GREELEY, Colo. – In its first game of the regular season, the Air Force women’s basketball team dropped a 68-44 decision to Northern Colorado Friday evening at the Butler-Hancock Sports Pavilion.

Senior Alicia Leipprandt (Ubly, Mich.) was the lone Falcon to score in double figures, finishing with 18 points, while Katie Hilbig (Sr., Castle Rock, Colo.) grabbed a team-best six rebounds. Meanwhile, D’shara Strange scored 20 points to lead the Bears.

The first eight minutes of the game remained close, with a pair of free throws by Dymond James (Sr., Brambleton, Va.) at the 12:46 mark giving the Falcons a 13-12 advantage. However, Air Force went scoreless for nearly seven minutes, committing five turnovers in that span, as Northern Colorado took a 10-point lead.

The Bears led by as many 14 late in the opening half before going into the intermission with a 33-21 advantage. Northern Colorado pulled away after the break, increasing their lead to 63-35 with just over seven minutes to play, by converting at the charity stripe.

With the exception of Leipprandt, the Falcons struggled offensively, shooting just over 29 percent from the field and hitting just 11 of 26 free throws. Meanwhile, the Bears shot nearly 48 percent from the field and were 17-of-23 from the foul line. Northern Colorado also had the edge on the boards, outrebounding Air Force 45-29.

The Falcons are back in action on Monday, Nov. 12, when they travel to Farmville, Va., to face Longwood in a non-conference match-up.