The game had been tied, 22-22, at halftime, before Air Force broke open the contest with an 18-4 run midway through the second half. That put the Falcons up, 51-33, with 8:57 remaining in the game as the Hornets would get no closer than 16 points the rest of the way.

Air Force (1-7) earned its first victory of the season while Sacramento State dropped to 0-7, marking the second-worst start to a season in school history (last year’s team began the year 0-8).

Sacramento State turned the ball over 28 times and shot just 29.8 percent (17-57) from the field. Air Force took 12 more shots from the field than the Hornets and finished the game shooting 39.1 percent (27-69) from the field. The Falcons were led by Shawna Neff’s 14 points while Latoya Howell and Amoy Jackson each finished with nine. Jackson also grabbed a team-high seven rebounds. A total of 13 Falcon players received playing time in the contest.

Lori Kerswell led the Hornets with 17 points as the senior finished the game 6-of-8 from the field, including 3-for-4 from beyond the three-point line. Sophomore Danielle Iceman finished with 13 points while Alyson Thurman chipped in eight points and a team-high seven rebounds for Sacramento State.

The Hornets have yet to shoot above 31 percent in any game this season and are averaging 32.6 turnovers per game. Tonight’s 24-point loss, however, was the team’s closest margin of defeat this season.

Kerswell, who was just added to the roster after playing soccer during the fall, now has 24 points in two games and is shooting .692 (9-13) from the field.

Sacramento State returns to action next Sunday, Dec. 16, as it travels south to face San Diego State.