Falcons Host Army In Nationally Televised Game

    Senior center Kim Kreke.
    Senior center Kim Kreke.

    Nov. 28, 2008

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    Army vs. Air Force
    Saturday, Nov. 29

    Tipoff: 2 p.m. (Mountain)
    Location: USAF Acadey, Colo.
    Arena: Clune Arena
    Capacity: 5,939
    Series: AF leads, 3-1

    Live Stats: www.goairforcefalcons.com

    Radio: 1300 AM in Colorado Springs, Colo.
    Internet Radio: www.goairforcefalcons.com
    Radio Talent: Tony Desiere

    TV: The Mountain West Sports Network (Mtn.)
    Channel 616 on DirecTV and 167 on Comcast cable. (The Mtn. is not available on DISH)
    TV Talent: Mike Evans (play-by-play); Andra Lloyd (color)

    Falcons Host Army In Nationally Televised Game
    The Air Force women's basketball team plays host to Army Saturday, Nov. 29, at Clune Arena. The game will be televised on the Mountain West Sports Network (Mtn.). In addition, fans can listen to a live radio broadcast of the game locally on 1300AM and worldwide on the internet. Tipoff is at 2 p.m. Mtn.

    Scouting Air Force
    Air Force is 1-3 on the season after dropping a 53-41 game at Texas-Pan American on Wednesday. Senior guard Brooke Cultra leads the team offensively, scoring 17.3 points per game to go with 7.5 rebounds per game. Senior Kim Kreke is the top rebounder in the conference averaging 14.0 boards per game.

    Air Force In 2007-08
    Air Force went 10-19 in 2007-09. The Falcons were 4-12 in Mountain West Conference play, finishing in seventh place. The four conference wins and seventh place finish were all-time bests in MWC play for Air Force. Senior forward Alecia Steele led Air Force in scoring and rebounding, averaging 12 points and 7.1 rebounds per game. Steele was also named team MVP. Steele and senior guard Pamela Findlay earned all-MWC honors.

    Scouting Army
    Texas-Pan American is 1-4 on the season after falling at St. John's 61-54 on Tuesday. The Black Knights, members of the Patriot League, are averaging 56.4 points per game and allowing 63.8 ppg. Army is led by senior guard Alex McGuire, who leads the team with 12.0 points per game.

    Series History vs. Army
    - Air Force and Army have met 12 times, with the Falcons holding a 7-5 advantage.
    - The two teams first met on Jan. 2, 1985, a 65-52 win by the Falcons at the Miami Classic in Miami, Fla.
    - Air Force is 4-1 in the series at home.

    1-2-85	Miami, FL*	W	65-52
    1-3-91	Melbourne, FL^	L	58-76
    12-6-96	USAFA, CO	W	66-60
    11-28-97	West Point, NY	W	59-52
    11-23-99	USAFA, CO	W	75-58
    12-8-00	West Point, NY	L	67-82
    1-3-02	USAFA, CO	W	77-52
    1-4-03	West Point, NY	L	69-72
    1-2-04	USAFA, CO	L	62-70
    1-3-05	West Point, NY	L	53-60
    12-29-05	USAFA, CO	W	73-61
    11-23-07	West Point, NY	W	68-60
    *Miami Classic
    ^Florida Tournament

    Air Force vs. Patriot League
    The Falcons are 12-12 all-time in games against Patriot League schools.

    		First 	Last 			Meeting	Meeting
    vs. Army	7-5	1985	2007 	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	2-4	1996	2007

    Air Force vs. Service Academies
    Air Force is 9-9 all-time against service academy schools, going 7-5 against Army and 2-4 against Navy. Air Force has played both Army and Navy in the same season six times.

