ADA, Okla. -- ACU outscored East Central 19-9 over the last 4:37 of the game Saturday afternoon as the Wildcats completed Lone Star Conference crossover play with a 72-65 win over the Tigers at the Kerr Activities Center.
The win pushes the Wildcats to 10-5 on the season, while the Tigers fall to 8-5 on the year. ACU will get LSC South Division play started Wednesday in Portales, N.M., when the Wildcats take on Eastern New Mexico at Greyhound Arena. Tipoff for the game is set for 7 p.m. (Abilene time), and it will be carried on KYYW 1470 AM and on www.acusports.com.
Saturday's game was a back-and-forth contest that saw 15 lead changes and 11 ties. East Central stretched its lead to 56-53 with 5:08 to play on a 3-pointer by Laura Harris.
But ACU freshman guard
Cecilee Perez got the Wildcats' game-ending run started at the 4:37 mark when she hit a jumper to cut the ECU lead to 56-55. After Krista Bullis missed a 3-pointer on the other end,
Jamie Meyer -- who was huge with 23 points and 16 rebounds on the day -- hit a jumper to give the Wildcats a 57-56 lead with 4:22 to play.
ACU would not trail again.
Meyer hit another jumper with 3:27 to play to make it 59-56 before Jourdan Clark hit a layup with 2:09 left to cut the ACU lead to 59-58. But
Autumn Whitaker -- who had a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds -- hit a jumper with 1:50 left to push the lead to 61-58, and she buried a 3-pointer with 1:26 left to make it 64-58.
The Wildcats then then went 8 for 10 at the free throw line down the stretch to seal the victory.
ACU had three players record double-doubles, led by
Jamie Meyer's 23-point, 16-rebound effort. Whitaker at 15 points and 10 rebounds, while
Jody Meyer had 13 points and 15 rebounds.
Kat Kundmueller -- who leads the LSC in assists -- had 10 more on Saturday to go along with three points and four rebounds.
Sara Montgomery came off the bench to grab a career-high eight rebounds.
The Wildcats shot just 32.9 percent from the field, but dominated the glass, out-rebounding the Tigers 67-41, including 22 offensive rebounds. ACU's defense also held the Tigers to just 29.9 percent from the field (23 of 77).
