The Air Force Academy Lady Falcons were all smiles in the pregame shoot around. But those smiles would be gone soon after the opening tip off.
The Cowgirls coasted to a 24-point win Wednesday night, with the final score of 88-63.
Kayla Woodward netted a game-high 22 points and had 7 rebounds to lead UW. Kaitlyn Miletto added another 16 points and Chaundra Sewell had 12 rebounds. The Lady Falcons were led in scoring by Katie Hilbig, who had 17 points and eight rebounds.
Air Force (4-22, 3-10 Mountain West Conference) surprised the Cowgirls (21-6, 10-4 MWC) from the start with a full court press that dashed UW’s rhythm. Early on the movement was too static for the high-pressure defense the Lady Falcons were applying off of the inbound. But the Cowgirls adjusted, making quick give and go passes around the press to get into the half-court.
Once they figured out how to beat the Air Force defense, there was no looking back.
The high press left the Lady Falcons vulnerable underneath the basket, as they could not match the size of Sewell and Woodward in the low paint, leading to easy baskets. They tried to adjust and double up on the taller women, leaving open shots from the perimeter.
Whatever adjustments they tried to make on the evening could not stop the Cowgirls.
The Cowgirls had a 48.6 percent field goal percentage on 17-35 field goal attempts in the first half, and also were 44.4 percent from beyond the arc in the first half on 4-9 shooting. Air Force only managed a 22.6 percent field goal percentage on 7-31 shooting, and went 0-4 on 3-point attempts.
At halftime, the Cowgirls opened up a 26 point lead with the score at 40-14.
Air Force started the second half the way it began the game, but only with a marginal improvement. The Lady Falcons cut the lead to 21 at one point, but that was as close as they would get. They looked every bit like a team with only four wins on the season. If the Cowgirls can continue to play as well as they did on both ends of the court Wednesday, they should go far in the Mountain West Tournament this month.
The UW Cowboys kept it close, but late mistakes cost them in a 72-66 loss away to the Air Force Academy Tuesday night. Aided by a career-high 25 points and 10 rebounds from sophomore Kamryn Williams, the Falcons (16-10, 7-6 MWC) were able to hold off a late charge by the Cowboys (18-10, 4-10 MWC). Senior Leonard Washington scored 15 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in his first game back after missing the last two games through injury. The Cowboys have now lost three-straight, all of which have come in the Mountain West, to continue their second-half slide.
