The Wildcats will put their two-game winning streak on the line Thursday afternoon against the Nicholls State Colonels in Thibodaux, La.
It is back to conference play for head coach Julie Goodenough’s team after a one-game break that resulted in a 108-56 route of Arlington Baptist College. It also marks the beginning of the ‘Cats’ final road trip of the season before returning home to close out the year.
ACU is sitting on a 5-5 conference record that has them ranked ninth in the Southland Conference. Meanwhile, Nicholls St. enters the game at fourth place in the conference with a 9-5 record. With four games remaining, the Wildcats still have plenty to play for even though they are ineligible for the postseason. The team sat down more than a week ago and decided to set some tangible, yet challenging goals for the remainder of the year.
The brazen Wildcats decided they wanted to win out. They handled their business on the road at Incarnate Word and then again back home agaisnt Arlington Baptist. Now their quest for perfection has them eyeing a win against NSU.
“We could win all four of these final games, or it could go the other way,” Goodenough said. “But I think we have the ability to complete our mission and go undefeated the rest of the season.”
A flawless finish could land the ‘Cats in the top five in the Southland Conference, an incredible mark for their first year of competition. With the other conference newcomers, Incarnate Word and New Orleans, having only two combined Southland wins, ACU has wasted no time transitioning to the Div. I level.
The Colonels are led by sophomore guard Emani White, who leads the Southland conference in scoring with 19.2 points per game. In their last game against McNeese, White registered 33 points and was 11-17 from the free-throw line, as she is second in the conference in free-throw attempts with 6.3 attempts per game.
Guards KK Babin and Jenny Nash round out the list of double-digit scorers. All three are deadly from behind the arch. NSU’s high-powered back court will keep the Wildcat guards busy but should allow for ACU’s bigger bodies to take over.
Senior forward Renata Marquez should build off her 32-point game from last Tuesday, and freshman forward Suzzy Dimba will look to repeat her double-double from the same night. The ‘Cats proved they can handle their own from three-point land as well after converting 18 of them last game. With both teams having the ability to fill it up on offense, the game should be decided on the defensive end.
“We need to stay disciplined on defense and have a great defensive game,” freshman guard Alexis Mason said.
