobos have defeated the Falcons the last 12 times the teams have met.
