The women’s basketball team will take on the California Baptist University Lancers and the Southern Utah University Thunderbirds in the third week of conference play, following a 2-0 Western Athletic Conference homestand.

The Wildcats sit at 3-1 and in second place in the WAC, trailing only CBU (5-0) while being tied with Southern Utah.

In the homestand, the Wildcats won an I-20 thriller Thursday night over rival Tarleton State University in a game that featured an 8-of-9 shooting performance from Meredith Mayes, junior center from Bixby, Oklahoma, before she exited the game with a right knee injury.

“Mere is a big piece for us, and she does a lot,” Bre Davis said. “We just need everybody to chip in and do the small things right.”

Davis, senior guard from Waxahachie, has recorded 14 assists and six steals while shooting 33.3% on three-point field goals in WAC play this season.

Mayes entered the game against TSU third in the nation in field goal percentage, trailing only Iowa State’s Audi Crooks and Penn State’s Gracie Merkel. After the initial injury late in the game, Mayes attempted to play through the pain but was quickly unable to stay on her feet and exited once again.

The Wildcats’ victory on Saturday came without Mayes as the team outlasted the Mavericks of UT Arlington 59-56. Both teams battled foul trouble, with 46 fouls being assessed in the game.

Erin Woodson, junior guard from Richmond, Virginia, led the Wildcats with 21 points and eight rebounds.

“She’s tough as nails,” Head Coach Julie Goodenough said. “She might get knocked around a little bit on the court, but she’s gonna come back. It’s just a reflection of her character. She’s a ‘grind don’t quit’ kind of gal, and she’s going to do whatever we need her to do.”

The road trip to Riverside, California, will be the only time the Wildcats play the Lancers on the road, while the two teams will clash in Abilene on Feb. 7 and March 5. However, the Wildcats will be without Mayes for the trip to California, according to Goodenough.

“We just have to play our style of basketball,” Davis said. “We can’t let them affect how we come in and how we play. We have to be confident in doing what we need to do to get the win.”

Head Coach Julie Goodenough also stressed the importance of capitalizing on the single game on the road against CBU.

“We understand we only have this one chance,” Goodenough said. “Let’s make the most of it.”

Entering their sixth WAC contest, the Lancers have five players averaging 10 points per game or more in conference play. Freshman guard Lauren Olsen leads the team with 19 points per game in WAC play, while Khloe Lemon, Filipa Barros and Grace Schmidt all average over 12 points per game.

“Offensively, they just have so many weapons,” Goodenough said. “They play a lot like we do. They’re mainly looking for layups and threes, and they’re really good in transition.”

With the Lancers shooting 38% from three in conference play so far, Goodenough said their players inside the paint have been some of the best in the WAC.

“They probably have the best post duo in the WAC between Schmidt and Johansson,” Goodenough said. “You have to be aware of them. They just surround them with guards that are really good shooters and drivers, so defensively we have to understand our principles.”

In addition to their ability to score with depth, Goodenough said she has a lot of respect for the program and for Head Coach Jarrod Olsen. Goodenough also said CBU has been her favorite place to play on the road in the WAC.

“I love their facility, and we have a really good relationship with their head coach,” Goodenough said. “We coach a lot alike. We have all these really high-scoring games against one another, and they by far have the nicest locker room in the WAC.”

After the Wildcats play at CBU, they’ll travel back to Abilene for a matchup with SUU, hoping to avoid any travel issues like the team endured on its last road trip when airplane maintenance cost them several hours in Salt Lake City, Utah.

“I always talk about ‘control what you can control,’” Goodenough said. “Some of them were watching game film, and it got to a certain point where I think they all just decided it was a good time to take a nap.”

The Thunderbirds will enter Saturday’s game after a battle in Stephenville with TSU. The team will enter Thursday’s game coming off an 82-77 loss to CBU. In the Thunderbirds’ four conference games, Sierra Chambers and Ava Uhrich have each scored double digits and averaged over 17 points per game.

“They work super hard,” Goodenough said. “They’re really good rebounders, they score in transition, and they work really well as a team.”

Goodenough also pointed to the number of minutes the Thunderbirds’ starting five have played, with three playing over 35 minutes per game and the other two starters at 28.5 and 21.3 minutes per game in conference.

“I think what could potentially happen with their team moving forward, the next few weeks is a lot of fatigue,” Goodenough said. “It hasn’t impacted them yet. They’re just hard workers.”

The two games against the top two teams in the WAC will lead the Wildcats into their second game of the season against TSU on Jan. 24, followed by a road trip to Utah Tech University, where the ‘Cats beat the Trailblazers 81-51 in the conference opener, and a visit to SUU on Jan. 31.