Pioneers shock ACU, 83-81
2/28/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
TWU shocks Wildcats, 83-81
Wildcats must beat MSU, get help to reach tournament
ABILENE – Tiesha Wady's offensive rebound and jumper with 1.9 seconds left Thursday night helped Texas Woman's hold off ACU, 83-81, in a key Lone Star Conference South Division game at Moody Coliseum.
Wady's shot, on a rebound after a Keshun Irving miss on a driving layup, kept the Pioneers from blowing a 17-point second-half lead. TWU, which opened the game on a 12-0 run, is now tied with ACU for fourth place in the LSC South at 6-7 overall. However, if the teams end up tied after Saturday's regular-season finales, TWU will earn the fourth playoff spot from the LSC South by virtue of its two wins this season over ACU.
The only way for ACU to get into the LSC Post-Season Tournament is to beat Midwestern State at home Saturday afternoon and hope for a TWU loss at LSC South Division champion Angelo State.
The Wildcats, who had won four straight games, hit just two of their first 16 shots as they got off to an extremely cold start. ACU never could trim the lead to less than seven points and trailed by as many as 17 points (55-38) with less than 10 minutes to play.
But, trailing 80-67 with 4:03 to play, the Wildcats went on a 14-1 run over the next 3:03 to tie the game at 81-81. Jackie Vinson hit a 3-pointer from the right wing to tie the game at 81-81. Vinson hit the 3-pointer after a feed from Melanie Carter, who was sensational, scoring a career-high 37 points on 16 of 23 shooting and grabbing 14 rebounds.
Texas Woman's forward Jessica Springer then fouled out of the game with 47 seconds left in the game, giving the ball back to ACU with a chance to take its first lead of the game. But on the Wildcats' play, Carter and guard Ashley King got their signals crossed and the possession ended in a turnover.
The Pioneers called timeout with 20.9 seconds left, and when they came out Irving drove to the bucket off the right wing. Her layup attempt was no good, but Wady was at the right place at the right time, picking up the loose ball and hitting a short jumper on the right baseline to give the Pioneers an 83-81 lead with 1.9 seconds left.
ACU tried a length-of-the-court pass to Carter, but the pass was too tall for her and the last 1.9 of the game ran off the clock. TWU, which has now won four straight games against the Wildcats, beat the Wildcats for the second time this season in dramatic fashion. On Feb. 1 in Denton, Lauri Engelman's 3-pointer with three seconds left capped a TWU comeback from a 17-point second half and gave the Pioneers a 70-69 win.
Carter scored 24 of her 37 points in the second half, but the only other Wildcat in double figures was Meredith Doyle with 10 points. The Wildcats, who shot just 42 percent for the game, were only 9 for 28 (32 percent) from 3-point range.
