Falcon Fastbreak INSIDE THIS ISSUE: Coaches 1 Corner Spring Break 2-3 Team 4-5 Banquet Spring 6 Workouts Elite Camp 7 Coaches Corner Happy April Falcon Fans! Our team has heard a lot this year about "Moving the culture forward" and how important it is to keep moving forward, no ma er how big or small that step might be...as long as it is forward. So far, our spring has been evidence of that mindset. Seeing the improvement in skill and the enthusiasm each player has for ge ng be er, tells me these core players are ready to do what it takes to not only move the culture forward but move our success bar higher! Our individual workouts have been the highlight of my spring. Bad shoulders and ACL's have not kept this group from pu ng in work! Kassady and Dee have worked hours with Coach Fitz to diversify their game and come back completely different post players! Cortney has sweated it out with Coach Mills, ghtening up her handle and working on counter moves to become a be er finisher in the paint! Venessannah and Erika have worked a lot on cone dribbling and ge ng to the rim in order to capitalize on their speed while Jenn, Sarah, and Mariah have all put in HOURS of ball handling (The goggles have about formed to their face!). In just a few weeks, their speed has increased and their reac on me has improved. There is no doubt, a different type of team is taking form for next season. In addi on to our great workouts we have had, our team also took me to celebrate together at our end of the year banquet. We had a chance to reflect on the goals we reached as a team and applaud the accomplishments of those who individually did a stand out job during the season. Most importantly, we honored and said farewell to our only senior, Sarah Falvey. She has shown a tremendous work ethic and steadfastness throughout the season. She has set a great example for the program and a standard for how hard a player should work on the court and towards ones degree. Till next me Falcon Fans!! Coach Rasley
Spring Break "For spring break I relaxed and spent me with loved ones. I couldn't have asked for a more peaceful break." (me and my dad pictured) Mariah Forde 20 For spring break I went to Virginia to visit some family, mainly my nephew. The picture is of me and my nephew visi ng Mon cello (the home of Thomas Jefferson). Cortney Porter 18 I went on a cruise that had stops in Honduras, Belize, Grand Cayman, and Mexico. It was fun to relax and have me away from school. Erika Chapman 18 My spring break was great! I road tripped to California with my best friends, sister and boyfriend. We spent hours at the beach and rented out a house to relax in. Venessannah Itugbu 19
Spring Break For spring break my mom, sister and I went to Las Vegas. We had a nice relaxing me in the sun, shopping around the strip, and ea ng tasty food. It was nice to be able to spend me with my family. Jenn Urbaniak 20 For spring break I went on a 7 day cruise with a few friends. The four stops were Grand Cayman, Isla Roatan, Belize, and Cozumel. My favorite stop was definitely Belize. We didn t get to see much of the actual city but we went on a cool excursion in Cayo, Belize. We drove ATVs, ziplined, went cave tubbing through the jungle, and tried their local tacos and chicken and rice dish. Dee Bennett 18 I went to Sea le over spring break. It was great because I have never been to Sea le before. It was fun exploring a new place! Sarah Pierce 20 For spring break I stayed in Colorado Springs for part of the me and I also went to Oklahoma to visit my sister. I got to go to an OKC Thunder game! Which I think was the best part of break. This is me with my nephew at the zoo. Kassady Huffman 20
Team Banquet #0 Dee Benne received the Top Rebounder award for averaging a career best 8.2 rebounds per game this past season! #33 Mariah Forde received the best Free Throw Shoo ng Percentage award for shoo ng 85% from the line this past season. She was also recognized for her All Freshmen team award from the Mountain West! #11 Cortney Porter won the awards for the leader in assists and Defensive MVP. This past season she broke two Air Force Academy women s basketball records in both assists and steals! #5 Sarah Falvey received the Loudermilk/Chavez leadership award. Our senior displayed selflessness and a team first a tude throughout this en re season!
Team Banquet The 2016 2017 Falcons!! The Air Force Academy s superintendent and former women s basketball player, Lt General Michelle Johnson, with our team as they presented her with a framed AF to thank her for her support these past few years! Superintendent Johnson addressing the crowd about what it means to be apart of a team, the sisterhood you create with your teammates and how the future is bright for our program!
Spring Workouts Spring workouts have been going well. The team talked about our goals for spring, and the summer, and it s been fun seeing everyone push in weights, individuals, and pick up to reach those goals. Especially our injured players who obviously can t play pick up or do full workouts and weights, but you can see how eager to get healthy and get better despite their injury! Dee Bennett 18 "Spring workouts have been going great. A er reflec ng on the season it's soothing to get in the gym and work on my weaknesses. I just can't wait for next season." Mariah Forde 20 Spring workouts are going well. We are small in numbers right now, but each one of us is working hard and ge ng be er and stronger every day. Cortney Porter 18 Spring workouts are a great me to develop skills and get be er for next season Erika Chapman 18 I like spring workouts because it allows me to focus on my own personal skills and what I need to improve on mainly ball handling! Sarah Pierce 20 Spring workouts are great! I can feel myself ge ng stronger in the weight room and my skills are building on the court. It s a great me to really focus on the weak areas of my game. Venessannah Itugbu 19 Spring workouts have been fun. I've been really sore from weights with our strength coach and the individual workouts have been improving my game each me I step on the court. Jenn Urbaniak 20 Spring workouts have been going really well and I feel that I've go en the opportunity to work on small things in my game that will pay off in the long run. Kassady Huffman 20