ABILENE -- Nia Torru scored 18 of her game-high 20 points in the first half Monday night as Incarnate Word blistered ACU, 60-44, in a non-conference women's basketball game at Moody Coliseum.
The loss was critical for the Wildcats, who fall to 2-3 on the season with all three losses coming against Heartland Conference opponents. Those three losses -- two to Incarnate Word and one to St. Mary's -- could come back to haunt the Wildcats late in the season if they are competing for a spot in the NCAA Division II South Central Region Tournament.
But for the Wildcats to get to that point, they'll have to play much better than they did against the Cardinals, who improved to 4-2 on the season. ACU had more turnovers (25) than field goals (16) and shot just 33.3 percent for the game (16 of 48).
The 44 points marks ACU's lowest offensive output since a 78-43 home loss to Texas A&M-Kingsville on Jan. 27, 2001. Before Monday's loss, the last time ACU failed to score at least 50 points was Jan. 18, 2007, in a 61-48 loss to Southwestern Oklahoma State. That marked the second straight game ACU failed to score 50 points after a 63-49 loss to Angelo State on Jan. 9, 2007.
Norru led an explosive first-half offensive effort for Incarnate Word, which outscored ACU 16-4 over the final 4:36 of the half to turn a narrow 27-24 UIW lead into a 43-28 halftime bulge.
Torru had nine points in the half-ending run, all on 3-pointers, while Jasmine Smith had three and Nikki Brown and LaShae Woodard each had two points. Torru ended the half with a 3-pointer at the buzzer -- her sixth of the first half -- that sent the Cardinals to halftime with a 15-point lead.
The closest the Wildcats were able to get in the second half was 11 points as each team struggled offensively. Incarnate Word scored just 17 second-half points on 6 of 25 shooting (6 of 25), but that was better than the Wildcats, who scored just 16 second-half points on 5 of 20 shooting (25 percent).
Jamie Meyer led the Wildcats with 12 points and 10 rebounds, but she was the only Wildcat in double figures. The Cardinals -- who played just seven players -- had four players in double figures, led by Torru's 20. Woodard and Smith each scored 12 and Brown added 10 for the Cardinals.
ACU will be back in action Thursday at 5:30 p.m. when it opens Lone Star Conference crossover play against Cameron at Moody Coliseum.
