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Head coach Ardie McInelly enters her seventh season at the helm of the Air Force women's basketball program. Since McInelly's arrival at the Academy, the Falcons have shown major improvement. In her first six years she has become Air Force's winningest coach at the Division I level.
Six individuals--Amoy Jackson (twice), LaToya Howell, Shawna Neff, Letricia Castillo, Lauren Henderson and Alecia Steele (three times)--have received all-conference honors under McInelly's tutelage.
McInelly guided the team to a 6-23 overall record last year. The Falcons saved their best basketball for late in the season, earning their first Mountain West Conference Tournament win by defeating Colorado State in the opening round.
Leading the way for Air Force was junior Alecia Steele, a third-team all-Mountain West Conference performer for the second-consecutive season. Steele led the Falcons in scoring and rebounding for the third-straight season and enters 2007-08 needing just 63 points to reach the 1,000 plateau. Speaking of 1,000 points, senior Letricia Castillo capped-off a stellar four-year career by eclipsing the grand mark, leaving the Academy ranked eighth all-time in scoring with 1,073 career points. Junior Pamela Findlay also set a new Falcon standard at the three-throw line, sinking a school record 89.7 percent of her three throws.
The Falcons enjoyed their finest season as a Division I program in 2005-06, as McInelly helped lead the team to a 13-15 overall record, marking the Falcons' highest win total since the team moved to Division I in 1996. The Falcons' impressive turnaround on 2005-06 came just two years after compiling a 3-25 mark and a 7-21 ledger in 2004-05. In addition to posting its best win total at the Division I level, the 2005-06 Air Force team also swept a pair of Mountain West Conference teams (Colorado State and San Diego State) for the first time ever, while recording a 9-2 non-conference mark. This vast improvement was accomplished with a young roster, which boasted 12 freshmen and sophomores and not a single senior.
The Falcons lose three starters and a key senior reserve off of last year's team, but the two starters that return, Findlay and Steele, provide McInelly with a solid senior core to build around. A young and rapidly-progressing returning core and a freshmen class that enters the Academy with stellar high school credentials gives McInelly a promising team that should continue to improve as the season progresses.
McInelly's success in building a winning program is well-documented. She came to Air Force in 2001 after spending five years as the head coach of Idaho State University, where she helped transform the Bengals from a struggling program to one that is respected and successful. When she first arrived at Idaho State in 1996, the team had just completed an 8-18 season and had only put together two winning seasons in the 17 previous years.
In each of her first two seasons at ISU, the team compiled records of 15-12. She took the team to the Big Sky Tournament four out of her five years, finishing third or higher in the conference in each of those four seasons.
Perhaps her greatest accomplishment came in her final season with the Bengals. That year, McInelly firmly established herself as one of the nation's premier coaches, leading her team to a 25-5 overall record and an undefeated 18-0 conference record to capture the league title. The team rattled off 21 consecutive victories, including a victory over BYU, to start the streak, which was the longest winning streak in the nation. The team made an appearance in the NCAA Midwest Regional, eventually losing to 10th-ranked Vanderbilt.
McInelly's efforts were recognized by her peers, as she earned the Big Sky Conference Coach of the Year award her final two seasons. She also tallied 77 victories at Idaho State, tying Ted Anderson for the school's all-time win record, achieving the feat in only five years, compared to Anderson's eight. During her tenure at Idaho State, McInelly compiled a 6-10 ledger versus Mountain West Conference teams.
McInelly produced 14 all-conference athletic selections at Idaho State, with her players excelling academically as well. Her team GPA was 3.24, the highest cumulative GPA in Idaho State's athletic department. She coached 34 academic all-conference athletes during her tenure with the Bengals.
The coach is also making her mark as a noted clinician. McInelly was a featured speaker at the YES Clinic at the Women's Final Four in San Jose in 1999 and Philadelphia in 2000, as well as the West Regional in Missoula in 1997. She has been featured in BlueChip Illustrated, the web magazine Full Court Press and the Women's Basketball Journal.
One of McInelly's most prestigious honors was to serve two years (2002-2004) on the WBCA Kodak All-America selection committee, a program which recognizes the nation's top players.
Prior to her stint with Idaho State, McInelly spent five seasons (1992-96) as an assistant coach at Weber State. She has also been an assistant coach at Pacific (1991-92) and Montana State (1988-91). McInelly graduated from Boise State in 1982 with a bachelor's degree in physical education. She went on to earn her master's degree in education from Weber State in 1995.
The coach enjoys biking, golfing, working out, working in her yard and spending time with friends and family. She has two older brothers, Leon and Blaine, and an older sister, Suzette. She has 11 nieces and nephews, two grand nephews and two grand nieces.
