Air Force hoopsters fall short against Utah State

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U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. (AFPN) --  Despite a furious rally in the final four and a half minutes of the game, the Air Force Academy women’s basketball team fell to Utah State University, 72-68, here Dec. 4. The loss drops the Falcons to 2-4 overall, while the Aggies improve to 3-2.

After a free throw at the 4:22 mark in the second half by Utah State’s Ali Aird gave the Aggies a 69-53 lead, their largest of the game, the Falcons went on a 15-3 run to close out the contest. Air Force’s spurt was fueled by strong defensive pressure, getting four steals -- two from Andrea Taylor and one each from Jennifer Roesch and Ashley Mickens. The Aggies were unable to score a single field goal in the last four and a half minutes.

The Falcons were able to get within three points with just 14 seconds left in the game when Roesch hit an off-balance jumper, bringing the score to 71-69. Roesch then picked up her fifth foul, sending Camille Brox to the line. After missing her first free throw, Brox went on to hit the second, and the Aggies held on for the 72-68 win.

Air Force never led in the contest and trailed by 12 points at halftime, 42-30, after hitting just 33.3 percent of its shots in the opening stanza, while Utah State shot 50 percent from the field to start the game. However, the biggest difference in the contest came at the free-throw line, where the Falcons converted just 15-of-27, including 3-of-8 in the second half. In contrast, the Aggies knocked down 24 of their 34 free throws.

The Falcons did have a huge advantage on the boards, outrebounding the Aggies 47-31 and holding a 23-8 margin on the offensive glass. Air Force has now outrebounded its opponent in all six contests this season.

Leading the Falcons against Utah State was Alecia Steele, who recorded her fourth-straight double-double with 13 points and a career-high 13 rebounds. Also scoring in double figures for Air Force was Ellen Jaeschke with 12 points, seven rebounds and two blocks.

The Falcons next play Dec. 7 here against Illinois State University.