By Ryan Cantrell, Sports Writer

The Wildcats clinched a Lone Star Conference Postseason Tournament playoff spot with a 61-46 victory over Midwestern State on Saturday. ACU bounced back from a two-game losing streak to lock a playoff spot and remain second in the LSC South Division.

ACU improved to 16-9 overall and 7-3 in the LSC and remains in second place in the LSC South Division behind West Texas A&M.

“We wanted to come out with a quick start and take them out of the game early,” said head coach Shawna Lavender. “We also wanted to get our confidence back after losing two games.”

The Wildcats jumped to a 20-9 lead with five minutes left in the first half, and went into halftime with a 29-15 lead. The Wildcat defense led the way in the first half, limiting the Mustangs to 18 percent shooting in the first half.

In the second half, the Wildcats extended their lead to 17 in the first five minutes of the half. The Mustangs went on a run, cutting into the Wildcats’ lead. After getting as close as 37-26, the Wildcats went on a 13-0 run lead by Autumn Whitaker, who scored seven-straight points. The run put the game away, as the Cats went on to win 61-46.

Forward Jody Meyer scored a game-high 12 points to lead the way for the Wildcats, while forward Jamie Meyer and guard Autumn Whitaker scored 11 points. The win improves their record to 16-9 and 7-3 in conference. The loss dropped the Mustang’s record to 8-16 overall and 3-7 in conference play. The Mustangs also were eliminated from postseason play after the loss.

The Wildcats will play the first of its final two regular season games against Eastern New Mexico Wednesday. ACU holds a one-game lead over Angelo State for second place in the LSC.

“Eastern New Mexico is 0-11 in conference, but they have played a lot of close games, especially at home,” Lavender said. “We need to go in there and stay focused, so we can continue to build momentum for the conference tournament and hold on for the No. two seed.”