In head coach Julie Goodenough‘s 600th coaching appearance, the Wildcats took care of the University of the Southwest, 91-39.
ACU got off to a sluggish start falling behind early 5-2, but it used a 13-6 run to take the lead 15-11 after the first ten minutes of play.
When play resumed with the start of the second quarter, it was all ACU. Its offense caught fire scoring 26 points over the next ten minutes, while the defense held USW to only six points.
The offensive attack was led by senior Whitney West with eight points and junior Lizzy Dimba, who also posted eight points and grabbed six rebounds. Junior Suzzy Dimba, was excellent overall, recording five points, five rebounds and six steals during the first half.
Coming out of the intermission, the Wildcats picked up where they left off offensively, scoring a blistering 27 points despite hitting just one of four three pointers in the third period.
By the time the game hit the fourth quarter the Wildcats held a 68-31 lead and the game was all but over. The final ten minutes played out similar to the second quarter, as ACU held the Mustangs to just eight points, while posting another 20-plus point quarter.
The 52-point win was the second time this season the Wildcats went over 90 points in just four games.
USW struggled mightily from the field for the majority of the game shooting just 27.1%, while ACU shot 38.1% and attempted 28 more shots.
Although the game wasn’t necessarily won at the free throw line, ACU used it to its advantage. The Wildcats made 28-32 from the charity stripe, compared to USW, who shot 10-16. ACU was also plus-27 in the turnover battle, committing just 11 turnovers.
“Our goal is to shoot 25 free throws a game to produce 18-20 points every night,” Goodenough said.
After finishing just one rebound shy against UTSA, Lizzy Dimba captured her first double-double of the season with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Her sister Suzzy added 12 points, 10 rebounds and eight steals finishing just two steals shy of the triple-double.
“Suzzy and Lizzy Dimba are capable of having double-doubles night after night,” Goodenough said. “They bring matchup problems to the defense because of the variety of ways they score. We need them to be aggressive every game in trying to score and get rebounds.”
Other notable scorers for the Wildcats were freshman McKenzie Martin with 13 points, West 12 and sophomore Sierra Allen 11.
With the win ACU moves to 3-1 on the season and 2-0 during its holiday homestand. The Wildcats will finish this homestand with a matchup against Missouri Valley College (3-1) on Black Friday.
