The women’s basketball team tipped off at Moody Coliseum last night against St. Mary’s for the season home opener.
ACU went into to the game 1-1, with hoping to use this game to achieve a winning record, and certainly fought to secure it, all the way to the final buzzer.
Mack Lankford, the sophomore guard, once again led her team almost immediately after stepping on the court. “Mack is always a fighter out there,” said head Coach Shawna Lavender. “She knows how to get the team engaged immediately.” Her few sets of early free throws and a pair of jumpers set the tone at the very beginning of the game.
The first half was fairly undecided, the point range going back and forth with no obviously team in the lead. It wasn’t until Cecilee Perez shot a three-pointer upping the ‘Cats score to 20-17.
Following Perez’s initiative, the Wildcat’s remained on top for the rest of the game. Hillari Adam fired another from the paint, making the score 22-17, followed by a three-point shot that secured the Wildcats’ lead. Right before halftime, Darrein Williams shot another three-pointer, leading the ‘Cats into the locker room with a 33-24 lead.
In the second half, the Cat’s were immediately able to establish a consistent 10 point lead throughout the rest of the game, and remained accurate in not only shots in the paint, but also scoring a good amount of points from behind the free-throw line. Kelsey Smith as well as Adam and Lankford led with free-point shots.
While the St. Mary’s fought to minimize the margin to four, Lankford brought the team back with ease. The Rattlers shot 40 percent on their free throws, and was not nearly enough to overcome the Wildcats’ consistency. ACU is the No. 1 ranked team in the conference for free-throw shooting, making nearly 78.6 of all free-throw attempts.
“I can’t stress consistency enough,” said Lankford. “The more consistent we play, the better off the results will continue to be.”
ACU is now the LSC’s third highest scoring offense with 81.5 points per game behind Midwestern State with a record of 84.2 and Texas Women’s University at 83.8.
The Wildcats left the court winning 64-58, and adding another win to their record. The women’s basketball team with resume play Saturday, December 3rd at 2 p.m. against Texas Women’s University.
