Falcon women get first conference road win

For the first time in their D-1 lives, the AFA women's basketball team has won a conference road game. To the average fan this may seem insignificant but to Ardie McInelly and her young team this is the beginning of a new era.

Recap of the Thursday win.

Led by sophomore Letricia Castillo’s (Anchorage, Alaska) 15 points, the Air Force women’s basketball team captured its first-ever road win in the Mountain West Conference, defeating San Diego State, 48-44, Thursday evening in Cox Arena. The victory moves the Falcons to 6-11, 1-3 in the MWC, while the Aztecs fall to 6-10, 1-3 in the league.

 The Falcons started out shooting well from the field, hitting four of their first six shots, while San Diego State's shots were errant. Letricia Castillo let her presence as she scored 11 first-half points. The SDSU defense kept them in the game as their constant pressure resulted in 15 Air Force turnovers in the first half.  The Falcons had were too strong on the boards though as the Birds took rebound contest 23-9 in the first half.

There was not much difference in the second half but the excitement was there with four lead changes.  When SDSU went 30-27, the Falcons kicked it into high gear with a 11-0 run to take the lead by eight points. The Falcons were able to hold on, taking the 48-44 win, its first conference victory since 2003.

Castillo finished with 15 pts and senior Jennifer Roesch finished with seven.

The Falcons  next travel to the Thomas & Mack Center and take on UNLV in Las Vegas. Tip-off is slated for 3:00 p.m. (PT) Saturday, Jan. 29.

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Opinion.

Falcon fans will be hearing a lot more from this young Falcon team as coach McInelly has a strong group of young players at the Soph and Fresh level that have the potential of developing into a cohesive and deep team.  The next couple of seasons will tell us just how strong the Falcon women's team can be.  Continued success in recruiting is a must.