Boles leads ACU past Lady Reds
Senior center posts first double-double of season in victory
ABILENE -- ACU senior center Jamie Boles-Lord played her best game of the season Saturday afternoon, posting a double-double to lead the Wildcats to 64-57 win over Northeastern State in a Lone Star Conference crossover basketball game at Moody Coliseum.
The Wildcats' second straight victory pushes their record to 4-3, while Northeastern State falls to 6-3 on the season. ACU will return to action Friday at 3 p.m. when it opens LSC South Division action against nationally ranked Angelo State. The game will be broadcast locally on KYYW 1470 AM and on the internet at www.teamline.cc.
Saturday's contest was a back-and-forth affair with neither team holding more than a three-point lead until ACU was able to push a lead out to five points and then, ultimately, nine points at 51-42 with 8:49 to play in the second half. But the Lady Reds responded with an 8-0 run over a 79-second span to cut the Wildcat lead to 51-50 at the 7:30 mark.
But that's when the Wildcats took control.
Boles-Lord, who finished with 22 points and 14 rebounds, hit a free throw at the 6:11 mark to give ACU a 52-50 lead, and that free throw started a decisive 10-3 run by the Wildcats that took the clock under one minute to play. Boles-Lord was 5 of 6 from the free throw line in the run, while Audrey Maxwell was 1 for 2 and Alex Guiton 2 for 2 in the run. Senior guard Ashley King, in fact, had ACU's only field goal in the run, a running jumper at the right elbow at the 4:10 mark to give the Wildcats a 55-50 lead.
Guiton hit a pair of free throws with 52 seconds to play to give the Wildcats a 61-53 lead. After Verressa Gaston hit a jumper with 44 seconds to play to make it a 61-55 game, Guiton hit two more free throws with 41 seconds left to ice the game for the Wildcats.
Guiton had 10 points and two assists in 40 minutes, while Lacey Blau finished with 11 points for the Wildcats. King had a solid game with seven points, eight rebounds and four assists in 34 minutes. Gaston was the only Northeastern State player in double figures, finishing with 17 points.
