Air Force Academy
Army
Air Force Defeats Army, 68-60
11/23/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 23, 2007
WEST POINT, N.Y. - Air Force (2-3) outlasted Army (2-2) for a 68-60 win in women's basketball action Friday afternoon in Christl Arena at Gillis Field House. The Falcons were led by freshman Raimee Beck's 20 points and five three-point baskets.
After Air Force jumped out to a 20-point lead with a 12-0 run to start the second half, Army went with a full-court press the rest of the game. The full-court press worked and the Black Knights clawed their way back into the game, making it as close as a seven point game three different times with under a minute to go.
Air Force, which came into the game as the top free throw shooting team in the Mountain West Conference, sank 8-of-9 free throws in the last two minutes to seal the win.
Beck led all scorers with the 20 points and was 6-of-12 from the field. The freshman connected on 5-of-8 three pointers and also pulled down six rebounds. Junior Brooke Cultra finished second on the team with 16 points and team-high's of eight rebounds and six assists.
Senior Alecia Steele, who missed the Falcons' last game with an injury, came off the bench to score 13 points and grab eight rebounds in 23 foul-plagued minutes. Junior Dana Loveless made her first-career start in place of Steele, contributing with four points and two rebounds.
Air Force took a 31-23 lead into the halftime break. After a 9-9 tie 15 minutes into the first half, the Falcons went on a 17-6 run in the next nine minutes to take control of the game with a 26-15 lead.
The Falcons opened the second half with a 12-0 run to extend their lead to 43-23. Army, which struggled to find its shooting touch the entire game, did not score its first second-half basketball until six minutes in.
After scoring its first basket in the second half, the Black Knights immediately slashed the lead in half with a 13-3 run to make it a 46-36 game with 10 minutes remaining. Army crept back into the game with the relentless full-court press and whittled Air Force's lead down to eigth several times after the four minute mark.
Army was led by Nalini Hawkins, who had 17 points on 7-of-17 shooting. Cara Enright added 15 and Alex McGuire had 10 points. Erin Anthony came off the bench to pull down 13 rebounds.
For the game, Air Force was good on 84.2 percent of its free throw tries (16-of-19). The Falcons improve to 7-5 all-time against the Black Knights.
Air Force returns to action next weekend, hosting the Air Force Classic, Fri.-Sat., Nov. 30-Dec. 1. The Falcons open the tournament against Hampton on Friday at 4:30 p.m.
