PORTALES, N.M. -- ACU put together a 13-0 run midway through the second half Wednesday night to pull away from Eastern New Mexico and take an 85-70 win over the Zias in a Lone Star Conference South Division game at Greyhound Arena.
The win pushes the Wildcats to 17-9 overall and 8-3 ini the LSC South, while the Zias finish their season at 9-21 and 0-12. ENMU has not won an LSC South game in two seasons.
ACU finishes the regular season Saturday at 6 p.m. when it hosts LSC South Division champion West Texas A&M at Moody Coliseum. ACU needs a win over the Lady Buffs or an Angelo State loss at Tarleton State to secure the No. 2 seed from the division in next week's LSC Post-Season Tournament.
On Wednesday, the Wildcats had a solid run midway through the first half to turn a one-point deficit into a 10-point lead with 7:52 left in the half. The Zias, however, closed the gap and after taking a brief lead late in the half, settled for a one-point deficit at the break.
The Wildcats never trailed in the second half, but they couldn't put the pesky Zias away early in the final 20 minutes. Vanessa O'Neal's free throw with 12:43 left in the game cut the ACU lead to 56-50, giving the Zias hope of an upset that would halt their division losing streak at 23 games.
ACU, though, would answer with a 13-0 run over the next 5:05 to stretch its lead to 69-50 and put the game away. Jamie Meyer led the run with four points, but the other nine points came from the bench as Kristee Davidson had three points, while Autumn Whitaker, Courtney Laing and Joanna Harner each had two points.
Just as they did in their 73-65 win over the Zias on Jan. 13 in Abilene, the Wildcats dominated the boards on Wednesday. On Jan. 13, ACU out-rebounded ENMU 57-41, led by Audrey Maxwell-Lively, who had 17 rebounds to go with 24 points.
Wednesday night, ACU out-rebounded the Zias 52-33, and was once again led by Maxwell-Lively, who recorded her 12th double-double of the season and 36th of her career with 18 points and 13 rebounds.
Jody Meyer had 15 points and 12 rebounds, while her sister, Jamie, had 16 points and seven rebounds as ACU's frontline starters outscored ENMU's frontline starters, 49-22. Kelsey Darby had 10 points for the Wildcats, while Davidson added 11 off the bench.
