By Brian Roe, Sports Writer
ACU defeated nationally- ranked Northeastern State 67-61 for its eighth win of the season in a Lone Star Conference crossover game Saturday afternoon in Moody Coliseum.
The 8-6 Wildcats outscored the No. 14 Lady Reds 11-2 in the final three minutes of the game pushing ACU into victory lane.
Sophomore guard Ashley King led the Wildcats with 18 points, including shooting 4 of 9 from behind the three-point line. Senior center Melanie Carter netted 15 points and six rebounds, while senior center Lynsie Blau added 10 points and 11 rebounds.
Carla Busson and Bobbi Truelove led Northeastern State with each scoring 12 points for the Lady Reds.
Carter hit two key free throws with more than two minutes left in the fourth quarter to tie the game at 61-61. Freshman guard Kristal Robeson, who finished with 12 points, gave ACU the lead for good when she hit two free throws with 1:52 left to play.
Northeastern State’s Leslie Warner missed a free throw with 29 seconds left, and Blau grabbed the rebound to cap the comeback for the Wildcats.
After losing out on a close game with LSC South rivals and nationally ranked Angelo State (No. 13) last Tuesday, the Wildcats bounced back last Thursday with a big win over Central Oklahoma. The Wildcats would not go down easily and did not lose two straight games to nationally ranked teams.
“We know Northeastern State is a good team, a nationally ranked team, but we are going in to the game believing we can beat them and playing confident basketball,” said head coach Shawna Lavender before the game against the Lady Reds.
Riding a two-game winning streak, the Wildcats returned to action 6 p.m. Thursday night against LSC South Division opponent against Midwestern State in Moody Coliseum. ACU will complete its six-game home stand Saturday at 2 p.m. with an LSC South Division game against Texas Woman’s.
Carter leads ACU with 14.1 points per game while adding 7.1 rebounds a game. Blau is the lone Wildcat to average a double-double over the first 14 games of the season. The senior averages 11.9 points per game and 11.1 rebounds per game.
