AFA women: Beck's 3 helps Falcons sink Navy

Raimee Beck had never made a game-winning shot in her entire basketball career. That changed Saturday at Clune Arena.

Air Force's sophomore guard netted a 3-pointer with 23 seconds left to give the Falcons an improbable 65-62 comeback victory against rival Navy.

"We kept pushing," Beck said. "It's a pride thing between us and Navy. I didn't want to back down from them. Nobody did."

Falcons senior Kim Kreke, who had 10 rebounds and tied Beck for game honors with 18 points, was confident when Beck took the shot.

"Raimee makes all her 3s, so I felt real good about her taking it," Kreke said.

Beck's bucket completed the Falcons' rally from a 13-point deficit with 10:15 left, after they'd blown a 10-point first-half lead.

Both teams knew Beck would probably get the shot after an Air Force timeout.

"We knew Beck was a great player, especially from the 3-point line," Navy coach Stefanie Pemper said.

Sophomore Stevie Puentes set a screen for Beck and senior Brooke Cultra made the pass from the right wing to the left wing for her fourth assist.

"It worked out perfect," said Beck, a 5-foot-8 native of Blackfoot, Idaho. "We did everything right."

Navy senior guard Whitney Davidson missed a 3-pointer with 3 seconds left.

Air Force (4-9) snapped a five-game losing streak in its final nonconference game.

Navy (6-8) was led by Cassie Consedine with 16 points and 12 rebounds and guard Angela Myers with 14 and 10.

Cultra added 12 points for Air Force while freshman guard Anna Gault had six assists and Kreke recorded her fifth double-double.

"That's the best team effort we've had all year," Falcons coach Ardie McInelly said. "It was probably one of Kim's most complete games."

Air Force led 8-0 and extended it to 25-15 by making 11 of its first 14 shots.

Then Navy turned the tide. The Midshipmen ended the half with a 22-5 spurt to take a 37-30 lead.

Air Force made only 4 of 24 shots after its fast start and Navy's lead eventually grew to 53-40.

"With our youth, it almost looked like we froze for a little while," McInelly said. "We kept fighting and made huge shots and big stops."