Friday, November 8
USAFA, CO
11:00 AM MT
Air Force Academy
1-1,0-0Mountain West
68
vs
48
NJIT
0-2,0-0ASUN
1
2
3
4
F
NJIT
10
14
12
12
48
Air Force
21
12
27
8
68
Photo by: Darcie Ibidapo
Air Force Flies by NJIT in Home Opener, 68-48
11/8/2019 3:04:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Riley Snyder of Air Force women’s basketball paced the Falcons with a 19-point showing
USAF Academy, Colo. - Air Force downed the New Jersey Institute of Technology, 68-48, in front of more than 1500 rowdy "Field Trip Day" fans, Friday afternoon in the Falcons' home opener at Clune Arena. Sophomore forward Riley Snyder led the Falcons with a 19-point showing as Air Force handed NJIT their second loss in as many tries this season.
Snyder, a 2018-19 Mountain West All-Freshman selection, set the pace for the Falcons in scoring, dropping nine points in the opening three minutes of action. Junior teammate and co-team captain Kaelin Immel put up 18-points on the game, 13 of which were in the second half. Immel also added four assists and two blocks to her stat line. Snyder had a highlight performance at the free throw line, shooting a perfect 6-6 on the day. She also added four boards, two assists and two steals to the stat sheet.
Junior co-team captain Emily Conroe and sophomore guard Haley Jones collected 10 rebounds apiece- Conroe collected six on the offensive side while Jones snagged six on the defensive side. Both were just a bucket away from double-double performances with Jones scoring nine points and Conroe tallying eight. Freshmen Allyah Marlett and Nikki McDonald made their presence known in the paint, collecting seven and six rebounds, respectively, while scoring three and five points, respectively. All seven of Marlett's boards were on the defensive side of the ball.
Freshman guard Kamri Heath, who paced the Falcons in scoring in the season opener, tallied a team-high five assists and a game-high four steals while scoring two points on the game. Freshman teammate Grace Hess scored four points and tallied two assists, bringing Air Force's freshman scoring total to 14 points.
The Falcons dominated the first quarter, racing out to a nine-point lead by the first media timeout. The air tight Air Force defense in conjunction with the deafening cheers of a thousand elementary students forced three NJIT turnovers in their first three possessions, keeping the Highlanders scoreless until the 6:13 mark. The Falcons shot well in the opening quarter, hitting 3-4 three-pointers while shooting 42-percent from the field.
NJIT rallied in the second quarter, outscoring Air Force 14-12, as the Falcons had trouble getting their shots to fall. Air Force shot 29-percent from the field, hitting just two three-balls in 11 attempts.
After a spirited halftime speech, the Falcons' shooting numbers were back on the up-and-up as the squad knocked down 44-percent of their field goal attempts (8-18), 75-percent of three-point attempts (3-4) and 90-percent of attempts taken from the free throw line (8-9). Air Force outscored NJIT, 27-12, in the opening 10 minutes of the second half, paced by Immel who scored 11 of points in the third quarter, hitting 4-4 in field goal attempts by the media timeout.
The Falcons found themselves in the shooting doldrums again the fourth quarter; fortunately, they built a 24-point lead in the first 30 minutes. Air Force shot just 15-percent from the field, missing all seven three-ball attempts. The Highlanders attempted to reel the Falcons in but ran out of time before getting into striking distance, finalizing the game at a 20-point deficit.
At the final horn, both teams shot 32-percent from the field, but it was the disparity in turnovers that may have been the determining factor as NJIT committed 24 turnovers. Air Force converted 23 points off of Highlander turnovers. The Falcons held the lead from wire to wire.
"It's always good to get the first win under your belt," head coach Chris Gobrecht said. "It was a really fun atmosphere to have all of the kids there, we're really appreciative to have that kind of environment and it made it fun for everybody."
The second-annual field trip day was a success for both the students of the Colorado Springs community and Air Force Athletics as student participation increased by 41-percent from last year's inaugural field trip event.
"Another thing that was exciting was that at several points in the game we had up to four freshmen on the floor," Gobrecht continued. "I'm pleased with how our freshmen are coming along and I think they are going to continue to make a difference for us. Overall, we played really well in spurts, but now we've got to work on putting together 40 minutes, and we're going to need 40 minutes when Army comes to town on Wednesday."
