AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. — In an impressive showing on both ends of the court, the No. 19 BYU women's basketball team (19-1, 9-0) overpowered Air Force in a 67-44 rout Saturday afternoon in Colorado.
"Our team defense was very good today," BYU coach Jeff Judkins said. "I'm seeing a lot of improvement in our freshmen, and I like the way we are coming together as a team."
The opening seven minutes of the game saw both teams trading baskets, but BYU then capitalized on a nine-minute Air Force shooting drought to go on a 12-0 run for an 18-8 lead. Pamela Findlay finally scored a field goal for the Falcons with 6:24 remaining in the half.
BYU continued to widen its lead off a jump shot from Dani Kubik, which gave the Cougars a 10-point lead, 23-13, with 2:13 left in the half. At the break BYU led Air Force 31-13.
Ambrosia Anderson led all players with 10 points and seven rebounds at the half, while Kubik added nine points.
The Falcons shot just 21 percent from the field, missing all eight three-point attempts. BYU shot 54 percent from the floor.
BYU picked up right where it left off to begin the second half, going on an 8-0 run off a pair of free throws from Kubik, a layup from Jennie Keele and a three-point bucket by Anderson.
Kim Kreke scored the Falcons' first points of the half off a jump shot taken three minutes into the half, cutting the lead to 23, 38-15.
Air Force then turned on the defensive pressure, forcing BYU to go scoreless over a three-minute period. Nancy Seljaas hit a pair of free throws with 13:32 remaining in the game to put the Cougars back on the board. Seljaas then hit back-to-back layups to give BYU a 46-24 lead. The Cougars finished the game with a 23-point advantage,
Anderson and Kubik led all scorers with 13 points apiece. Anderson also grabbed seven rebounds.
"Dani played a great game today. She totally dominated inside. She's playing her best basketball right now.
Brooke Cultra and Letricia Castillo paced the Falcons with 10 and nine points, respectively.
The Cougars shot 50 percent from the field and 80 percent from the foul line, while Air Force hit 32.8 percent of its field goal attempts and 50 percent of its free throws.
The game marks the third time this season when BYU has shot 50 percent or better and the 10th game when two or more players have scored in double figures. The Cougars are now an impressive 10-0 on the road.
BYU hosts archrival Utah on Wednesday at 7 p.m. in the Marriott Center.