Lady Buffs pull out win over Wildcats
WTAM scores 26 points from line in 68-64 win over ACU
CANYON – ACU's mastery of West Texas A&M at the WTAM Events Center is over, and so is the Wildcats' five-game winning streak after the Lady Buffs knocked off ACU, 68-64, Saturday night in a Lone Star Conference South Division contest.
The win pushes the Lady Buffs (17-2 overall) to 4-1 and in sole possession of the LSC South Division lead at 4-1. ACU, meanwhile, drops to 11-7 and 3-2. The Wildcats will return to action Thursday at 6 p.m. when they take on Texas A&M-Commerce in another LSC South Division game at Moody Coliseum.
The difference in the game came at the free throw line where the Lady Buffs canned 26 of 31 charity shots, while the Wildcats toed the line just 14 times, hitting seven.
The Lady Buffs led 56-47 with 4:09 left in the game on a three-point play by Abilene's Celeste Stevenson, but the Wildcats ripped off a 12-4 run over the next 2:34 to cut the deficit to 60-59 with 1:35 left on a Lynsie Blau. Stevenson, though, scored again and ACU turned the ball over – their 22nd turnover of the game – with one minut left, and Jennifer Brock made them pay with a bucket that made it a 64-59 game.
ACU's Melanie Carter scored inside with 12.7 seconds to play to cut the lead to 65-61, putting the Wildcats right back in the contest. After Stevenson hit one of two free throws with 11 seconds left, Ashley King drilled a running 3-pointer with 4.4 seconds to play to make it a 66-64 game. But Brock hit two free throws with 2.7 seconds left, giving the Lady Buffs the win.
The loss for the Wildcats is their first in the new WTAM Events Center, which opened in January 2002 with an ACU victory. The Wildcats also won in the building last year, 79-71, the last time the Lady Buffs have lost at home.
King led the Wildcats with 18 points, while Carter added a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds to go along with three assists and two blocks. Blau – the leading rebounder and shot-blocker in the LSC – had eight points, 12 rebounds, six blocks and four assists.
Stevenson led the Lady Buffs with 25 points, 13 of those coming from the line where she was 13 of 14. Vasha Adams had 21 points (9 of 19 shooting), and Brock had 13 points.