Next up, the Falcons host service academy rivals Army West Point, Wednesday (Nov. 13) at 6:30 p.m. MT in Clune Arena. The meeting marks the 20th between the Academies with Air Force winning the last meeting, 71-60, at West Point.
Snyder, a 2018-19 Mountain West All-Freshman selection, set the pace for the Falcons in scoring, dropping nine points in the opening three minutes of action. Junior teammate and co-team captain Kaelin Immel put up 18-points on the game, 13 of which were in the second half. Immel also added four assists and two blocks to her stat line. Snyder had a highlight performance at the free throw line, shooting a perfect 6-6 on the day. She also added four boards, two assists and two steals to the stat sheet.
Junior co-team captain Emily Conroe and sophomore guard Haley Jones collected 10 rebounds apiece- Conroe collected six on the offensive side while Jones snagged six on the defensive side. Both were just a bucket away from double-double performances with Jones scoring nine points and Conroe tallying eight. Freshmen Allyah Marlett and Nikki McDonald made their presence known in the paint, collecting seven and six rebounds, respectively, while scoring three and five points, respectively. All seven of Marlett's boards were on the defensive side of the ball.
Freshman guard Kamri Heath, who paced the Falcons in scoring in the season opener, tallied a team-high five assists and a game-high four steals while scoring two points on the game. Freshman teammate Grace Hess scored four points and tallied two assists, bringing Air Force's freshman scoring total to 14 points.
The Falcons dominated the first quarter, racing out to a nine-point lead by the first media timeout. The air tight Air Force defense in conjunction with the deafening cheers of a thousand elementary students forced three NJIT turnovers in their first three possessions, keeping the Highlanders scoreless until the 6:13 mark. The Falcons shot well in the opening quarter, hitting 3-4 three-pointers while shooting 42-percent from the field.
NJIT rallied in the second quarter, outscoring Air Force 14-12, as the Falcons had trouble getting their shots to fall. Air Force shot 29-percent from the field, hitting just two three-balls in 11 attempts.
After a spirited halftime speech, the Falcons' shooting numbers were back on the up-and-up as the squad knocked down 44-percent of their field goal attempts (8-18), 75-percent of three-point attempts (3-4) and 90-percent of attempts taken from the free throw line (8-9). Air Force outscored NJIT, 27-12, in the opening 10 minutes of the second half, paced by Immel who scored 11 of points in the third quarter, hitting 4-4 in field goal attempts by the media timeout.
The Falcons found themselves in the shooting doldrums again the fourth quarter; fortunately, they built a 24-point lead in the first 30 minutes. Air Force shot just 15-percent from the field, missing all seven three-ball attempts. The Highlanders attempted to reel the Falcons in but ran out of time before getting into striking distance, finalizing the game at a 20-point deficit.
At the final horn, both teams shot 32-percent from the field, but it was the disparity in turnovers that may have been the determining factor as NJIT committed 24 turnovers. Air Force converted 23 points off of Highlander turnovers. The Falcons held the lead from wire to wire.
"It's always good to get the first win under your belt," head coach Chris Gobrecht said. "It was a really fun atmosphere to have all of the kids there, we're really appreciative to have that kind of environment and it made it fun for everybody."
The second-annual field trip day was a success for both the students of the Colorado Springs community and Air Force Athletics as student participation increased by 41-percent from last year's inaugural field trip event.
"Another thing that was exciting was that at several points in the game we had up to four freshmen on the floor," Gobrecht continued. "I'm pleased with how our freshmen are coming along and I think they are going to continue to make a difference for us. Overall, we played really well in spurts, but now we've got to work on putting together 40 minutes, and we're going to need 40 minutes when Army comes to town on Wednesday."
Next up, the Falcons host service academy rivals Army West Point, Wednesday (Nov. 13) at 6:30 p.m. MT in Clune Arena. The meeting marks the 20th between the Academies with Air Force winning the last meeting, 71-60, at West Point.
Team Stats
NJIT
USAFA
FG%
.327
.324
3FG%
.333
.308
FT%
.545
.800
RB
45
47
TO
24
10
STL
5
15
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
19
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
6
Pts
18
FGM
6
3FGM
3
FTM
3
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's BasketballAir Force Women's Basketball 24 25 Season Highlights
Friday, April 11
Women's Basketball 24-25 Highights
Friday, April 11
Warfighter Letricia Baxley
Monday, April 07
Stacy McIntyre and Player WNIT UVU
Friday, March 21
