By Jeff Craig, Sports Writer
The women’s basketball team took another crucial step toward clinching the No. 2 seed in the Lone Star Conference South Division playoffs by crushing Eastern New Mexico 85-70 on Wednesday.
After losing consecutive games against Angelo State and Tarleton State, the Wildcats now have won two games in a row and sit at 16-9 overall. Head coach Shawna Lavender said she thinks her team’s two-game losing streak was just a blip on the radar of a very successful season to this point
“When we looked at the big picture after those losses, we realized that we had just had a slump for one-and-a-half games,” Lavender said.
The win over the ENMU Zias improved ACU’s LSC South Division record to 7-3, good for second place in the South behind West Texas A&M, which already has clinched the top seed with a 10-1 record in conference. The Wildcats have one final regular-season game remaining and will clinch the No. 2 seed in the playoffs with a victory or a loss by Tarleton State.
About midway through the first half, the Zias kept a one-point lead. However, the Wildcats roared back to take a 9-point lead with just under eight minutes left in the first half. The Zias began to chip away and cut the ACU lead to one point at the break. In the second half, the Wildcats pulled away. With 12:43 left in the contest, ACU went on a 13-0 run to bury the Zias’ chances. The Zias’ have now lost 23 consecutive LSC South games and have compiled a winless conference record on the season.
ACU center Audrey Maxwell-Lively set the pace against ENMU, scoring a game-high 18 points while collecting a game-high 13 rebounds for yet another double-double. The forward tandem of Jody Meyer and Jamie Meyer also put in good performances, combining for 31 points and 19 rebounds.
“The big thing tonight [Wednesday] was being able to play our game at both ends of the floor and really maintain control,” Lavender said. “We shot a lot of free throws and got their post players in trouble.”
The Wildcats’ regular season finale will take place Saturday at 6 p.m. in Moody Coliseum against LSC South champion West Texas A&M.
At the conclusion of the season, the Wildcats will join seven other LSC opponents in Bartlesville, Okla., for the conference championship. The Wildcats were ranked No. 8 in Wednesday’s NCAA Division II South Central Region poll. ACU needs a win or an Angelo State loss to secure the No. 2 seed from the LSC South Division before the LSC Post-Season Tournament. The tournament will take place March 4-7 and will determine who will represent the LSC in the NCAA Division II Regional Tournament.
