Air Force Academy
Utah
Falcons Fall to Utah, 82-42
1/22/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 22, 2004
The Air Force women's basketball team suffered its worse loss of the season against the conference leaders Thursday night at the Huntsman Center. Utah handed the Falcons an 82-42 defeat, its second consecutive conference loss. Air Force falls to 3-12 overall and 0-2 in the league.
Utah's stifling defense took charge from the outset. In the first 10 minutes of the game, the Utes held Air Force to just four points. The Falcons hit just two of its first 16 shots and logged five turnovers during the dismal stretch and the Utes had built a 24-4 lead midway through the first half. Air Force played virtually even with Utah the remainder of the half, and at the break the Utes led by 19 points (38-19).
The sharp-shooting Utes continued to dominate offensively after the break, hitting 10 of its first 12 shots in the second half. They also used the long distance shot to pad their lead. Utah, who is third in the nation in three-point field goal percentage, banged 10 treys on 19 attempts (52.6 percent). Conversely, the Falcons made just two three pointers on 17 attempts.
Utah, who remains unbeaten in the conference, finished the game shooting 52.8 percent from the field. Three players finished in double figures, led by Carley Marshall who had 16 points. Kim Smith chipped in 15 points while Mandie Little had 11.
The Falcons struggled from the field, shooting just 26.2 percent (16-of-61). Letricia Castillo, with 12 points, was the only Falcon to score in double figures. It was the ninth game this year that the freshman guard led the team in scoring. Shawna Neff had a team-high seven rebounds
The Falcons will be back in action Saturday (Jan. 24) when they head to Provo to take on the BYU. Air Force is 0-10 all-time against the Cougars.
Additional Notes: Tonight's loss was the Falcons' 14 consecutive to the Utes. They are 0-14 all-time against Utah ... The Falcons have the lowest points per game average against Utah than against any other team in the Mountain West. In 14 losses, the Falcons are averaging just over 38 points per game. They have scored under 40 points in six of the games, including two games where they scored an Academy low 29 points ... Tonight marked the fourth time under head coach Ardie McInelly that the Falcons lost by 40 or more points. Their worse loss was by 44 points in 2001-02 at Colorado State
