By Brian Roe, Sports Writer From the beginning of the pre-season to now, the ACU women's basketball team has had a single mission: to grab one of the four playoff spots from the Lone Star Confer-ence South Division. Mission accomplished. ACU won its 17th game of the season Thursday, 58-42 over Texas Woman's Univer-sity, guaranteeing the ... [Read More…]
The agony of victory: Despite big win, playoffs snatched from ACU’s grasp
By Joel Weckerly, Sports Editor Shortly after coaching her team to an 86-73 upset victory over Midwestern State on Saturday night in a fitting regular season finale, interim head women's basketball coach Shawna Lavender sat down for dinner at Outback Steakhouse with her husband Mark and assistant coach Jason Osuna. And why shouldn't she? After ... [Read More…]
Women need just one more victory: ACU makes playoffs if it wins one of last two
By Joel Weckerly, Sports Editor Fresh off a four-game winning streak, the women's basketball team has its eyes set on the Lone Star Conference Post-Season Tournament, which it can qualify for with one more victory in its final two regular season games. "Right now I definitely think we've put ourselves in a position to make the playoffs," interim ... [Read More…]
Cats a step closer to playoffs: ACU records key road victory
By Joel Weckerly, Sports Editor The women's basketball team's road win Thursday over West Texas A&M improved the Wildcats' chances of reaching the Lone Star Conference Post-Season Tournament, as the Wildcats improved to 14-12 overall and 5-6 in the LSC South Division. WTAM dropped to 16-8 overall and 6-5 in the South. If the Buffaloes lost to ... [Read More…]
King of her castle: Hot-shooting freshman worked to get starting role
By Joel Weckerly, Sports Editor Thank God Ashley King doesn't play basketball the way she takes care of her room. "She has her messy days," roommate and teammate Kier-stan Barbee said of the tidiness issue in their Gardner Hall dorm room. But messy days come as a rarity for the true freshman on the basketball floor. "She's very much a ... [Read More…]
It’s do or die for Lady Wildcats
By Joel Weckerly, Sports Editor The women's basketball team, which as of Thursday was 13-12 overall and 4-6 for fourth place in division play, began their do-or-die stretch with a road trip that began Thursday evening at West Texas A&M and continues Saturday at Eastern New Mexico. As of Thursday the Cats were two games behind West Texas A&M for ... [Read More…]
Williams takes leave of absence: Health problems in coach’s family forces decision
By Joel Weckerly, Sports Editor Women's basketball coach Wayne Williams was granted a requested leave of absence Wed-nesday to deal with ongoing health issues within his family. The leave, granted by director of athletics Shanon Hays Wednesday morning, comes with six games remaining on the team's schedule. Assistant coach Shawna Lavender will ... [Read More…]
Wildcats trying to stay positive: Team looking to keep intensity up for full game
By Joel Weckerly, Sports Editor The women's basketball team has lost three conference games in a row, dropping its standing to seventh place in the Lone Star South Division. Of course, you wouldn't know it by talking to the players. "We're very excited right now," junior forward Jackie Vinson said. "We've gotten off track a little bit, but we're ... [Read More…]
ACU down, but not out: Cats say two-point defeat stings, but focus remains same
By Joel Weckerly, Sports Editor The women's basketball team had been hoping to put together another winning streak prior to Saturday's home game against Lone Star Conference South opponent West Texas A&M, but a late-game breakdown prevented the Wildcats from extending their winning streak to three. "We expended a lot of energy to get the lead ... [Read More…]
Wildcats win from the inside-out: Team rolls with a perimeter-post balance
By Joel Weckerly, Sports Editor As of Thursday, the women's basketball team had won six of its last seven games, had the fourth-best overall record in its division and was two victories away from tying its win total from last season. And exactly how did this happen? "We're much more two-dimensional," Head Coach Wayne Williams said of his team's ... [Read More…]