Falcon hoopsters fall to UNLV, 70-63

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U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. (AFPN) --  Despite shooting 52 percent for the game, the Air Force Academy women’s basketball team was unable to outscore the University of Nevada at Las Vegas, falling 70-63 to the Lady Rebels here Feb. 24. The Falcons, in the midst of a four-game losing streak, drop to 7-17, 2-9 in the Mountain West Conference, while UNLV improves to 15-10, 6-5 in league play.

The two teams traded baskets to start the game, with eight ties and eight lead changes in the first 13 and a half minutes of the period. However, the Lady Rebels took a 27-26 lead after a 3-point play by Nikki Hitchens and went on to extend their advantage to 5 points. Lauren Henderson responded with a long-range shot at the 5:03 mark, but UNLV went on an 8-2 run over the next four and a half minutes to go up by 8 points. Air Force went into the locker room down 39-34 after Pamela Findlay hit a 3-pointer with 23 seconds left on the clock.

Although Air Force scored the first bucket of the second half, RanDee Henry scored UNLV’s first 6 points of the half to put the Lady Rebels up by 7 points. A 6-0 spurt by the Falcons brought them within a point with 16:11 remaining on the clock, but it was as close as they would come for the rest of the game, as Sheena Moore drained a 3-pointer to extend UNLV’s lead to 48-44.

The Falcons were down 5 points with 11:32 remaining when head coach Ardie McInelly was slapped with a technical foul. A pair of free throws by Moore kept the momentum in UNLV’s direction as it stretched its lead to as many as 10 points. Even so, Air Force kept clawing back, cutting the margin to 63-60 with 4:46 on the clock when Letricia Castillo made a 3-pointer. However, it was the last field goal for the Falcons, as the Lady Rebels outscored Air Force 7-3 to close out the game for the victory.

The Falcons shot more than 50 percent for just the second time this season, including a blistering 60 percent in the first half. However, the Falcons hit only eight of 16 free throws during the game and were outrebounded 24-14 in the second half.

Air Force was led by Jacki Novak, who notched a career-high 14 points on 7-of-9 shooting, to go with her five rebounds. Meanwhile, Findlay scored 11 points along with her team-leading two blocks and two steals. The Falcons’ leading rebounder was Alecia Steele, who had seven rebounds and 7 points.

The Falcons compete against San Diego State University in the home finale March 5.