ACU whips Lady Buffs
2/21/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Wildcats whip Lady Buffs, 79-71
ACU improves to 5-6 in LSC South; remains in 4th
CANYON – ACU hit eight of 11 free throws in the final 2:23 of the game Thursday to pick up a 79-71 win over West Texas A&M in a key Lone Star Conference South Division victory at the West Texas A&M Events Center.
The victory enhanced the Wildcats' chances of reaching the LSC Post-Season Tournament as they improved to 14-12 overall and 5-6 in the LSC South. West Texas A&M, meanwhile, falls to 16-8 and 6-5. ACU is just one game out of a third-place tie with the Lady Buffs with Saturday night's game at Eastern New Mexico left on this short road trip. An ACU win over the Zias and a WTAM loss at home to Angelo State would put the Wildcats at 6-6 in league play and tied for third place.
ACU's inside duo of Lynsie Blau and Melanie Carter dominated the contest as Blau had 17 rebounds, nine points and five blocked shots, while Carter finished with 23 points, six rebounds, four assists and two blocked shots.
“That's a scary tandem when those two are on the floor together,” ACU interim head coach Shawn Lavender said. “When those two are playing as well as they played tonight it's hard for anyone to do anything against them.
“This was such a big win for us,” she said. “The girls really responded when West Texas made its run. They made a stand and put a stop to the run.”
ACU built as much as a 21-point second-half lead over the Lady Buffs began a run that got them back to within eight points with 5:38 to play. The 13-0 Lady Buffs' run was helped greatly by the fact that they were 5 for 6 from the free throw line during the stretch.
Leading just 61-53 with 5:07 to play, the Wildcats responded by extending their lead back to 68-57 with 4:01 to play on a layup by Carter.
The Buffs, though, came back again, this time cutting the lead to 74-69 with just 1:13 to play on a 3-pointer by Suni Jo Petty. Just seconds later, however, ACU freshman guard Ashley King hit a pair of free throws to push the lead back to 76-69 with 1:02 left.
ACU's last three points of the game would come from the free throw line as the Wildcats improved to 2-0 all-time at the WTAM Event Center, which is in its second year. ACU won the inaugural game in the coliseum last January with an 81-77 win over the Lady Buffs.
WILDCAT NOTES
Melanie Carter scored 23 points to give her 403 for the season, joining Claudia Schleyer as the only two players in ACU women's basketball history to score 400 points or more in each of their first three seasons. … Carter now has 1,440 points in her career, which is ninth on the all-time scoring list. She needs 58 points to pass Caroline Omamo (1,497 points) into eighth place on the all-time list. With one season left, she is on pace to score more than 1,900 points in her career, which would be third on ACU's career scoring chart. … Ashley King had four 3-pointers against the Lady Buffs to give her 51 for the season, which leaves her seven away from setting a new single-season school record for 3-pointers made in a season. Anita Vigil holds the record with 57 3-pointers during the 1990-91 season.
