After going undefeated in the Teague Center this season, the Wildcats lost their first home game to the Ladyjacks, 73-52.
ACU was able to keep the game close throughout the first three quarters, but then everything changed in the fourth quarter. The Wildcats were outscored 27-10 in the final 10 minutes. Poor execution on both sides of the floor and turnovers proved too costly for the Wildcats.
This was something that stuck out to head coach Julie Goodenough once the game reached its end.
“We played really well for three quarters, especially in the third, where we executed well and got good shots,” said Goodenough. “But I am really disappointed about the fourth quarter, and I feel like our players lost their composure. They missed defensive assignments plus gave up offensive rebounds and careless turnovers, which became a snowball effect. ”
Though ACU had many struggles offensively, leading ACU in scoring was senior guard Anna McLeod. After struggling offensively in the first half, she went on a scoring run in the third quarter and ended the night with 14 points. Sophomore guard Kamryn Mraz followed McLeod closely in the scoring column, finishing with 13 points.
Similar to their loss against Sam Houston, turnovers became a problematic issue that led to the Wildcats’ loss in this game. ACU turned the ball over 23 times, which gave SFA more opportunities to score. The Ladyjacks used that to their advantage, scoring 26 points off of ACU’s mistakes.
Turnovers were not the only area where the Wildcats found themselves struggling in against SFA. Besides some bright points from McLeod and Mraz, ACU had problems converting on the offensive end, especially in the fourth quarter. The Wildcats only shot 35 percent from the field and 26 percent from the 3-point line.
On the other side of the ball, the Ladyjacks were able to have their way. The Wildcats struggled to contain SFA in the paint, where the Ladyjacks outscored ACU, 36-10. By the end of the night, SFA shot 43 percent from the field and 31 percent from the 3-point line.
Despite the Wildcats’ problems that resurfaced, Goodenough hopes that the team will realize their mistakes and learn from them.
“We’ll spend some time breaking down film and try to correct errors in practice,” said Goodenough. “We still have a lot we need to improve on, to be quite honest. We told our players that this is just one game and that we can learn from our mistakes and bounce back.”
ACU hopes to improve their conference record at home against Lamar on Wednesday, who is coming off a win at Houston Baptist. The Wildcats and the Cardinals will tip-off at 5:30 p.m. and will be broadcast live on ESPN+ and 102.7 FM, The Bear.
“Fortunately, we have a bye,” said Goodenough. “I keep telling the team we are out of byes, and now we have another one. So we are going to take advantage of that and focus on ourselves for the next few days.”