    	AFA vs. Army and 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
    	2007-08	1-1

    Last Meeting vs. Army
    Air Force outlasted Army for a 68-60 win in women's basketball action Friday afternoon in Christl Arena at Gillis Field House. The Falcons were led by freshman Raimee Beck's 20 points and five three-point baskets.
    After Air Force jumped out to a 20-point lead with a 12-0 run to start the second half, Army went with a full-court press the rest of the game. The full-court press worked and the Black Knights clawed their way back into the game, making it as close as a seven point game three different times with under a minute to go. Air Force, which came into the game as the top free throw shooting team in the Mountain West Conference, sank 8-of-9 free throws in the last two minutes to seal the win.
    Beck led all scorers with the 20 points and was 6-of-12 from the field. The freshman connected on 5-of-8 three pointers and also pulled down six rebounds. Junior Brooke Cultra finished second on the team with 16 points and team-high's of eight rebounds and six assists.
    Senior Alecia Steele, who missed the Falcons' last game with an injury, came off the bench to score 13 points and grab eight rebounds in 23 foul-plagued minutes. Junior Dana Loveless made her first-career start in place of Steele, contributing with four points and two rebounds.
    Air Force took a 31-23 lead into the halftime break.
    The Falcons opened the second half with a 12-0 run to extend their lead to 43-23. Army, which struggled to find its shooting touch the entire game, did not score its first second-half basketball until six minutes in.
    After scoring its first basket in the second half, the Black Knights immediately slashed the lead in half with a 13-3 run to make it a 46-36 game with 10 minutes remaining. Army crept back into the game with the relentless full-court press and whittled Air Force's lead down to eight several times after the four minute mark.
    Army was led by Nalini Hawkins, who had 17 points on 7-of-17 shooting. Cara Enright added 15 and Alex McGuire had 10 points. Erin Anthony came off the bench to pull down 13 rebounds.
    For the game, Air Force was good on 84.2 percent of its free throw tries (16-of-19).

    Opponts Connections
    - Army freshman Kait Goodall is a native of Lakewood, Colo. and attended Lakewood High School.
    - Six players from the state of Illinois combined will be on the Air Force and Army rosters. Air Force has four players and Army two from Illinois.
    - Air Force guard Stevie Puentes and Army guard Courtney Wright are both New Mexico natives. Puentes hails from Rio Rancho and Wright is from Santa Fe.

    Broadcast Schedule Announced
    Fifteen regular-season Air Force women's basketball games will be broadcast for the 2008-09 season. In addition to the regular season broadcast schedule, all Mountain West Conference Tournament games will be broadcast.
    The 15 broadcast games will all be available for free at www.GoAirForceFalcons.com. Eleven of those games will be on the air in Colorado Springs on KCS 1300 AM.
    Jay Ritchie, in his 22nd season of broadcasting Air Force athletics, will handle the play-by-play duties. In addition, Tony Desiere will handle select broadcasts as well.

    2008-09 Radio Schedule

    Date	Opponent	Radio
    Nov. 29	ARMY	KCS 1300 AM/Internet
    Dec. 1	BARRY 	Internet
    Dec. 5	North Carolina Central	Internet
    Dec. 6	TBA	Internet
    Dec. 10	at Denver	KCS 1300 AM/Internet
    Dec. 22	UMKC	KCS 1300 AM/Internet
    Jan. 3	NAVY	Internet
    Jan. 10	NEW MEXICO*	KCS 1300 AM/Internet
    Jan. 20	COLORADO STATE*	KCS 1300 AM/Internet
    Jan. 28	WYOMING*	KCS 1300 AM/Internet
    Feb. 7	SAN DIEGO STATE*	KCS 1300 AM/Internet
    Feb. 14	UTAH*	Internet
    Feb. 18	TCU*	KCS 1300 AM/Internet
    March 4	UNLV*	KCS 1300 AM/Internet
    March 7	BYU*	KCS 1300 AM/Internet
    M 10-14	MWC Championships	KCS 1300 AM/Internet

    Kreke MWC's Top Rebounder
    Kim Kreke leads the Mountain West Conference with 14.0 rebounds per game. The next closest player is UNLV's Shamela Hampton with 9.7 rebounds per game. Kreke averaged 4.6 rebounds per game as a junior. She has at least 11 rebounds in all four games.

