It takes most aspiring basketball players at least until adolescence to beat their dads in a game of one-on-one. But Mack Lankford can’t remember a time she didn’t.
Of course, he did not improve his chances by installing a half-court basketball court inside the family’s house.
Lankford was not just a one-sport athlete at Weatherford High School. She also played volleyball and softball, excelling in both. Those skills, however, didn’t translate nearly as well to the court as her track skills. She received offers from Division I powerhouses like Stanford and Nebraska to run track but instead chose to play ball at ACU.
“I was just drawn here, and it felt like the right fit from the beginning,” Lankford said. “Other schools recruited me, but ACU was always tops on my list.”
The Wildcats’ transition run and gun style makes Lankford a weapon opposing teams have to watch out for.
With three 30-plus-point games already this year, Lankford also leads the Lone Star Conference South division in scoring with around 18 points a game, all of it while playing point guard.
“I am not your typical point guard because I score a lot,” Lankford said. “I feel pretty comfortable playing the point, and my coaches trust me with the ball.”
Lankford may be comfortable now, but even she will admit that at the beginning of the year, the college game felt foreign to her.
Her lack of basketball experience showed as the Wildcats, a team with only one senior, started off the season a dismal 3-9 in non-conference play. In conference games, however, Lankford and her team are 6-4 and in the playoff hunt.
Lankford credits much of her success to teammate Autumn Whitaker, a senior on the squad. Whitaker, also a guard, showed Lankford what it meant to be a leader on the court and to turn her talent and potential into helping the Wildcats “click.”
“She coaches me during practice and games,” Lankford said. “When she is out of the game, our team dynamic changes. She is a huge piece to our success.”
A perfect example of coaching on the court came in the last moments of ACU’s upset win last weekend against rival West Texas.
In the waning moments of the game, Lankford, was shooting two critical free throws, having been off on her stroke all night, experiencing what she calls “free throw demons.”
So Whitaker, mirroring the movie Angels in the Outfield, whispered in her ear, “Angels, Mack.” Lankford proceeded to sink both freebies, cementing a signature win for the ‘Cats.
Tuesday night, ACU defeated Incarnate Word for the Wildcats’ third straight conference victory. Lankford seemed off her game, scoring only 12 points, but she said it didn’t really matter as long as the game went the Wildcats’ way.
“A win’s a win,” she said.
One more win for the Wildcats almost assures them of a playoff spot and Lankford’s first trip to the LSC postseason tournament in Bartlesville.
Lankford’s mom and dad will be in the stands, just as they are at all of her games. When on the court, she looks for them cheering her on. It gives her a boost to see their support.
The point guard’s game is exciting and fun, just like her idol Steve Nash’s. And if Lankford’s career at ACU stays its current course, she may be remembered as one of ACU’s greatest point guards.
For now, though, Lankford has her mind on other things, like watching Sing Song, cheering at intramural basketball games and hanging out with her friends.
In fact, the only real difference between her and the rest of the ACU student body is that she still can’t quite remember when her dad beat her in one-on-one.
