Air Force Academy

Jan. 9, 2007

The Air Force women's basketball team returns to action this week, hosting TCU before traveling to San Diego State. The Falcons will face the Lady Frogs at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 11. They will they wrap up the week against the Rams at 2:00 p.m. (PT) on Sunday, Jan. 14.

Broadcast Info...
Live video streaming of the TCU game will be available on the Falcons' official website, GoAirForceFalcons.com.

Meanwhile, the San Diego State game will be televised by the mtn. Bill Doleman and Krista Blunk will be announcing the action.

Coaches...
• Air Force is coached by Ardie McInelly (Boise State, 1982), in her sixth season at the helm of the Falcons' program. She has compiled an overall record of 38-115 while at the Academy and holds a career record of 115-177 (11th year).
• TCU is coached by Jeff Mittie (Missouri Western, 1989), in his eighth year leading the Lady Frogs. He has compiled a 164-76 record while at TCU and a 315-135 career ledger (15th season).
• San Diego State is coached by Beth Burns (Ohio Wesleyan, 1979), in her 10th year as the Aztecs' head coach. She has compiled a 161-113 record at San Diego State and a career record of 242-178 (15th year).

Series Records...
• This week marks the eighth overall meeting between Air Force and TCU, with the Lady Frogs leading the series, 6-1. TCU won both contests last season, including a 84-79 decision at the Academy.
• Air Force and San Diego State will meet for the 19th time in the series, with the Aztecs leading 14-4. The Falcons won both games against San Diego State last season, including a 63-59 overtime victory in San Diego.

Scouting the Falcons...
Air Force is now 4-9 on the season and 0-2 in the MWC after dropping a pair of contests to Colorado State and BYU last week.

Junior Alecia Steele leads the Falcons with 13.0 points and 9.5 rebounds per game. Pamela Findlay is also averaging in double figures with 12.1 points per contest, and has a team-best 29 assists and 19 steals.

Scouting the Lady Frogs...
TCU, which is on a six-game winning streak, is 12-4 overall with a 2-0 mark in the Mountain West Conference. The Lady Frogs have posted wins over UNLV and Colorado State to open the conference slate.

Three players are averaging in double-figures scoring for the Lady Frogs, led by Adrianne Ross with 17.8 points per game. Ashley Davis adds 16.6 points per contest, while Hanna Biernacka is averaging 13.7 points per game. In addition, Lorie Butler-Rayford is the team's leading rebounder with 8.8 boards per game.

Scouting the Aztecs...
San Diego State is currently 7-6 on the season and 0-2 in the Mountain West Conference after falling to Utah and UNLV on the road last week.

Jennifer Layton leads the Aztecs with 10.7 points and 6.7 rebounds per game, while Quenese Davis is averaging 10.2 points and 5.7 assists per game.

How We Rate...
In the latest conference statistics released Jan. 7, Air Force is second in the MWC in offensive rebounds (14.15 pg) and ranks third in rebounding margin (+2.8) and free throw percentage (.709).

How They Rate...
In the latest conference statistics released Jan. 7, TCU is ranked at the top in scoring offense (75.0 ppg), rebounding offense (40.8 pg), turnover margin (+3.31) and defensive rebounds (27.19 pg). Meanwhile, San Diego State leads the league in blocked shots (4.54 pg) and steals (11.23 pg).

More Double-Doubles...
Against BYU, junior Alecia Steele notched her fifth double-double of the season, finishing with 16 points and a career-best 14 rebounds.

Steele's first double-double of the season came in the Falcons' season-opener, when she recorded 12 points and 10 rebounds against Wisconsin. She then followed that performance up with a double-double against Northern Colorado, finishing with a then-career-high 22 points, while adding 11 rebounds. Steele also notched a double-double in the championship game of the Air Force Classic, notching 19 points and 13 rebounds. Steele also posted a double-double of 26 points and 13 rebounds in the Falcons' come-from-behind victory over Weber State.

Steele now has 12 double-doubles in her career, more than any other player in Air Force history. Elycia Hall ranks second among the Falcons' Division I players, getting four double-doubles from 1996-98.

Steele's total of 12 career double-doubles also ranks first in the Mountain West Conference among active players. Ranking second is TCU's Lorie Butler-Rayford with eight.

The Magic Number is 60...
This season, when the Falcons reach 60 points in a contest, their chances of coming away with a victory are greatly improved. So far, Air Force is 4-1 when scoring at least 60 points, its lone loss a two-point heartbreaker against Alaska Anchorage. Meanwhile, the Falcons are winless when scoring under 60 points.

In its four wins this season, Air Force is averaging 69.8 points per game. Meanwhile, the Falcons are scoring just 53.9 points in their losses.

In the Record Books...
Letricia Castillo continues to move up in the record books in more than one category. The senior captain currently sits in 13th place on the career scoring list with 971 points and is poised to become the first 1,000-point scorer in the Falcons' Division I history. In addition, Castillo also ranks fifth in both career three-point field goals made and attempted.

Also making her mark on Air Force's record books is junior Pamela Findlay, who ranks seventh in career three-pointers made.

On the Boards...
Junior Alecia Steele currently leads all active players in the Mountain West Conference in career rebounds with 483. Should she reach 500 for her career, she would become the 10th Air Force player all-time to do so, and the Falcons' first Division I player to reach the mark.

Next Up...
The Falcons are on the road for a pair of contests next week, traveling first to New Mexico on Jan. 18, followed by a game at Utah on Jan. 20.

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