ABILENE – The ACU Wildcats committed 30 turnovers Monday night, including three in the final 64 seconds of the game, as they lost to Angelo State for the second time in three days, 68-62, at Moody Coliseum.
The loss drops the Wildcats to 7-13 overall and 4-4 in the Lone Star Conference South Division, while the Rambelles improve to 12-8 and 5-3. The Wildcats – now in fourth place in the LSC South Division – will return to action Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. when they try to snap their two-game losing streak by hosting West Texas A&M.
The Wildcats trailed most of the second half, including by as much as seven points (57-50) after Camille Perkins connected on a jumper with 5:28 to play. But ACU outscored the Rambelles 12-4 over the next 3:13 to grab a 62-61 lead with 2:15 left in the game.
Kelsey Smith scored six points in the run, including the jumper with 2:15 left that gave the Wildcats a one-point lead.
Leading by one point, however, the Wildcats' final turnover binge cost them. First, Mack Lankford turned the ball over with 1:04 to play and the Wildcats still leading 62-61, a turnover that led to the eventual game-winning free throws by Perkins with 47 seconds left.
After a 30-second timeout, senior
Autumn Whitaker committed a turnover with 32 seconds to play to give the ball back to the Rambelles. After a foul by
Sarah Reno with 30 seconds left, Lindsey Youngblood hit 1 of 2 free throws to give ASU a 64-62 lead.
After another timeout with 24 seconds left and ACU down by a couple of points, Reno committed a turnover with 13 seconds left, a giveaway that led to a foul by HIllari Adam and two free throws by Lindsey Mahone with 12 seconds left to give the Rambelles an insurmountable 66-62 lead. Karli Kellermeier added two free throws with two seconds to play for the final margin.
Smith led the Wildcats with 22 points and eight rebounds, while Lankford had 15 points and Whitaker 13 points.
