Thanks to a career night from sophomore Sadie Dickinson, ACU was able to best ENMU with a final score of 74-56 in Moody Coliseum Saturday.
The win gives the Wildcats a 3-1 record (2-0 LSC) and keeps the Lady Zias searching for their first win of the year, as they fall to 0-6.
“We just really kept taking it to them,” junior Renata Marquez said. “We would have stretches where we were unstoppable then some stretches that we got too comfortable and allowed ENMU to chip away. In the end our stretches were too much for them.”
Dickinson came out on fire, scoring the first ten points of the game for the Wildcats. She finished with a game high 25 points (8-13 FG, 5-8 3PT) and also added eleven rebounds.
“My teammates were the main reason I was able to play at such a high level,” Dickinson said.
“We’ve worked hard in practice on hitting the open player and that’s exactly what we did. The confidence we have in one another is enough to help anyone knock down some shots. I really owe it all to my teammates.”
ACU also received help from junior Mack Lankford, who finished with 13 points, four assists and five rebounds to cap off a well-rounded game. Senior Kelsey Smith was one point away from a double-double, as she chipped in nine points, 11 rebounds and a huge three point shot that turned into a big momentum shift for the Wildcats.
ACU finished the game with 45 percent shooting from the field, including 42 percent from beyond the arc.
“Everyone on this team can contribute,” Head Coach Julie Goodenough said. “Anyone of these girls can play quality minutes. We focus on playing team basketball, and that’s exactly what we have.”
The Wildcats jumped out to an early 22-6 lead with 10:30 left in the first half. They were able to push the lead up to nineteen before ENMU went on a 15-8 run to close out the half and cut the score to 38-26.
“We jumped out to a big, early lead and didn’t handle the lead very well,” Goodenough said. “We need to practice staying focused and intense, regardless of the score. Stay in tuned with doing the little things correctly.”
After a rejuvenated half time break, the Wildcats were able to play great defense. They forced ENMU into double teams, bad shots and turnovers. The Lady Zias were forced to put up bad shots deep into their shot clock possessions.
“When we as a team start talking on defense, it becomes very intense,” Marquez said. “So we just talked and kind of took away most of their options that we knew they were looking for.”
The Zias were never able to get back into the game as the Wildcats held a fifteen point lead for the majority of the second half. Thanks to smart play down the stretch, ACU was able to notch the win.
“We were able to get stops and started talking on defense,” Marquez said. “We kept scoring like we know how to do and played smart ball. We just played ACU basketball.”
