COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – In the final exhibition game before the start of the 2014-2015 season, the New Mexico Highlands women's basketball team hung tough with Air Force before falling 66-58 Tuesday night (Nov. 11) in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
 
"I was pleased with our defensive effort tonight as that was a focus for us all week in practice. We showed definite improvement from last week," head coach Brianna Finch said.
 
Senior Anngelina Sanchez (18 points) and junior Brittany Brown (15 points off the bench) each scored more points than any Air Force player. Senior guard Claudia Menesses grabbed a game-best 14 rebounds.
 
"We rebounded the ball well and had 16 offensive boards with Claudia having a huge night on the glass," Finch added.
 
The Cowgirls trailed 12-4 early, but threes from junior Miranda Martinez and Brown cut the deficit to two with 11:33 left in the first half. However, Highlands climbed no closer in the game. The Falcons later in the half raced to a 34-23 lead, but Sanchez completed a rare four-point play to push the deficit to single digits for the rest of the half.
 
Air Force split from the line on the following possesion before Sanchez came down the court and popped a triple to cut the deficit to 35-30 with 1:59 left. The defense clamped down and only allowed a pair of free throws before break, but the Cowgirls could not take advantage with two missed jumpers and a miss on the front end of a one-and-one.
 
Highlands could not climb within two the entire second half, but Air Force never led by more than 12 as the Falcons eventually won by eight. The Cowgirls shot 34.8 percent for the game (23-66), including 7-12 (58.3 percent) from beyond the arc in the first half. Air Force held a slim 42-38 rebounding edge, but the Cowgirls had a 16-11 edge on the offensive glass that led to a 16-8 edge in second chance points.
 
Air Force shot 48 percent (24-50) from the field in the game, but only 18.2 percent (2-11) from beyond the arc. Missy Byrd led the home team with 12 points and nine boards.
 
"Our goal with these exhibition games was to play tough competition in order to challenge us and see where we need to improve going forward," Finch stated. "I know this group is going to work hard and get better every day."
 
The New Mexico Highlands women's basketball team kicks off the regular season next Saturday (Nov. 22) against UT-Permian Basin in Odessa, Texas, at 1 p.m. (2 p.m. local time).