Falcon hoopsters fall to Illinois State, 89-70 Published Dec. 8, 2004 U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. (AFPN) -- Despite turning in its highest-scoring half of the season to start the game, the Air Force Academy women’s basketball team suffered a second-half offensive breakdown as it lost, 89-70, to Illinois State University here Dec. 7.The Falcons started out hot, hitting seven of their first nine shots to jump out to a 16-8 lead. However, the Redbirds then began to make their move, using a three-point shot by Jaci McCormack to ignite a 12-2 run and gain the lead. Illinois State extended that lead to 9 points at 32-23, but Air Force turned it up a notch on both ends of the court, putting together a run of its own to tie the game at 36-36.However, the Redbirds never relinquished control, stretching their lead to five in the last minute of the half. A last-second three-pointer by Lauren Henderson cut the halftime margin to 46-44.The second half was a completely different ball game for the Falcons. After Alecia Steele began the period with a free throw to bring Air Force within a point, the Redbirds started to pull away. The Falcons did not score their first field goal in the second half until more than six minutes had run off the clock.Meanwhile, Illinois State had extended its lead to 16 points. The Falcons were able to cut the margin to 10 points twice, but could never get the deficit into single-digits, as they shot just 21 percent from the field in the second half.One bright spot for the Falcons was the play of Letricia Castillo, who recorded her first career double-double with 18 points and a career-high 12 rebounds. Also scoring in double-digits for Air Force were Steele, with 13 points and seven rebounds, and Henderson, who notched a career-high 10 points to go along with her game-high six assists.The Falcons next travel to Boise State University on Dec. 10.