The ACU women’s basketball team found themselves in trouble at the Women’s Basketball Invitational on Saturday as they fell to the FIU Panthers, 78-61.

Both teams started hot from the 3-point line in the first quarter, with the Wildcats making four behind the arch and the Panthers make three of them. Both teams played neck-in-neck this quarter, with FIU only having a 20-18 at the quarter’s conclusion.

Then, starting midway through the second quarter, the Panthers went on a 16-0 run to give themselves a significant lead. ACU also went cold shooting from both the field and the 3-point line. In the third quarter, FIU went on another scoring run, gathering all the momentum that allowed the Panthers to finish on top.

Despite ACU’s struggles, the Wildcats shot significantly better from the field than in their previous matchup against Portland.

They finished Saturday shooting 40 percent after their hot start in the first quarter. The Wildcats also made eight 3-pointers in this game, which was more 3-pointers than they made in their game against Portland.

ACU was also able to reduce their turnovers versus their previous game, finishing Saturday with 24 turnovers. This proved to still hurt the Wildcats though, with FIU scoring 25 points off ACU’s turnovers.

Despite the struggles in shooting, once again leading the Wildcats in scoring was senior guard Anna McLeod. She scored close to her career-high with 25 points in her 27 minutes of playing time.

Another Wildcat that was a shotmaker for the Wildcats was junior guard Madi Miller, who stepped up while some of her teammates were in foul trouble. She finished Saturday with 12 points and added five rebounds to her totals.

The Wildcats will conclude their 2020-2021 season with a win in the seventh-place game of the Women’s Basketball Invitational. They will play the Loyola Chicago Ramblers at 11 a.m. on Sunday, with the game broadcasting live on 102.7 F.M., The Bear.