By Elizabeth Kelly
The No. 19 BYU Cougars (19-1, 9-0) outmatched the Air Force Falcons (12-8, 2-7) on both ends of the court in a 67-44 victory Saturday, Feb. 4, 2006, in Colorado Springs.
“Our team defense was very good today,” head coach Jeff Judkins said. ?I like the way we are coming together as a team.”
Air Force jumped out to a quick lead in the first half 4-2. However, the Cougars soon countered to take a commanding 31-13 lead at half time after going on a 20-5 run.
BYU?s run was sparked by the team?s leading scorer Ambrosia Anderson who had 13 of BYU?s 20 points, during a stretch of their crucial first half run.
BYU further extended their lead, exploding out of the locker room with a 9-2 run in the second half. The Falcons soon fought back only being outscored 36-31 in the second half; however, they never recovered from their 13-31 first half deficit.
The Cougars controlled almost all facets of the game. They dominated on the boards with 37 to 29 for Air Force, and they held the Falcons to a meager 14 percent compared to their season average of 32 behind the arc. However, BYU turned the ball over 16 times, two more than the Falcons.
Anderson and Dani Kubik led the Cougars on the offensive end both scoring 13 points each, while Anderson also pulled down seven rebounds.
“Dani played a great game today. She totally dominated inside,? Judkins said. ?She”s playing her best basketball right now.?
BYU meets MWC rivals Utah University on Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2006, in Provo. In the teams? previous match up, the Cougars narrowly defeated the Utes. BYU guard Mallary Gillespie hit a shot at the buzzer to put the Cougars up by one to steal a win in Salt Lake City.
The Utes will be looking for revenge against the ranked Cougars at 7 p.m. in the Marriott Center.
