Nov. 20, 2007
Complete St. Francis-Army Games Media Notes in PDF Format 
Air Force Falcons (1-2) vs. St. Francis Terriers (1-2)
Wednesday, Nov. 21, 2007 • 2:00 p.m. (EST)
Brooklyn, NY • Pope Center
Air Force Falcons vs. Army Black Knights (1-1)
Friday, Nov. 23, 2007 • 7:00 p.m. (EST)
West Point, NY • Gillis Field House (2,000)
Radio/Television/Livestats:
Internet radio available for St. Francis game through www.sfcathletics.com. Live stats (free) and video streaming (fee to view) will be available for the Army game through www.goarmysports.com.
Last Week:
Air Force defeated Denver University, 65-56, last Friday, Nov. 16, at home.
Army defeated St. Francis,63-57, last Sunday, Nov. 18, in West Point. Army hosts Drexel on Tuesday, prior to the Friday game vs. Air Force.
Next Week:
Air Force hosts the Air Force Classic, Nov. 30-Dec. 1. The Falcons take on Hampton on the 30th and will play either Ohio or Utah Valley on the 1st.
St. Francis travels to Lafayette College on Nov. 27 and Hosts Princeton on Nov. 29.
Army takes on Columbia and Brown in their next two games.
Streaks:
Air Force and Army have a one game win streak and St. Francis has a one-game losing streak.
Rankings:
None of the teams are ranked.
Coaches:
Air Force is coached by Ardie McInelly (Boise State, 1982), who is 41-131 entering her seventh season at the Academy and 118-193 in her 12th year overall as a head coach.
St. Francis is coached by Brenda Milano (Wagner College, 1995), who is 38-79 in her fifth season.
Army is coached by Dave Magarity, who is 25-7 entering his second season at Army and 338-341 in his 25th year overall as a head coach.
Last Meeting:
Air Force plays St. Francis for the first time.
Air Force defeated Army 73-61 at home on Dec. 29, 2006.
Series History vs. Army
- Air Force and Army have met 11 times, with the Falcons holding a 6-5 advantage.
- The two teams first met on Jan. 2, 1985, a 65-52 win by the Falcons at a neutral site.
- Air Force is 1-3 all-time at Army.
Air Force vs. Northeast Conference
- St. Francis is the first team Air Force faces from the Northeast Conference.
Air Force vs. Patriot League
- The Falcons are 11-11 all-time in games against Patriot League schools.
Air Force vs. Sun Belt First Meeting Last Meeting
vs. Army 6-5 1985 2005
vs. Bucknell 1-1 2003 2006
vs. Colgate 1-0 1985
vs. Holy Cross 0-1 2000
vs. Lafayette 1-1 2000 2001
vs. Navy 2-3 1996 2005
Air Force vs. Service Academies
- Air Force is 8-8 all-time against service academy schools, going 6-5 against Army and 2-3 against Navy.
- Air Force has played both Army and Navy in the same season on five times.
Air Force vs. Army & Navy in same season
Year W-L
1996-97 0-2
2000-01 0-2
2001-02 2-0
2003-04 0-2
2004-05 1-1
*More info on Army-Navy series on page 6 of release
Last Meeting vs. Army
Air Force soared to a 73-61 victory over service academy rival Army Thursday afternoon at Clune Arena.
The game had a close beginning, with Army getting out to a 9-6 lead with 15:21 on the clock. However, the Black Knights would never lead again, as the Falcons then went on a 19-2 run over the next eight minutes to go up by 14 points. A three-pointer by junior Letricia Castillo with just eight seconds on the clock gave the Falcons a 41-27 cushion going into the locker room.
The two teams traded baskets for the first five minutes of the second stanza, before a scoring burst by sophomore Alecia Steele put the Falcons up 54-35 with over 13 minutes to play.
Rebounding was a strength for the Falcons, who outrebounded the Black Knights 48-25 for the game, limiting Army to just four offensive boards. As a result, Army, which shot over 40 percent for the game, had 20 less field goal attempts than the Falcons. Air Force also made the most out of its trips to the foul line, hitting 17-of-21 (.810) attempts, while Army was 19-of-27 (.704) from the line.
Jacki Novak had a career night to lead the way for the Falcons, notching her first career double-double with a personal-best 15 points and career-high tying 10 rebounds in just 16 minutes of action. Meanwhile, Steele added 15 points and six rebounds and Castillo notched 11 points, all in the first half.
For the Black Knights, Cara Enright and Alex McGuire each had 13 points, while Erin Begonia added 10.
Recapping The Denver Game
A late rally propelled Air Force to a 65-56 win over Denver University Friday night at Clune Arena. Trailing by two, the Falcons closed out the final six minutes of the game with a 24-13 run to earn its first win of the season.
The win snapped a seven-game losing streak to the Pioneers dating back to 1996.
In a tight, see-saw battle that saw seven ties and six lead-changes, Air Force finally took control late in the game with the inspired play of freshman Raimee Beck and senior Jamie Davis.
Trailing by two, Davis scored Air Force's next eight points to put the Falcons ahead 49-47 with a little under six minutes to go. After DU tied the game up, Pamela Findlay hit a jumper to put Air Force back ahead. Beck then connected on back-to-back three's to give the Falcons a commanding 57-49 lead with just under three minutes to go.
Beck led the Falcons with with a career-high 21 points, shooting 6-of-9 from the field and 5-of-7 from long distance. The freshman point guard played the entire 40 minutes and committed just one turnover to go with three assists.
