USAF ACADEMY, Colo. – The Fairleigh Dickinson women's basketball team suffered its first road loss of the season in an 85-37 defeat at the Air Force Academy on Friday night.
 
The Knights (1-2) struggled from the field, shooting 13-for-60 (21.7 percent) for the game and only 2-for-14 from three-point range. FDU did improve on its free-throw shooting, making 9-of-13 foul shots, but the Falcons (2-2) were tough on the defensive end in forcing tough shots and causing FDU to turn the ball over 25 times.
 
"Got to give Air Force credit because they really brought their A-game," head coach Peter Cinella said after the game. "They pushed the ball hard. We tried to rotate people in, but the altitude hurt us a little bit. We have to work on our transition defense, rebounding and taking care of the basketball."
 
Senior Natalie Zamora finished the night as the leading scorer for the Knights with eight points, adding two assists, two steals and two blocks as well. She was one of 11 different Knights that scored a point over the course of the game. Sophomore Madison Stanley grabbed a team-high five rebounds and also contributed four points.
 
Zamora sank her only three-pointer of the game to help draw even at 4-4 early in the game, and senior Peniel M'Bikata drained a jumper in the paint to provide the Knights a 6-4 advantage. Air Force battled back to go up by two before Zamora drew a foul on another three-point try and she made all three free throws to make it 9-8.
 
The Falcons regained the advantage on their next possession. After Zamora sank a two-point jumper to bring the Knights within one, the Falcons proceeded to go on a 12-0 run, broken up by a Rachael Niles jumper to end the first period.
 
Air Force built its lead up to as many as 26 points in the second period and entered halftime with a 46-21 advantage.
 
The Knights started the third period on a 6-0 run, starting with a Courtney Blankenship free throw and continuing with a Niles three-point make. Stanley then drained a jump shot to complete the run, but the Falcons countered with a 6-0 run of their own and continued to put the game out of reach.
 
Emily Conroe led the Falcons with 16 points, and Kassady Huffman recorded a double-double with 10 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.
 
Air Force finished the contest with a 55-30 advantage in rebounds and a 25-20 advantage in turnovers forced.
 
The Knights return to New Jersey for their next game, taking on local rival NJIT in the Rothman Center on Tuesday, November 20, at 7 p.m.