A cold holiday season in Abilene wasn’t enough to cool the Wildcats — the women’s basketball team went 6-2 during the Christmas break.

“Going into the break, we talked about being consistent, and I think we have really accomplished that,” said Head Coach Shawna Lavender. “We are starting to gel as a team, and we are winning games.”

The Wildcats relied on stout defense and timely buckets to improve their record to 10-5 overall. The defense has allowed more than 80 points only once in ACU’s last eight games, and the offense is coming through in the clutch.

“I think we can continue to get better on defense and be more consistent shooting-wise. We have done a good job of being more patient on offense and playing as a team,” Lavender said.

The Wildcats lost a couple of close games at the beginning of the season, but five of their past six wins have been by fewer than 10 points. One of those wins was a 1-point victory against Central Oklahoma.

Senior Jamie Meyer won the Lone Star Conference South Player of the Week last week after posting point totals of 20 and 25 points in the Wildcats’ two wins. Meyer has averaged more than 21 points per game this season, the sixth-highest total in the nation.

In the Wildcats’ 91-87 victory against No. 25 Southeastern Oklahoma State, Meyer scored the last 6 points of the game for the ‘Cats, including a three-pointer with 57 seconds left, sealing the victory over the Savage Storm.

“Jamie is playing great basketball, and her award is well deserved,” Lavender said. “The team is playing better and taking some of the double-teams off of her. Her great play is making everyone else around her better.”

The Wildcats are entering the home stretch of the season, having won three games in a row and eight of the last 10. The women will face LSC division opponents in the last 12 games of the season, beginning at 7 p.m. Wednesday in Portales, N.M., when they take on Eastern New Mexico. Live game coverage will be available on 1470 AM and at acusports.com.