The Wildcats earned a huge win against the Rambelles on Saturday, 77-59, while the men’s team dropped a tough game to the Rams, 85-70.

The women’s win was critical in order to stay in the running for the Lone Star Conference Championship in Bartlesville, Okla. The Wildcats improved to 5-3 in the South Division, and the loss drops Angelo State to 4-4. ACU remains tied for third in the South Division; the win gives them a game lead over the Rambelles for the last spot in the LSC tournament.

“We felt that this game was a must-win game for us,” said Head Coach Shawna Lavender. “The win gave us momentum and confidence for the rest of the season.”

The game remained close throughout as teams exchanged runs. The Rambelles trailed 35-26 at halftime but started the second half on a 9-2 run to cut the deficit to 37-35. ACU answered with a 7-0 run to push the lead back to 44-35. Angelo State followed with an 11-4 run to bring the game back to 48-46 with 10:32 left. The Wildcats went on one final run, outscoring the Rams 14-5 to give them a double-digit lead, 62-51, on their way to victory.

“Anytime we play Angelo, we know it is going to be tough,” Lavender said. “Our girls did a great job in the last eight minutes of the game. We pushed the ball in transition, and our defense got good stops.

The men played well in the first half and took a 12-point lead into halftime. However, the Rams were on fire in the first 10 minutes of the second half, outscoring the Wildcats 38-7. This gave the Rams a commanding lead at 65-48.

The Wildcats shot nearly 50 percent in the first half but went cold in the second, shooting 10 of 35.

The Wildcats were led by Ben Warton, who recorded a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds.

“It really was a game of two halves,” Warton said. “In the first half, we played great defense, which led to our offense like it has all season. In the second half, we did not defend well and that hurt us offensively as well.”

Angelo State’s LaMarshall Corbert led all scorers with 30 points; and Johnny Barnes added 18 rebounds for the Rams.