The ACU women’s basketball team faced its first loss of the season at the University of Texas at San Antonio, 70-57.
Despite only being down by 10 with 10:00 left in the first half, the ACU women’s basketball team couldn’t come back after being outscored 39-21.
The now 1-1 UTSA Roadrunners out-rebounded the 2-1 Wildcats 46-33 over the course of the game. The Wildcats tried to claw their way back in the last 20 minutes, outscoring UTSA 36-31 in the second half, which was initiated by a higher focus on field goals after the team shot only 6-27 from the field and 4-18 for three in the first half.
The team shot 41.7 percent from the field in the second half, and focused less on three-point shooting, which has become an offensive staple of the team, shooting 1-6 from behind the arc in the final half. But regardless of the adjustments made, the team couldn’t get it done before the final buzzer.
The leading scorer for the Wildcats was sophomore forward Lizzy Dimba, who managed 13 points in the difficult game, while her sister, sophomore forward Suzzy Dimba who has been one of the team leaders in points (16.5 per game) and rebounds (8.5 per game) early in the season, shot 0-7 from the field, 0-5 from behind the arc and managed only three points, all of which came from free throws and three rebounds.
The team’s best scorers, including sophomore guard Alexis Mason (18 ppg), Lizzy (15 ppg), Suzzy, and sophomore forward Sydney Shelstead (10.3 ppg), who all scored 11, 13, 3 and 9 respectively, will need to be better shooters as the Wildcats look forward to their next game.
After two big home wins at home to start the season, including a 27 point win against Wayland Baptist University and an impressive 42-point beating of the Howard Payne University Yellowjackets, the Wildcats look to bounce back on Monday at home against the Eastern Washington University Eagles at 7 p.m.
The Eagles have started their season 2-0 and have been outscoring their opponents by 17 points a game on the shoulders of senior guard Lexie Nelson and junior guard Hayley Hodgins, who have been averaging 20.5 and 19.5 points per game, respectively.
Both teams focus significantly on offensive rebounding and three-point shooting as a main part of their game, and it’ll all come down to which team does it better as the Wildcats look to stay undefeated at home.
