Coming off its first home win — and second of the year overall — last week, the Warriors travel to Colorado Springs, Colo., to challenge the Air Force Falcons at the Air Force Academy. The contest against the Division I program tips off at 7 p.m. Mountain Time (6 p.m. Pacific) on Tuesday.

THIS WEEK'S GAMES           
Tue.    at Air Force, 7 p.m. MST

LAST WEEK'S RESULTS
Tue.    vs. Holy Names, W, 72-57

MEDIA COVERAGE
Live Stats and Internet audio webcast of Tuesday's contest at Air Force are available by following the links on WarriorAthletics.com. The stats and audio are provided by Air Force athletics on their website, goairforcefalcons.com

DESPITE INJURIES, WARRIORS WIN BEHIND FRESHMEN PLAY
Head Coach Sharon Turner-Dean found out last Tuesday, the morning her team was to face Holy Names, that she would be without the services of two senior starters.  Gwen Page was out with a knee injury and Amanda Everett was still nursing a probable broken knuckle … Despite the grim news, the Warriors were able to find a way to pick up a 15-point victory in the non-conference action.  Three players scored in double figures for the Warriors.  Lysandra Williams netted 15 points, freshman Christin Gowan poured in a career-high 13 and freshman Katie Busi collected a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds.  Since the Warriors were playing without two key contributors, younger players were able to gain valuable experience.  In fact, Warrior freshmen accounted for 45 percent of the teams minutes played.  Gowan played a career high 30 minutes and Busi came off the bench to play 26 minutes.

WARRIORS HITTING THE GLASS
The Warriors have shown great improvement in their rebounding this season.  They have out rebounded their opponents 283-271, most notably 111-97 on the offensive end.  They are averaging 40.4 rebounds per game, while their opponents are collecting 38.7 rpg.  … Last season the Warriors averaged 36 rebounds per game and allowed their opponents 41.8 rebounds per game … Katie Busi leads the Warriors in rebounding averaging 6.3 boards a game which ranks 8th best in the CCAA.  Busi also collected 10 rebounds in the victory against Holy Names to provide one half of a double-double. It was her second consecutive 10-rebound game as she grabbed 10 boards last Saturday at UC San Diego.

GOWAN FINDING HER WAY
Freshman Christin Gowan continues to provide excitement for the future of the Warrior program.  She came of the bench in her first two collegiate games, playing 20 minutes in each and scoring a total of 10 points.  She earned her way into the starting lineup in the third game of the season and has started the last five games for the Warriors.  During that time she is averaging 26 minutes of play and 8.4 points per game.  Her best night came Tuesday against Holy Names when she played 30 minutes and netted 13 points.  Against Holy Names she scored 10 of her 13 points in the first half and then took over the majority of the point guard duties in the second half protecting the ball and ensuring the victory.  She has made 8-14 (57%) from beyond the arch, while making 18-20 free throws and has committed just 18 turnovers, the least amount of any regular starter. 

KEY STATISTICS
As a team, the Warriors rank second in the CCAA in blocked shots averaging 4.29 per contest…They also rank fourth in rebounding, collecting 40.3 boards per game…Although the Warriors have improved on taking care of the basketball, they rank 10th in the conference in turnover margin and last in assist to turnover ratio … Individually, Lysandra Williams ranks second in blocked-shots per game at 1.29 and Rebecca Arent is third with 1.00 blocks per game … Katie Busi is among the conference players in rebounding with 6.3 per game (8th). She's 11th with 2.43 offensive rebounds per game … Shirsty Kumar is 9th with 1.86 three-pointers per game.

KUMAR PROVIDES STABILITY
Despite shuffling lineups due to performance, injuries or foul trouble, Shristy Kumar has provided much needed stability for Turner-Dean.  Kumar is the only Warrior that has started all seven games this season (last season she started all 26 games).  She is averaging a team high 32.6 minutes per game and is leading the team with 12 points per game and 3.1 assist per contest.  This includes a career high 25 points in a victory over Western Oregon (Nov. 24) which helped her earn the CCAA player of the week award for the week of Nov. 19-25 … Turner-Dean has been happy with the way Kumar has opened up her offensive game, “I was pleased with Shristy's aggressiveness in terms of attacking the basket, and not just settling for being a three point shooter.” … Kumar still leads the Warriors with 13 made three pointers, which ranks sixth best in the conference.

CCAA PLAY RETURNS IN THE NEW YEAR
After Tuesday's contest at Air Force, the Warriors will have 23 days without a game over the Christmas break.  They will not return to action until January 4 when they welcome San Francisco State and return to CCAA play.  They have four consecutive CCAA contests, January 4, 5, 11 & 12, as conference action gets into full gear. 

INJURY UPDATES
Amanda Everett, who missed Tuesday's game against Holy Names, will be back in the lineup as a starter against Air Force.  Gwen Page, who was injured on November 28 against Chico, is still awaiting the final prognoses from the surgeon and is expected to be unavailable for the this weeks contest.

HEAD COACH SHARON TURNER-DEAN
Sharon Turner-Dean is in her sixth season as the head coach of the Warriors. She is just the fifth head coach in the history of CSUS women's basketball. Since becoming the head coach in 2002, Turner-Dean has posted an overall record of 47-95. In her first season, in 2002-03, the Warriors went 18-10 and tied for second in the CCAA with a 15-7 record. The Warriors advanced to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1991 before losing to Cal State Bakersfield in the first round …her husband Gary is her assistant coach and her son Allen is the team manager.

WARRIORS ON THE WEB
Check out the Warriors women's basketball team on the web at WarriorAthletics.com — the official website of Warrior Athletics. Visitors can browse player profiles, read game results and statistics, as well as subscribe to the Warriors SMS text messaging updates. The website was newly redesigned this summer through a partnership with Internet Consulting Services.

CCAA BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS
The CCAA men's and women's basketball championships have returned in 2007-08 with the top eight teams to qualify for the conference's postseason tournament. The first round games will be played on Tuesday, March 4 on campus sites of the top four seeds. The semifinals and finals will be played on March 7-8 at Cal State San Bernardino's Coussoulis Arena. The winner of the tournament would receive the automatic bid for the NCAA tournament.

THIS WEEK'S OPPONENTS

AIR FORCE FALCONS
Records: 4-5
Conference: Mountain West Conference (Div. I)
Head Coach:

Notes: The Falcons are led by two-time All Mountain West selection and three-time team MVP Alecia Steele…Steele is averaging 16.3 points and 9,4 rebounds per contest, while shooting 45 percent from the field…Senior Pamela Findlay is averaging 12.3 ppg and freshman Raimee Beck has made 19 three pointers and is averaging 11.1 points a contest…The Falcons are coming off a 74-60 loss at Wisconsin on Sunday, but have won three of their last five contests.

Last Meeting with CSUS: First ever meeting