LSC Women's Tournament Bracket
CANYON -- One week after their most disheartening loss of the season, the Wildcats came up with their biggest road win in years Saturday night, a win that sends them into next week's Lone Star Conference Post-Season Tournament riding a wave of momentum.
The Wildcats rallied from deficits of 11-0 to start the game and 51-41 midway through the second half to knock off No. 6 West Texas A&M, 78-72, in the regular-season finale for both teams at the First United Bank Center.
The win pushes the Wildcats to 17-10 on the season and 7-5 in the LSC South Division, while the division champion Lady Buffs are now 26-3 and 10-2. Both of the Lady Buffs' division losses were to the Wildcats as ACU swept the regular-season series from the Lady Buffs for the first time since 1980-81 and won in Canyon for the first time since February 2003.
Last Saturday ACU's hopes for a spot in the post-season tournament were in serious jeopardy after a 64-61 loss to last-place Midwestern State in Wichita Falls. But the Wildcats now enter next week's tournament on the heels of a blowout win over Eastern New Mexico and a road win over the two-time defending league champion.
ACU will begin its tournament run next Thursday (March 4) at 6 p.m. when it takes on Central Oklahoma at 6 p.m. The Bronchos finished second to Northeastern State in the LSC North Division. ACU beat Central Oklahoma, 81-80, in Abilene on Dec. 19.
Saturday night's game didn't start very well for the Wildcats as the Lady Buffs jumped out to an 11-0 lead only to see the Wildcats rally to tie the game at 17-17. Both teams would enjoy leads the rest of the way before the Lady Buffs settled for a 39-33 lead at halftime.
The Lady Buffs then jumped out with a 12-8 run to start the second half to take a 51-41 lead early in the second half.
ACU cut the margin to 51-49 on
Jamie Meyer's 3-pointer and took a 52-51 lead at the 11:16 mark on another 3-pointer by
Autumn Whitaker.
After tying the score on a Jamie Simmons free throw, the Lady Buffs took the lead on a Holly Isaacs 3-pointer from deep on the right wing. Simmons then followed with a lay in to put WT ahead by a 57-54 count with less than nine minutes remaining in the second half. But three consecutive Wildcat buckets gave ACU a 60-57 by the 7:22 mark.
WT tied the score on a Simmons three-point play, only to see ACU guard
Sara Montgomery nail a 3-pointer to give the Wildcats a 65-62 lead. A
Jamie Meyer layup pushed the lead to five points, 67-62, followed by a
Kat Kundmueller floater, which pushed the Wildcat advantage to seven points with 4:49 remaining in regulation. From that point, WT couldn't get within five points, as the Wildcats took the victory.
The Meyer twins were huge for ACU as
Jody Meyer rang up her 16th double-double of the season with 22 points and 11 rebounds in 39 minutes, while
Jamie Meyer had 20 points in 32 minutes. ACU blistered the nets, hitting 55.8 percent of its shots, including 66.7 percent (16 of 24) in the second half.
The Wildcats -- one of the worst 3-point shooting teams in the league -- continued their hot shooting from beyond the arc as they hit 6 of 9 3-pointers Saturday after burying 9 of 16 3-pointers last Tuesday in the win over the Zias.
Montgomery was huge off the bench with nine points, three assists and two rebounds, while Kundmueller had five points, 10 assists, two rebounds and one steal in 38 minutes.
