By Michael Freeman, Assistant Sports Editor
ACU extended its winning streak to four games as the Wildcats overcame an 11-point deficit to defeat Texas Woman’s 64-62 Saturday in Moody Coliseum. The two-point win pushed ACU’s overall record to 12-9 and 6-2 in the Lone Star Conference South Division, while Texas Woman’s fell to 8-13 on the season and 3-5 in conference play.
“I think our girls are starting to understand that in conference play it’s so crucial that we’re getting the wins that we’re supposed to get,” said head coach Shawna Lavender. “Nobody’s guaranteed a playoff spot right now.”
ACU only trails West Texas A&M in the race for the best conference record. West Texas A&M suffered their first conference loss Thursday as theWildcats upset them in a 71-66
overtime thriller in Moody Coliseum. Coach Lavender called the win one of the biggest victories for the ACU women’s basketball program in the last four or five years.
Before Thursday’s game, No. 17 West Texas A&M had not lost a conference game since Jan. 28, 2006, and the last time the Wildcats beat the Lady Buffs at home was in 1998.
“I was kind of worried about us having a little bit of a hangover from the emotional high on Thursday,” Lavender said.
In Saturday’s game, Texas Woman’s jumped out to an 11-point lead with two minutes remaining in the first half. But, ACU stormed back by shooting 57.7 percent from the field and 75 percent from the freethrow line in the second half. Guard Alex Guiton led ACU with 18 points. The Wildcats had two more players score in double-figures: center Audrey Maxwell, who finished with 13 points, and forward Jamie Meyer, who had 12 points.
The same three players had a big night on Thursday. Maxwell, who was named the Lone Star Conference South Divisio Player of the Week on Monday, led the Wildcats with 26 points and 18 rebounds against West Texas A&M. Meyer finished the game with 13 points, while Guiton put up 15 points.
“From here on out, everybody better watch out,” Maxwell said after the game. “We’re only going to get better. We have our confidence, and we’re ready to play.”
The Wildcats’ four-game winning streak matches their longest of the season. ACU won four in a row from Dec. 21 through Jan. 7. However, during the current streak, ACU’s margin of victory has been only seven points.
“All year we’ve had a lot of games that have been close,” Lavender said. “At the beginning of the year, those were the games we were losing. I feel like we really started to understand how important each possession is. We’re just mentally making better decisions at the end of the game right now.”
On Wednesday, ACU plays Eastern New Mexico in Portales, N.M. The Zias have a 4-17 overall record and 1-7 conference record. On Jan. 22, ACU crushed Eastern New Mexico 91-61. Still, ACU is wary.
“Eastern is one of those teams that makes me nervous,” Lavender said. “They’re the type of team that can definitely sneak up on you. They’re very streaky, and you hope that they don’t hit that streak against you.”
