The women’s basketball team is going to the Lone Star Conference post-season tournament in Bartlesville, Okla. on a sour note thanks to consecutive losses last week.
On Wednesday the Wildcats lost to division-leading Tarleton State University in Stephenville by 17 points, but the tough loss came on Saturday against Midwestern State University. In what was senior Autumn Whitaker’s final home game, the Wildcats had an off night against an average Mustang squad.
“I was a little concerned about going into the tournament because of the losses,” Head Coach Shawna Lavender said. “But after Wednesday’s practice, we are upbeat and positive. The girls aren’t just happy to be here. They want to come out and make a statement.”
Only freshman point guard Mackenzie Lankford seemed to be on track with 25 points, but even she had her struggles going 5 of 11 from the free-throw line. Sophomore post Kelsey Smith added 16 points while freshman Renata Marquez had 13.
The game stayed close until midway through the second half when the Mustangs went on an 11-1 run and opened up an 11-point lead. ACU would get no closer than 10 the rest of the way as the Mustangs cruised to victory 90-78.
Saturday wrapped up regular season play and eight of the 16 teams in the LSC will make the drive to Bartlesville for the postseason tournament. All four first-round games will be held Wednesday while the semifinals will be Friday and the championship will be played Saturday.
The Wildcats drew the fourth and final game on Wednesday. They will have to play the LSC North’s top seed Northeastern State University. The Riverhawks are 12-2 in conference play and have won 12 of their last 13. The teams do have some tape of each other from earlier in the year as the Riverhawks beat ACU badly back in December. The ‘Hawks held the ‘Cats to only 44 points, their lowest total this season. The Wildcats are confident that at this point in the season, they can play with any team.
“We are all really excited for the tournament,” Lankford said. “Although we are coming in as underdogs, we are confident that we will do well. As long as we play like we know we can, we can beat anyone we come up against.”
That will have to be true for the Wildcats’ season to continue past this week. The only way the Wildcats will be able to move into the NCAA tournament is by winning the LSC tournament. It will be a daunting task considering the Wildcats are the only team in the tournament that doesn’t have 10 conference wins.
Tipoff between ACU and Northeastern State will be at 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday.