Senior Alecia Steele, who had to leave the game midway through the second period with an injury, finished second of the Falcons with 16 points. Steele led the team with 13 rebounds, recording her second double-double of the season and 17th of her career.
Findlay added 13 points and was a perfect 7-of-7 from the free throw line. Davis finished with 12 points and five rebounds.
Despite an off-night shooting, junior Brooke Cultra was a solid contributor on the rebounding end, finishing with 10 boards, five offensive. Junior Chasmine Jones may have played her best game as a Falcon, contributing with a team-high three steals in a career-high 23 minutes of action.
Air Force overcame a cold start, which saw the team shoot 16.7 percent from the field in the opening half. The Falcons rebounded with a 46.7 effort in the second half to finish with a 31.7 shooting percentage on the day.
Denver was led by Nnenna Akotaobi, who finished with 24 points and four assists. Sara Benham added 12 points and four rebounds. Jenna Cole was the Pioneers' leading rebounder with six.
Air Force out-rebounded Denver 43-36 and made 21-of-26 free throws to DU's 8-for-11.
The Top Free Throw Shooting Team In The Mountain West
Air Force enters the week as the best free throw shooting team in the Mountain West Conference, making 77.3 percent of their attempts. Air Force made 21-of-26 attempts against Denver, including their last 13 attempts, to average 80.8 percent for the game. Senior Pamela Findlay was a perfect 7-of-7 from the line against Denver. The Falcons shot 68.0 percent from the line last year, an improvement of 9.3 percent.
Steele Needs 17 Points to Reach The 1,000 Mark
Senior forward Alecia Steele enters the week with 983 career points, needing 17 to reach 1,000. Steele would become just the second Falcon to reach the 1,000 point barrier in the Div. I era. Letricia Castillo, a 2007 grad., was the first to do so, scoring 1,073 career points from 2003-07.
Beck's 21 Points Most By Falcon Freshman Since 2002
Freshman point guard Raimee Beck scored 21 points to lead Air Force to a 65-56 win over Denver last Friday. The 21 points were the most by a Falcon freshman since Latoya Howell scored 30 points against San Diego State in 2002. Beck was 6-of-9 from the field and 5-of-7 from three point range. Beck connected on all four free throw shots. She also had three assists and just one turnover in 40 minutes played.
Scouting St. Francis
- St. Francis enters the week with a 1-2 record after losses at Iona and Army last week.
- The Terriers are led by senior guard Kara Ayers, who leads the team with 18.3 points and 7.0 rebounds per game.
- St. Francis is averaging 60.7 points per game and allowing 62.3.
Scouting Army
- Army enters the week with a 1-1 record after defeating St. Francis last week.
- Senior guard Cara Enright leads the Black Knights with 24.0 points per game and is shooting .614 from the field and .600 from three point range.
- Army is averaging 60.5 points per game and allowing 64.5.
Scouting Air Force
- Air Force is 1-2 on the season after defeating Denver last Friday.
- Senior forward Alecia Steele leads the team with 15.3 points and 11.0 rebounds per game.
- Air Force is averaging 57.7 points per game and allowing 70.0.
Findlay and Steele Named Team Captains for 2007-08
The captains for the 2006-07 basketball season are seniors Pamela Findlay and Alecia Steele. Both are first-year captains.
Falcons Picked Ninth
In the preseason conference poll released Oct. 17, Air Force was chosen by the coaches and select media to finish ninth in the Mountain West.
Wyoming was tabbed as the preseason favorite for the first time in MWC history after winning the WNIT Championship and finishing tied for second place in last year's regular-season standings. Wyoming received 24-of-30 first-place votes and 203 total points. TCU had two first-place votes and finished second with 188 points, followed by BYU with one first-place vote and 182 points. New Mexico placed fourth, followed by Utah, UNLV, San Diego State, Colorado State and Air Force.
Last year's MWC Co-Player of the Year, TCU senior guard Adrianne Ross, earned Top Returning Player honors, while Leilani Mitchell of Utah was named Top Newcomer and San Diego State's Paris Johnson was tabbed Top Freshman.
Noting The Starters
Noting Alecia Steele
- Steele has led the Falcons in rebounding all three games.
- The senior has two double-doubles on the season and 17 for her career.
Noting Pamela Findlay
- Findlay is third on the team, averaging 10.7 points per game.
- The senior made all seven free throw attempts vs. Denver.
- Findlay is also averaging 5.3 rebounds per game.
Noting Kim Kreke
- Junior center Kim Kreke has stepped into a starting role for the first time this year, starting at center in all three games.
- Kreke logged a career-high 31 minutes against Oklahoma State.
- Kreke had a season-high three blocks against Denver.
Noting Brooke Cultra
- Recorded a season-high 10 rebounds against Denver.
- Has started all three games and is second on the team with 6.3 rebounds per game.
- Played a career-high 31 minutes again UMKC and tied a career-high with two blocked shots.
Noting Raimee Beck
- Has started all three games at point guard.
- Has led the team in scoring twice.
- Leads the team with 35.7 minutes per game.
- Has made 44.8 percent of her three point shots (13-29).
Up Next
Air Force hosts the Air Force Classic next Friday-Saturday, Nov. 30-Dec. 1. The Falcons take on Hampton on Friday at 5 p.m., followed by Ohio taking on Utah Valley at 7:30. The consolation game of the tournament takes place at 2 p.m. on Saturday, followed by the championship game at 4:30.
