Air Force Academy
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UTEP
Women’s Basketball Opens Three-Game Home Stretch Sunday Against UTEP
12/3/2022 8:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Air Force (3-4, 0-0 MWC) vs. UTEP (6-1, 0-0 C-USA)
Clune Arena | USAFA, Colo.
Sunday, Dec. 4, 2022 – 1:00 p.m. MT
Air Force | UTEP| Mountain West
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Game Notes
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U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. – The Air Force women's basketball team returns to Clune Arena on Sunday, hosting UTEP at 1 p.m. in the first of a three-game home stretch.
Scouting Air Force:
A defensive force through the first month of the 2022-23 season, the Falcons rank eighth in the nation in steals per-game (14.1), creating 23.0 points per-game off forced turnovers and generating an 8.86 turnover margin- good for 15th nationally.
Sophomore Jo Huntimer and senior Kamri Heath both rank first and second respectively amongst the Mountain West in steals with 21 and 17. Through Air Force's first seven games, Huntimer lands in the 14th percentile or better nationally in both total assists (38) and assists per-game (5.4).
The pulse of the Falcon offense through their first seven games, Heath leads Air Force in field goals made (45), FG% (.495) and free throws made (20).
Sophomore Madison Smith leads the Falcons from distance through seven games, shooting 9/25 (.360) from three-point range.
Scouting UTEP:
The UTEP Miners opened 2022-23 with five-consecutive wins before dropping their lone loss against Sacramento State in the Holiday Beach Classic championship game on Nov. 26.
UTEP has held all seven of its opponents below 70 points, and rank similarly to the Falcons in both turnover margin (24th, 7.00) and turnovers per-game (18th, 12.4).
Oklahoma State transfer guard N'Yah Boyd has led the UTEP backcourt, averaging 14.3 points and 5.3 rebounds. Boyd leads the team in points scored and is second in rebounds.
Last Time Versus UTEP:
Air Force fell in a dramatic 93-85 double-overtime loss in El Paso on Dec. 21 of last season. The Falcons put up 11 three-pointers to bridge the gap between themselves and a vastly larger UTEP squad which held a significant advantage in post-play throughout the contest. The lead exchanged hands 16 times, with Air Force gaining a late advantage with less than a minute remaining in regulation which could not be held.
History Versus UTEP:
In its fourth all-time meeting between the two programs, Air Force seeks its first program victory over the Miners.
Coach G Gaining Ground
Gobrecht is currently serving her 43rd season as a head coach - the second-longest tenure in Division I women's hoops behind Stanford's Tara VanDerveer (44). Gobrecht's win tally surpassed 600 wins in the Falcons' Nov. 11 home opener against Navy.
Into her eighth season at the head of the Falcons' program, coach Gobrecht currently has 58 career Air Force wins to her name, making her the all-time winningest coach at three separate institutions- Air Force, Yale and Washington.
Gobrecht was named 2021-22 Mountain West Coach of the Year following Air Force's successful 19-14 season – A year punctuated by Gobrecht's fourth career WNIT appearance as a head coach, and Air Force's first postseason appearance and subsequent win in program history – a 64-60 victory over WCC opponent San Francisco on March 17.
Last Time Out:
The Falcons, playing in their third game in as many days in the Gulf Coast Showcase after two physical losses against No. 22 Michigan and Georgia Tech, closed the final day of the tournament with a 77-58 loss to Saint Louis.
Heath led Air Force with 15 points, doing well to force contact near the rim. The senior ended her afternoon 8-10 from the free throw line. Huntimer managed 10 points as well as a team-high four assists. Freshman guard Emily Adams contributed career-highs in points (7) as well as rebounds (7).
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