12/30/2004 - Women's Basketball
Slow Start to Second Half Dooms Mids
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Air Force closed the first half on an 8-3 run and began the second half on a 11-2 run on its way to defeating the Navy women's basketball team, 72-62, Thursday night at Clune Arena in Colorado Springs, Colo. The loss drops Navy's record to 4-6, while the Falcons improved to 4-7.
?We not only missed some easy shots at the start of the second half, we also allowed Air Force to take and make some easy shots,? said Navy assistant coach Matt Dempsey. ?That combination was too much for us to overcome.?
Navy started the game out strong, jumping out to a 12-7 lead four minutes into the game. Foul trouble would soon slow the Navy offense as point guard Lauren Skrel (Walnut Creek, Calif.) and forward Carly Meyer (So., Orlando, Fla.) each spent considerable time on the bench with three fouls apiece.
A jumper by Ashley Pelzek (Jr., East Longmeadow, Mass.) gave Navy a 24-22 lead with 4:29 left in the half, but the Mids would only convert a trio of free throws down the stretch as the Falcons closed the half with their 8-3 run to take a 30-27 lead into the locker rooms.
Air Force continued its momentum at the start of the second half, converting four of its first five attempts from the field and three of four free throw attempts to quickly take a 41-29 lead with 15:45 left to play in the game. Navy, by contrast, would miss eight of its nine field goal attempts while the Falcons were on their run, and would go on to miss 14 of its first 16 attempts from the field in the half.
The Falcons held a double-digit lead for most of the half, but Navy did manage to slice the lead down to seven points at a pair of free throws by Meyer with 5:47 left to play. Air Force would break the game open for good with a 7-1 run which gave the Falcons a 63-50 lead with just over three minutes to play.
Navy converted only 27-percent (10-of-37) of its field goals in the second half, while Air Force would sink 44.8-percent (13-of-29) of its field goal attempts after halftime. The Falcons also put the game away at the foul line in the second half, making 15-of-24 shots from the charity stripe as opposed to Navy's 12-of-20 shooting. Take away the 7-of-7 shooting from Meyer after halftime and Navy was only 5-of-13 from the line.
Meyer scored 20 of her game-high 22 points in the second half, while Letricia Castillo's 14 points led Air Force.
Navy will be back in action Jan. 3 when the Mids play at Delaware State.
