Women’s basketball is moving on to the Super 16 of the Women’s National Invitational Tournament after a 77-66 victory over Florida International University.

The Wildcats hadn’t played since falling to California Baptist in the Western Athletic Conference Championship on March 13. The win improves the team and head coach Julie Goodenough to 24-10 on the season.

“I’m just so proud of this team,” Goodenough said. “This is our 24th win. That’s huge. If we win 20 games, that’s a really great season. To win 24, we’re really proud of that.”

With Sing Song occupying Moody Coliseum, the postseason game was played on the campus of Hardin-Simmons University, just 1.5 miles from ACU. Goodenough, who got her coaching start at HSU, said it was a great opportunity to play another game at HSU and was thankful for the staff and former co-workers who made the game possible.

“We had an amazing crowd,” Goodenough said. “Hardin-Simmons did a phenomenal job hosting us … John Neese, the vice president of athletics, had to approve us coming here and playing this game, and he did not hesitate to say yes.”

The win over FIU did not come easy for the Wildcats. Conference USA player of the year Rhema Collins led the Panthers with 25 points on 10-of-15 shooting, while Fantasia James and Judit Valero joined her as the only other Panthers in double figures.

“FIU is a great team, number two in Conference USA,” Goodenough said. “They have the conference player of the year. We didn’t have an answer for her.”

Jazmyn Stone, redshirt junior guard from Federal Way, Washington, was the first Wildcat off the bench in the victory. She entered the game in the first quarter amid a transition slugfest where the Wildcats couldn’t establish the offense.

“This week at the point guard position, we knew that a lot of pressure was going to come with it,” Stone said. “Coach always gives us a play to run, but if they’re overaggressive or overplaying us, we know to push it full court. Great things happen when we beat teams in transition.”

Stone finished the game with a season-high 13 points and a career-high seven rebounds while playing 23 minutes off the bench. She was one of four Wildcats to score in double figures and shot 4-of-6 from the field and a perfect 2-of-2 from 3-point range.

Natalia Chavez, redshirt junior from Cochiti Pueblo, New Mexico, scored 17 points while shooting 5-of-8 from 3-point range while playing a season high 37 minutes. WAC Player of the Year Payton Hull, junior guard from Peaster, scored 16 points while Erin Woodson, junior guard from Richmond, Virginia, scored 18 points.

“Our biggest asset going into the game was controlling the controllables,” Stone said. “Knowing we need a little bit of energy, I’m always ready to step up to the plate and bring that.”

The Wildcats held the lead for 29 minutes, 57 seconds, while the Panthers held it for just 7:11. Despite holding the lead for the majority of the game, it remained close throughout. Each time the Wildcats would score and look to start a run to extend the lead, FIU had a response and found a way to keep it close.

The Wildcats took a 56-53 lead into the final quarter of play and, through the first 7:45 of play, went on an 11-8 run, extending the lead to six points with just over four minutes to play.

Stone hit a corner 3-pointer with 2:35 remaining after missing an open layup and stealing the ball back from Panther guard Grecia Ferrer Leal. It extended the Wildcats’ lead to 72-61 and put them in firm control of the victory.

“We do work on them layups every day,” Stone said. “I knew I had to at least hustle and get it back. That was the biggest thing. On this team, it’s the next play mentality … not getting hung up on the miss, but knowing that you know it’s the effort of getting it back, and then also being confident in myself to come back and knock that shot down.

With their second consecutive Super 16 appearance, the Wildcats will have a 2025 rematch with Illinois State University on the road. The Redbirds beat the Wildcats 78-68 a year ago, while Shannon Dowell led all scorers with 28 points and former Wildcat Addison Martin had 12 points and didn’t miss a shot from the field.

The rematch is set for a 6:30 p.m. tip at Doug Collins Court at CEFCU Arena in Normal, Illinois. A Wildcat win would move the team to the Great 8 and give the team a chance to host the winner of George Washington University and Loyola Chicago.