    	Kreke Rebounds By Game
    	vs. Northern Colorado	11
    	vs. Chadron St.	13
    	vs. Milwaukee	19
    	vs. Texas-Pan American	13
    	Total	56
    

    MWC Individual Rebounding 1. Kim Kreke, Air Force 14.0 2. Shamela Hampton, UNLV 9.7 3.Morgan Warburton, Utah 8.7 4.Katie King, Utah 8.0 5. Megan McGuffey, Wyo. 8.2

    Kreke Sets Academy Div. I Rebounding Mark
    Kim Kreke recorded 19 rebounds against Milwaukee. That total is an Air Force Div. I record, eclipsing the previous mark of 16 set by Mollie Peters vs. Texas-Pan American on Nov. 23, 1997. The 19 rebounds ties for the fourth-most in Air Force history, the seventh-highest mark in Mountain West Conference history and the second-highest total by a senior in MWC history.

    Most Rebounds In A Game By Air Force
    31 Mary Jo Wier vs. New Mexico Highlands, 2/11/77
    26 Mary Manning vs. Northern Colorado, 3/11/82
    24 Mary Jo Wier vs. Colorado Mines, 2/1/77
    19 Kim Kreke vs. Milwaukee, 11/22/08
    19 Mary Manning vs. Northern Colorado, 1/29/85
    17 Theresa Blad vs. Abilene Christian, 3/8/85
    17 Melissa Standley vs. Mesa State, 11/17/89
    16 Mollie Peters vs. Texas Pan-American, 11/23/97

    Kreke Becomes Div. I Era Shot Block Leader
    With four blocked shots against Chadron State and one against Milwaukee, senior Kim Kreke now has 57 blocks for her career. That total is the most Air Force in the Div. I era, surpassing Ellen Jaeshke. Kreke currently ranks 6th all-time in shot blocks.

    Most Blocks Career

    1.	122, Mary Manning 	1981-85
    2.	88, Chris Clausnitzer	1988-92
    3.	79, Leigh Wilbanks	1988-91
    4.	70, Carrie Carrow	1993, 95-96
    5.	64, Stacy Goss	1983-86
    6.	57, Kim Kreke*	2005-pr.
    7.	56, Ellen Jaeschke*	2004-05
    8.	52, Pamela Findlay*	2004-08
    9.	48, Brooke Cultra*	2005-pr.
    10.	41, Mollie Peters*	1996-00
    *Div. I era

    Falcons At or Near Top In Several MWC Categories
    Air Force is the Mountain West Conference's top defensive and free throw shooting team. The Falcons are allowing just 58.8 points per game and making 83 percent from the line.
    The Falcons also rank third in rebounding, pulling down 42 rebounds per game. The Falcons allowed 64.5 points per game, shot 71.4 percent from the line and averaged 35.7 rebounds per game in 2007-08.

    MWC Team Defense
    1.	Air Force	58.8
    2.	Utah	59.3
    3.	UNLV	60.7
    4.	New Mexico	61.0
    

    MWC Team Free Throw Percentage 1. Air Force 83.0 2. New Mexico 80.7 3. TCU 78.6 4. Utah 77.8

    MWC Team Rebounding 1. New Mexico 43.0 2. Colorado State 42.3 3. Air Force 42.0 4. San Diego State 41.3

    Cultra Off To Strong Senior Campaign
    Senior Brooke Cultra is off to a hot start so far this season. Cultra is Air Force's leading scorer, averaging 17.3 points per game and second-leading rebounder, averaging 7.5 boards per game. Cultra is third in the conference in scoring and fourth in rebounding. The senior guard had back-to-back games where she reached her career-high for points in a game. Cultra scored 19 points against Chadron State and 25 against Milwaukee. She recently led the team with 16 points against Texas-Pan American.

    Beck Emerging As A Scorer
    Despite off-nights against Milwaukee and Texas-Pan American, sophomore shooting guard Raimee Beck is becoming one of the conference's top scorers. Beck ranks second on the team, averaging 11.8 points per game. Beck averaged nine points per game as a freshman point guard. Beck scored 18 points in the season-opener vs. Northern Colorado and 21 points against Chadron State.

