Air Force Academy

Jan. 16, 2007

The Air Force women's basketball team is on the road for two more games this week, traveling to New Mexico before heading to Utah. The Falcons will play the Lobos Thursday evening at 7:00 p.m. in Albuquerque, before meeting the Utes Saturday at 3:00 p.m. in Salt Lake City.

Broadcast Info...
The New Mexico game will be broadcast live in the Colorado Springs area on KKML 1300. The broadcast will also be available on the internet at GoAirForceFalcons.com.

Jay Ritchie, in his 20th season of broadcasting Air Force athletics, will handle the play-by-play duties.

Scouting the Falcons...
Air Force fell to 4-11 on the season and 0-4 in the MWC after dropping a pair of contests to TCU and San Diego State last week.

Juniors Pamela Findlay and Alecia Steele lead the Falcons with 12.1 points per game, while Steele also is averaging a team-best 8.7 rebounds per contest. Findlay leads Air Force with 36 assists and 20 steals.

Scouting the Lobos...
New Mexico, which enters this week with an 11-6 overall record and 1-3 mark in the MWC, picked up its first conference win of the season Saturday against Colorado State.

Julie Briody is the Lobos' leading scorer with 16.4 points per game, while Dionne Marsh (13.2 ppg) and Katie Montgomery (11.1 ppg) are also averaging in double figures. Brandi Kimble is the team's leading rebounder with 5.9 boards per game, while Montgomery has a team-high 54 assists.

Scouting the Utes...
Utah is currently 11-6 on the season and 4-0 in the Mountain West Conference, getting a pair of victories over Colorado State and UNLV last week. The Utes will host TCU on Thursday before meeting the Falcons this weekend.

Morgan Warburton is the leading scorer for the Utes, with 15.1 points per game, while Joh-Teena Filipe is also averaging in double figures with 10.3 points per contest. Filipe is Utah's top rebounder, with 6.2 boards per game, while Warburton has dished out a team-best 56 assists on the season.

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 38-117 while at the Academy and holds a career record of 115-179 (11th year).
• New Mexico is coached by Don Flanagan (Fort Lewis, 1971), in his 12th year leading the Lobos. He has compiled a career record of 250-110 at the helm of the New Mexico program.
• Utah is coached by Elaine Elliott (Boise State, 1977), in her 24th season as the Utes' head coach. She has compiled a 501-199 career ledger at Utah.

Series Records...
• This week marks the 21st meeting between Air Force and New Mexico, with the Lobos holding a 19-1 advantage in the series. New Mexico won both contests between the teams last season, including a 79-53 contest in Albuquerque.
• Air Force and Utah meet for the 22nd time in the series, with the Utes leading 21-0. The two teams met three times last season, including an opening round matchup in the MWC Tournament.

The Leading Scorer...
Senior Letricia Castillo became the Falcons' all-time leading scorer at the Division I level last week, when she finished with nine points against TCU. Castillo, who now has 987 career points, passed 2004 graduate Shawna Neff, and is poised to become just the 10th Air Force player to reach 1,000 points in her career.

In the Record Books...
While Letricia Castillo has certainly made her mark on the Air Force record books, there are a few other Falcons making moves as well. Junior Pamela Findlay currently ranks seventh in career three-pointers made, while classmate Alecia Steele has moved into the Falcons' top 25 career scorers. Steele is also just eight rebounds away from reaching the top 10 in the Air Force record book.

Getting To 62...
This season, when the Falcons reach 62 points in a contest, their chances of coming away with a victory are greatly improved. So far, Air Force is 4-0 when scoring at least 62 points. Meanwhile, the Falcons are winless when scoring under 62 points.

In its four wins this season, Air Force is averaging 69.8 points per game. Meanwhile, the Falcons are scoring just 54.3 points in their losses.

Next Up...
The Falcons wrap up the first half of the conference slate next week with a pair of home games. First, Air Force hosts UNLV at 7:00 p.m. on Jan. 25, followed by a 2:00 p.m. contest with Wyoming on Jan. 27.

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