The women’s basketball team completed a three-game season sweep of the Utah Tech University Trailblazers Thursday night with a 76-66 win.

The win was also the 20th of the season for Head Coach Julie Goodenough. It’s the first time the ‘Cats have won 20 games since 2019-20. It’s also the 11th 20-win season in Goodenough’s head coaching career, including the fifth time with ACU.

“Win number 20,” Goodenough said. “That’s a big deal. Div. I mid-major basketball programs, if you have a 20-win season, that’s a huge accomplishment. I’m really proud of our team for getting it done tonight.”

The Wildcats maintained the lead buzzer-to-buzzer, starting the game on a 12-0 run through the first 4:35 of the game. Natalia Chavez, senior guard from Cochiti Pueblo, New Mexico, started the scoring for the ‘Cats with a 3-point field goal, followed by a layup from Bre Davis, senior guard from Waxahachie, and a 3-point field goal from Davis on the next possession. The 8-0 run put the Wildcats in the driver’s seat, forcing four Trailblazer turnovers before the visitors scored their first points.

“The starters came together and said, ‘We need to start off strong. We haven’t done that in a while,’” Emma Troxell said. “We got the tip. We got the first points. I think that was our goal, and that just got us on a roll, especially with our defense right after.”

Troxell, junior forward from Bushland, ended the night with 10 points, eight rebounds and four steals while playing 32 minutes.

By halftime, the lead was nine, with Erin Woodson, junior guard from Richmond, Virginia, scoring 11 first-half points and finding eight rebounds and four assists. Woodson would play all 40 minutes for the Purple and White, amassing a career high 14 rebounds while scoring 23 points and finding six assists.

“I think coming out with a lot of energy leads to a lot of success,” Woodson said. “Coming out and playing as hard as I can, playing defense and going after the boards, just doing everything to get everyone involved was really what led to my own success.”

The first 24 minutes featured a 40% shooting performance from the ‘Cats. Western Athletic Conference leading scorer Payton Hull, junior guard from Peaster, scored six points while making 1-of-6 shots from the floor in the first half. Trailblazer guard Kaylee Borden was held scoreless into the break while Paige Cofer led the team with 12 points in the first half of play.

“I thought they made it really hard for Payton to drive tonight,” Goodenough said. “There were always two people on her on her drives.”

The third quarter started with a run from Utah Tech. Fueled by 11 third-quarter points from Borden, the Trailblazers cut the lead to as few as four points. You’ve got to make some adjustments next time you play someone. When you play them for a third game, you have to do some things differently.”

“They’re great shooters,” Woodson said. “We knew that coming in. We had to adjust and know to get out to the shooters. We had to go back to playing our game.”

The Wildcats took a 57-41 lead into the final 12 minutes. Woodson clinched her second double-double of the season while falling just four assists shy of a triple-double. An eight-point fourth quarter effort from Hull pushed the Wildcats to a 12-point lead at their highest in the fourth quarter, ending the game with a final lead of 10. The Wildcats held UTT to 0-of-5 from the field on their final five attempts. Hull would end the game with 16 points, seven rebounds, six assists and four steals despite shooting 25% from the floor.

With a chance to secure a 2-1 series win over Utah Valley University on Saturday, Goodenough said she expects the team to move past the win and focus on the task at hand as the regular season comes to a close.

“Utah Tech and Utah Valley are completely different,” Goodenough said. “We really celebrate this win and ask our players to purge it before tomorrow. They’ll have the scout on their phones by 8 a.m. and start studying that. We just have to get ready to do what we need to do against Utah Valley.”

Last time the Wildcats and Wolverines met, the Wildcats drew even in the season series with a 70-50 win in Abilene on Feb. 5. Hull led the ‘Cats with 28 on 10-of-13 shooting from the field and 5-of-7 shooting on 3-point field goals.

“We’re excited we get to play them at home again,” Goodenough said. “We played really well against them at home last time, but everyone’s in a fight right now. Everyone’s fighting for seeding in the conference tournament, for finishing with momentum. It’s going to be a battle.”

The Wildcats and Wolverines will tip off at 1 p.m. Saturday in Moody Coliseum for the final WAC regular-season matchup between the two schools. Inside Moody Coliseum, fans and the team will celebrate She Can Be and Mentor Day, presented by Dr. Leslie Hutchins.