Slow start costs Falcons in loss to San Diego

SAN DIEGO, Calif.- Playing on the road for the first time in 2021, Air Force was never able to establish an offensive identity, as the Falcons were on the wrong end of a 52-46 final score.

Kamri Heath made her season debut earlier tonight, coming off of the bench to lead the Falcons with 14 points on 7-10 shooting (70%). In her 20 minutes on the floor, Heath also recorded five rebounds and added a steal to her stat line. Riley Snyder also finished in double-figures with 11 points, as she was 9-10 from the free-throw line. Haley Jones was as impactful as ever within the paint, bringing down a season-high 10 rebounds to go with her eight points.

The clash of these two teams was surely to highlight the effectiveness of both defenses, as both programs had already forced an abundance of turnovers in limited action. Without coincidence, Air Force and San Diego combined to commit 56 turnovers, as both defenses flew around the Jenny Craig Pavilion. However, in spite of the Falcons out-rebounding the Toreros 15-7 on the offensive end, Air Force only converted on 15 of its 52 shot attempts (28.8%).

The first quarter seemed to be prelude for what was to come. Air Force immediately fell behind 18-5 after the first 10 minutes, a quarter in which the Falcons connected on only two of 11 field goal attempts, while turning the ball over 10 times. Air Force did manage to close the first-half on a 8-0 run to go into the locker room trailing 28-17.

The San Diego lead continued to ebb and flow throughout the third quarter but Air Force continued to claw back. With just over five minutes remaining in the final quarter, Jones drove to the rim and through contact to create an and-scenario. She eventually hit the lone free throw to cut the Toreros lead to 46-39. However, San Diego's Steph Gorman swished her lone shot attempt of the evening, a corner three-pointer to immediately re-establish a double-digit lead. The Falcons never kept their feet off of the gas pedal, though the deficit proved too much to overcome.

Next, Air Force returns home for a matchup with Cal-State Fullerton Saturday, November 20. Tip-off is scheduled for 1:00 pm MT.

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