AF picks up 72-59 hoops victory over Northern Colorado

  • Published
  • By Melissa McKeown
  • U.S. Air Force Academy Public Affairs
GREELEY, Colo. (AFPN) --  Scoring 14 of her career-high 22 points in the first half, junior Alecia Steele led the Air Force women's basketball team to a 72-59 road victory over Northern Colorado Nov. 17 at the Butler-Hancock Sports Pavilion.

The Falcons improve to 1-1 on the season, while the Bears fall to 0-3.

The U.S. Air Force Academy scored the first 10 points of the contest and led 15-2 before a three-pointer by the Bears' Jena Fosdick ignited a 12-2 University of Northern Colorado run. While the Air Force's advantage was cut to three, the Falcons scored the next seven points to regain a 10-point lead. A goal by Lauren Henderson gave the Air Force its largest advantage of the half at 32-17 as the Falcons went into intermission with a 36-24 lead.

The Air Force opened the second half on fire, outscoring Northern Colorado 12-2 including back-to-back three-point field goals from Henderson and Pamela Findlay. The Falcons led 55-28 before a 14-0 UNC run put the Bears back in the game. However, the Air Force never let its advantage dip below 15 points until a three-pointer by Northern Colorado's Whitley Cox with just six seconds remaining for the final 72-59 margin.

While the Falcons were outrebounded 36-32, they forced 21 turnovers while committing just 13. The Air Force also shot over 45 percent for the game, including 50 percent from long range.

In addition to scoring 22 points, Steele also added 11 rebounds, marking her second double-double of the season and ninth of her career. Also scoring in double figures for the Air Force were Findlay, finishing with 15 points and five rebounds, and Henderson, who had 12 points and a game-high six assists.

Heather Barbour led the Bears with 19 points, while Cox added 12 points for Northern Colorado.

The Falcons are back in action Nov. 21 and 22, when they travel to Anchorage, Alaska, for the Great Alaska Shootout. The Air Force will play host Alaska Anchorage in the first round of the tournament and then face either Butler University or University of California Riverside on day two.