COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.- Turnovers and poor shooting plagued the University of Portland women’s basketball team as the Pilots lost to host Air Force, 57-51 at Clune Arena Sunday afternoon. Portland (4-5) committed 24 turnovers and shot just 27 percent (17-of-62) from the field. The Falcons (3-5) won their third straight contest after making as many free throws as the Pilots attempted, with 18 for the game. Ashlee Orndorff registered her third double-double of the season for Portland with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Both teams came out of the gates slow as the Pilots held a 4-2 lead at the first media timeout with 15:50 remaining in the half. The Falcons gained some momentum and ran to a 26-16 lead after a pair of Letricia Castillo with 3:12 to play. After Hanna Seltzer’s 3-pointer cut the deficit to seven, Castillo hit a lay-up to send Air Force to the locker room with a 28-19 edge.

UP shot a dismal 21 percent (6-29) from the floor in the first half, struggling again from the perimeter going 1-for-11 from behind the arc. Air Force shot 41 percent (9-22) and made 10-of-13 free throws to gain the lead.

Portland’s leading scorer for the season, Khalila O’Rielly-Williams started the second half strong with four quick points, but was forced to sit after picking up her fourth foul at the 16:44 mark. She would be limited to only 16 minutes of action, finishing with a season-low of nine points for the game.

The Pilots rallied with their leader on the bench and cut the Falcon lead to 30-28 after an Orndorff jumper and Whitney Grant three. Two free throws from sophomore guard Lauren Himmelspach made it 36-35 with 10:46 to play, but that would be as close as Portland would get.

Amoy Jackson, Shawna Neff, and Castillo hit consecutive treys to push the lead to 45-38. The Falcons did miss some free throws late to give the Pilots a chance to come back, but Portland made just 1-of-7 3-pointers in the final four minutes and committed three costly turnovers.

Portland cast off a season-high 27 3-point attempts, but made only five. The 27 percent field goal shooting was a season-low. The Pilots also had just seven assists for the game, but forced 24 Falcon turnovers to keep the game close. Portland also held a slim, 40-39 edge on the boards, but fall to 1-4 on the season when out-rebounding opponents.

Air Force finished the game at 42 percent (18-43) from the field, 38 percent (3-8) from behind the arc and 67 percent (18-27) from the charity stripe.

Himmelspach led the Pilots with 11 points, and added a season-high seven rebounds and four steals. Orndorff notched 10 points, 10 rebounds, three blocks and two steals in 24 minutes.

Three Falcons were in double figures, led by Castillo’s 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting. Jackson and Neff finished with 14 points and 10 points, respectively.

“Our lack of mental preparation was embarrassing,” said head coach Jim Sollars. “We shot horribly, and we did not put ourselves in any kind of mental frame of mind to be successful. It is frustrating coming off of a good performance where we played so hard and well, to come back and just go through the motions. The lack of mental toughness was very disappointing today. We have to show up everyday and play like we can to turn this thing around.”

Portland will regroup with a week off for the holidays, then hit the road again as they take on Miami (Ohio) on Sun., Dec. 28. They will then face Illinois State on Dec. 30 before returning to the Chiles Center for a four-game homestand.