The Wildcats outscored the Sam Houston State Bearkats 35-21 in the second half, leading to a 63-48 win in Huntsville Thursday night. The women move to 13-10 overall and 5-7 in conference while the Bearkats move to 6-16 and 5-7. Including the the win in Huntsville, the Wildcats have won five of their last seven games.
Alexis Mason, sophomore guard from McKinney, recorded her fourth 20-point game of the season, finishing with 20 points on 3-6 shooting from the arc and 7-8 from the free throw line. Suzzy Dimba, sophomore forward from Lubbock, put in a 12-point, 13-rebound double-double effort along with three assists and two steals. For Dimba, it was her ninth double-double of the season, and her third in the last four games.
Neither team shot well during the game. The Wildcats finished at 40 percent, while the Bearkats ended at the 35-percent mark. ACU put in seven out of 21 three-point attempts and finished 18-23 from the free throw line, 21 of those attempts coming in the second half. The Bearkats committed 13 fouls in the second half.
The game stayed close for the majority of the first half, with ACU taking its largest lead of the half, 28-22, on a layup by Sydney Shelstead, sophomore forward from Mineral Wells, with 3:22 left in the first half. Sam Houston would then score five points in a hurry on two layups and a free throw to make it a one-point game. The Wildcats took their 28-27 into halftime.
The second half would open up with the same results as the first half. With 13:20 left in the game, ACU led 42-40 after an SHSU three-pointer cut the lead to just two points. The Wildcats would then go on a game-deciding 13-0 run over the next seven minutes to lead 55-40 with just under six minutes left in the game.
Both teams were not exceptionally careful with possessions. ACU (21) and Sam Houston (23) combined for 44 turnovers during the game. The Wildcats led in most of the statistical categories in this one. ACU had a plus-nine in points off of turnovers (24-15), a plus-six in second chance points (12-6) and won the battle on the glass, 37-29.
The Wildcats now sit at eighth in the conference out of 12 teams. The team will look to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (12-11, 8-4) Wednesday at home in Moody Coliseum.
