February 29, 2008

Provo, UT (UWIRE) -- With three games left in the Mountain West Conference season, the BYU women's basketball team looks to unite and come together as a team as it travels on the road to Colorado Springs to challenge Air Force, Saturday at 2 p.m.

"We need these three wins in order to get the confidence for the tournament," Cougar guard Mindy Nielson said.

The Cougar squad looks toward the next three games for an opportunity to gain momentum before entering the tournament in Las Vegas on March 12. After a close battle with New Mexico Tuesday night, the Cougars fell to 13-12 overall, and 7-6 in the MWC. BYU still holds the fourth spot in the conference, three games behind TCU.

BYU has struggled this season to maintain consistency in every match up. The Cougar offense gives up 19.9 turnovers per game, eighth in the MWC, and scores 52.4 points per game, seventh in the MWC.

The Cougars lead the MWC in intensity on defense, causing their opponents to shoot a low 34 percent.

"I think it's the problem that we have had all year is coming together and playing like a team," Nielson said.

The Falcons came off a victory against Colorado State on Wednesday with an 18-0 run in the first half to pull away from the Rams. Air Force is 9-16 overall this season and 3-10 in the MWC. The Falcons are in eighth place and looking for their second win in a row.

"We should go into it looking to make ourselves better and working on our game," BYU senior Mallary Gillespie-Carling said.

BYU looks for its 21st consecutive win against the Falcons. Air Force has a 6-6 record at home and BYU is 4-8 when traveling on the road. In the last meeting between the two squads, on Jan. 30, BYU had its closest matchup. The contest came down to the final minute with Air Force having an opportunity to tie the game with a three. Air Force came up with two looks at the three, both blocked by the Cougar defense. Nielson helped the Cougars pull away with two free throws to win at the Marriott Center, 52-47.

In the first meeting, Air Forces' Raimee Beck led her team with 13 points and Findlay added 12 points, shooting a perfect 8-for-8 from the free-throw line. Gillespie-Carling led the Cougars to their victory with 24 points, while Riley-Varley added nine points and 15 rebounds.

"We need to come in and defend and to look to score more frequently," Gillespie-Carling said of this rematch.

Alecia Steele leads the way for the Falcons, pitching in 12.2 points, and leads her team in rebounding with 7.2 boards, third in the MWC. Teammate Pamela Findlay contributes to the Falcons offense with 10.7 points. Findlay ranks third in the conference, shooting 40 percent from the 3-point line, and leads the conference in freethrow shooting, averaging 86.8 percent.

(C) 2008 The Daily Universe via UWIRE