Desperate to improve their conference record and keep their tournament hopes alive, the Wildcats pulled off a huge win this Saturday against Eastern New Mexico in Moody Coliseum.

ACU is now 4-12 in the Lone Star Conference rankings, and 9-13 overall. The win leaves the Wildcats in 10th places out of the eleven conference teams, but has boosted the confidence of the team.

“I thought we played a much more complete game on Saturday,” said head coach Shawna Lavender. “I felt like we stayed in the game for 40 minutes and were able to execute on both ends of the floor.”

The 74-61 win over the Zias was one of the team’s best games of the season, just days after their worst loss of the year, a loss to West Texas A&M by thirty points. But in hopes of turning the season around, the ‘Cats came ready to battle Saturday afternoon.

The Wildcats dominated the court the whole game, only behind once after the Zias’ first possession. ACU forced 23 turnovers, had 11 steals, and allowed ENMU to shoot less that 30 percent from the field.

The win ups the Wildcats winning streak against ENMU to 22 games.

Mack Lankford led the game in nearly every category, finishing with 31 points. The sophomore guard left the court with a sixth career game of at least 30 points. She had seven rebounds, three assists, and four steals that drove ACU to a win.

Junior center Kelsey Smith finished after Lankford with 15 points, five rebounds, two assists, and blocked five shots. Renata Marquez followed with 12 points, five rebounds, four assists, and four steals.

The ‘Cats are now two games behind the eighth place team, and a chance of playing in the post-season tournament. ACU has four more opportunities to win conference games, and if they win two they will have a good shot.

The Wildcats return to action this Sunday against Texas A&M Kingsville at 2 p.m. in Moody Coliseum.

“Right now we are playing one game at a time and focusing on what we need to be doing.”