Basketball: Women's team falls to Utah, 60-52

  • Published
  • By Melissa McKeown
  • Academy Athletic Media Relations Office
U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. (AFNEWS) --  In the final home game for its four seniors, the Air Force women's basketball team was unable to get past visiting Utah, falling 60-52 Feb. 22 in Clune Arena here. 

The Falcons drop to 5-20 overall and 1-13 in the Mountain West Conference, while the Utes improve to 17-10, 10-4 in the MWC.

It was an emotional night for the Falcons, whose senior class -- Letricia Castillo from Anchorage, Alaska, Dawn Higginbotham fromColorado Springs, Colo., Jacki Novak from Kewaunee, Wis., and Andrea Taylor from Sugar Grove, Ill. -- played in their final game at Clune Arena.

With a three-point basket at the outset, Utah led from the start and never trailed. Though it was close in the beginning, the Utes eventually led 27-13 with just over 2.5 minutes remaining in the half. However, the Falcons closed out the opening stanza on a 6-0 run to get back within eight points at intermission. Air Force committed just four turnovers in the first half, but shot just 29 percent from the field.

The Utes continued to extend their lead after the break, leading by as many as 11 points, before the Falcons cut the margin to five points following a three-point basket by sophomore Brooke Cultra from Onarga, Ill. Utah moved its lead back out to 11 points after a pair of long-range shots midway through the half and never looked back.

While Air Force shot just over 35 percent for the game and were outrebounded 40-30, the team committed a season-low seven turnovers, while forcing 15 turnovers by the Utes.

Junior Alecia Steele from Oklahoma City led the Falcons with 13 points, while Cultra added 11 points and Higginbotham finished with 10 points. Taylor scored a season-high nine points for the Falcons, including the first five Air Force points of the contest.

The Falcons return to action Feb. 25 when they travel to UNLV.

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