The Wildcats clinched a spot in the Southland Conference Tournament with an 84-79 win over Houston Baptist Wednesday.
“This was a really good offensive game for us,” said Head Coach Julie Goodenough. “Having six players score in double digits is phenomenal and so tough to defend. We fouled too much in the fourth quarter though, but other than that our team defense was good.”
Two of the six players who found themselves in double figures were junior forwards Alyssa Adams and Makayla Mabry. Adams scored 11 points for the Wildcats, as well as tallying five rebounds, four assists and one block. As for Mabry, she brought in 12 points while shooting 83% from the field and 67% from 3-point range.
Also among the six were senior guards Dominque Golightly and Breanna Wright, as well as senior forward Lexie Ducat. Ducat totaled 15 points along with two rebounds and one assist.
Golightly scored 14 points, while also filling the stat sheet with seven assists, five rebounds, three blocks and one steal. Wright once again led both teams in scoring with 16 points but also had four assists and two rebounds.
Junior guard Anna McLeod also had a strong game for the Wildcats. McLeod scored 16 points along with tallying two assists, one block and one steal. That one steal happening at a crucial time in the fourth for ACU.
“She was so aggressive,” said Goodenough. “She stole an inbound pass in the fourth quarter that led to a Mabry 3-point shot. That was the play of the game.”
Up until the fourth quarter, ACU and Houston Baptist played a tight game with five lead changes. Both teams were making strong plays but also making mistakes. This led to a tie game at the end of the third quarter.
In the fourth, the Wildcats made a run to retake the lead, and they never looked back. ACU took over the game and shot an impressive 73% from the field while holding Houston Baptist to 39% shooting.
The quarter also consisted of many plays similar to McLeod’s heads-up play, which secured the win for ACU.
“It helped that we came out in the fourth quarter being aggressive on the offensive end, said McLeod. “We were able to make a little run to make Houston Baptist call a timeout, and we used that momentum to finish out the game.”
The Wildcats hope to continue their winning ways on Saturday against the Southeastern Louisiana Lady Lions. The game will tip-off at 1 p.m. and will be broadcasting live on 98.1 F.M., the Ticket.
“Southeastern Louisiana is playing their best basketball right now,” said Goodenough. “We have some work to do the next two days to get ready to defend them in their gym.”