    Sophomore Class Emerging
    Several Air Force sophomores have shown improvement since their freshmen campaigns. Guard Stevie Puentes and center Liz Dunsworth have already surpassed their point and minutes played totals as freshmen and guard Raimee Beck has improved her scoring and rebounding averages.

    	Beck	2007-08	2008-09
    	PPG	9.0	11.8
    	RPG	3.7	6.8
    	Dunsworth
    	GP-GS	16-0	4-2
    	MPG	3.7	20.8
    	PPG	0.6	2.3
    	RPG	0.6	5.3
    	Puentes
    	GP-GS	6-0	4-1
    	MPG	4.2	19.5
    	PPG	1.7	4.8
    	APG	0.2	2.8

    Lone Junior Schjodt Also Emerges
    Kathleen Schjodt, the lone junior on the team, has also provided solid minutes this year. After seeing limited minutes as a freshman and even less time as a sophomore due to injury, the junior has already started in a game and has already surpassed her minutes played the first two years combined.

    	Schjodt
    	GP-GS	3-0	4-1
    	MPG	5.0	20.8
    	PPG	2.3	4.0
    	RPG	1.0	3.0

    Injury Sidelines Loveless For Remainder Of Season
    Senior power forward Dana Loveless will miss the remainder of the 2008-09 season after suffering a sprained ankle and torn left ACL in the season-opener against Northern Colorado. Both injuries happened on the same play just eight minutes into the game.

    Falcons Picked To Finish Ninth In MWC
    In the preseason conference poll released in October, Air Force was chosen by the coaches and select media to finish ninth in the Mountain West.

    1. Utah (16) 	206
    2. San Diego State (6) 	184
    3. TCU (2) 	161
    4. New Mexico (2) 	148
    5. BYU 	117
    6. Wyoming 	113
    7. UNLV 	80
    8. Colorado State 	44
    9. Air Force 	36
    (First Place Votes)

    Seven Regular Season Games on TV
    A record seven Air Force women's basketball regular season games will be televised. The Falcons will have four games on the Mountain West Sports Network (Mtn.) and games on CBS College Sports (CBS C), Fox Rocky Mountain (Fox RM) and BYU TV. Air Force could also have games televised at the MWC Championships.

    Air Force WBB TV Schedule

    Nov. 29	Army	Mtn.
    Dec. 10	at Denver	Fox RM
    Jan. 3	Navy	Mtn.
    Jan. 7	at San Diego St.	CBS C
    Jan. 20	Colorado St.	Mtn.
    Feb. 4	at BYU	BYU TV
    Feb. 21	at Colorado St.	Mtn.
    M 10-14	MWC Tourney	Mtn./CBS C/VERSUS

    Team Captains
    Seniors Brooke Cultra and Kim Kreke have been named team co-captains for the 2008-09 season. Cultra is a three-year letterwinner and returning starter at shooting guard. Kreke is also a three-year letterwinner and returning starter at center.

    Nine Letterwinners and Three Starters Return
    Nine letterwinners and three starters return for the Falcons.
    Sophomore Raimee Beck, senior Brooke Cultra and senior Kim Kreke are Air Forces returning starters.
    Senior Dana Loveless, junior Kathleen Schjodt and sophomores Jenny Bandi, Candice Chase, Liz Dunsworth and Stevie Puentes round out the other returners.

    Falcons Welcome Five Newcomers
    Air Force welcomes five freshmen in 2008-09.
    G Ariane Brown - Colorado Springs, CO (Palmer HS)
    G Anna Gault - Aurora, IL (Waubonsie Valley HS)
    G Kira Gonzalez - Olathe, KS (DeSoto HS)
    G Jamela Satterfield - Sacramento, CA (Sheldon HS)
    F Amber Wilmore - Colorado Springs, CO (Falcon HS)

    Up Next
    Air Force hosts Barry University on Monday, Dec. 1. Tipoff is at 7 p.m.

     

     

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