Northern Colorado used some perimeter sharp-shooting and a deep bench to spoil the Air Force women’s basketball season opener with a 73-53 win Friday night at Clune Arena.

The Big Sky Conference-member Bears blistered the nets in the first half, hitting 52 percent of their shots from the floor. Even more impressively, Northern Colorado nailed seven of its first 10 3-point goals en route to a 43-20 halftime edge.

Thirteen Northern Colorado players saw action, with a dozen contributing at least a point.

Among those coming off the bench was Cassie Lambrecht, a 5-foot-7 freshman from Colorado Springs, who had eight first-half points on her way to a team-leading 13.

“My parents usually make it to all my games in Greeley, but I had my whole family here tonight,” Lambrecht said. “Our team always expects to play well. Our starters did a good job building a lead, and we didn’t lose it. We were fired up to play well on the road in our first real game.”

The Bears (1-0) shot 51 percent from the floor – 58 percent (11 of 19) from three-point land. The Falcons (0-1) connected on an abysmal 7 of 32 of their field goals in the first half (22 percent), finishing the game 18 of 59 (31 percent).

“We didn’t play too well on the defensive end, and turnovers were killing us in the first half. It’s tough to come back from such a large deficit,” said Air Force sophomore guard Raimee Beck, who single-handedly tried to resurrect her team, scoring 15 of her game-high 18 points during a second-half flurry.

The only other Falcon in double figures was senior center Kim Kreke, who had 10 points and 11 rebounds. Air Force won the battle of the boards, 39-33.

“I didn’t recognize (our) team in the first half. But we got beat by a better team tonight. (Northern Colorado) coach (Jaime) White has done a great job with her team,” Falcons coach Ardie McInelly said. “No. 34 (junior guard Whitley Cox) was a great penetrator for them. Our defense flattened out, then she pitched it back out and they hit the shots. We’re going to work on our transition defense and take care of our breakdowns.”

The Bears got 10 first-half points from sophomore Courtney Stoermer, who finished with 12. Sophomore Kate Kevorken added 11.

Air Force lost senior forward Dana Loveless early in the game with a twisted ankle. McInelly said Loveless will undergo an MRI to determine the extent of the injury.

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