The women’s basketball team improved to 8-4 as it swept the field in the inaugural ACU Christmas Classic tournament.

A Friday night win over the University of Montana boosted the Wildcats to 7-4 on the back of 24 points and nine rebounds from Meredith Mayes, junior center from Bixby, Oklahoma. Mayes continued to showcase her shot efficiency, going 11/15 from the field in 33 minutes played.

“This season we’ve figured out that a great way to score is to get the ball into Meredith,” Head Coach Julie Goodenough said. “She’s doing a really good job making good decisions on shots. She took 15 shots today, and one was ill-advised.”

The victory over the Lady Grizzlies also showcased the defensive prowess of the Wildcats as the team held Montana to 5/21 on three-point field goals. The .238 showing from three was the Lady Grizzlies’ third-lowest mark of the year and their first below .250 since Nov. 29 in a loss to the University of Utah.

While Mayes led the team in scoring and rebounding, nearly eclipsing her fourth double-double of the year, Payton Hull, junior guard from Peaster, contributed 14 points and five rebounds while shooting just 2/11 from three-point range. The Wildcats as a team shot just 11.5% from deep, making a season low 3/26 three-point field goals.

The success was seen most clearly on the glass for the Wildcats. They allowed just six offensive rebounds and zero points off those six. The Wildcats themselves scored 13 points off nine offensive rebounds. Emma Troxell, junior forward from Bushland, recorded a team high 12 rebounds, with 10 of those coming on the defensive side of the ball.

“I feel like going into it, your mindset has to be ‘What’s another way I can contribute to my team?’” Troxell said. “So when shots aren’t falling, you have to go rebound. You have to make the hustle play. You have to get the ball stopped. It’s a team effort, and I think everyone does a great job of doing that.”

Erin Woodson, junior guard from Richmond, Virginia, contributed 11 points to the Wildcats’ 60, with seven of her points coming from the free-throw line. The lack of scoring from the bench continued Friday night as the five Wildcats who played but didn’t start scored just one point, a free-throw made by Jazmyn Stone, redshirt junior guard from Federal Way, Washington.

Despite the struggles from the bench, the Wildcats’ stifling defense only allowed one bench player for Montana to score, with the Lady Grizzlies’ starting lineup contributing 44 of the team’s 48.

In the team’s second Christmas Classic game, it welcomed the Bulls of the University of Buffalo to Wildcat basketball by shooting 80% in the first quarter of play, ending the first 10 minutes with a 28-6 lead.

Buffalo lost their first game of the tournament Friday night to Tarleton State University by a score of 75-60, despite out-rebounding the Texans 44-33.

After facing the early deficit, the Bulls were unable to mount a comeback as the Wildcats led from start to finish.

Woodson and Hull led the Wildcats in scoring with 17 points each, while Mayes found double-digit territory with 10 points and eight rebounds.

Guard Gabby McDuffie led Buffalo with 15 points as she and Ella Corry were the only Bulls to reach 10 points or more. After scoring only six points in the first quarter of play, the team put together 11, 12 and 19-point quarters to end the day with a 48-72 loss to the ‘Cats.

With the purple and white starters scoring 57 points, the bench was able to get extended minutes later in the game. This led to 10 of the Wildcats’ 13 players scoring. The Wildcats scored 40 of their points in the paint, with 22 points coming off 33 Bulls turnovers. The 33 forced turnovers were the most for the Wildcats since opening night, when the team forced 40 in a win over Howard Payne University.

Following the final game in Moody Coliseum, both Mayes and Hull were named the most outstanding players from the tournament. 

The Wildcats will end their non-conference schedule at home against Nelson University on Dec. 29 before hitting the road and opening Western Athletic Conference play in St. George, Utah, against Utah Tech University on Jan. 1.