Air Force Academy
Utah
Falcons Fall To Utah, 80-59
1/20/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 20, 2007
Salt Lake City, Utah - Giving up a huge advantage at the foul line, the Air Force women's basketball team fell to Utah, 80-59, Saturday afternoon at Huntsman Center. The Falcons drop to 4-13 overall, 0-6 in the Mountain West, while the Utes improve to 13-6, 6-0 in the league.
The Utes led early in the contest, getting out to a 12-6 lead, but Air Force battled back, with a three-pointer by sophomore Brooke Cultra (Onarga, Ill.) giving the Falcons an 18-16 advantage. However, Utah came right back with a three-pointer of their own to regain its lead.
Utah extended its advantage to four points at 26-22 before Andrea Taylor (Sr., Sugar Grove, Ill.) knocked down a pair of free throws to bring Air Force back within two, but the Utes closed the half on a 14-0 run to take a 40-24 advantage into the locker room.
The Falcons couldn't get any closer than 14 points in the second half, as Utah shot over 90 percent from the foul line in the game, connecting on 30-of-33 shots, including 19-of-20 in the final period.
Junior Alecia Steele (Oklahoma City, Okla.) finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds for her sixth double-double of the season, while senior Letricia Castillo (Anchorage, Alaska) added 13 points. Sophomore Kim Kreke (Salem, Ill.) also scored in double figures with a career-high 10 points. Steele became the first player in the Falcons' Division I history to reach 500 rebounds, while Castillo became Air Force's first 1,000-point scorer at the Division I level.
The Falcons return home to wrap up the first half up the conference slate, hosting UNLV Thursday, Jan. 25, at 7:00 p.m., followed by a 2:00 p.m. contest against Wyoming on Saturday, Jan. 27.
