Abilene Christian's Lone Star Conference Starting 5 Fan Poll ... VOTE TODAY!
ABILENE – The Abilene Christian women's basketball team this week visits Texas Woman's University for a quick one-game road trip Wednesday before starting a new homestand Saturday at 6:30 p.m. vs. Southwestern Adventist. Both games will be broadcast locally on 1280-AM KSLI.
ACU and TWU tip off in Denton at 7 p.m.
The Wildcats begin their week with an overall record of 8-3 and are tied with Midwestern State for second place in the Lone Star Conference at 4-2, 1.5 games behind Tarleton State (5-0). The Pioneers are 4-8 overall and 2-4 within the league.
TWU began its year 2-0 before going on a six-game losing streak, which was snapped with a four-point win over Texas A&M-Kingsville. The Pioneers won their second conference game Saturday, beating Eastern New Mexico by six led by Rebekah Cluley's double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds.
ACU fans witnessed the best and worst of the Wildcats this past week against the Mustangs and Cameron Aggies. ACU had its three-game winning streak snapped by MSU Thursday in a 76-62 defeat, during which the Wildcats were held to 33 percent shooting and forced into 19 turnovers - 16 in the first half. The Mustangs also dominated the boards by a 2:1 margin, 50-25.
The Wildcats, however, quickly turned things around Saturday night vs. Cameron and had one of their best second halves of the season as they netted 53 points on 16-of-30 shooting while simultaneously holding the Aggies to 21 points on 13 free throws and three field goals. Defensively, ACU came away with 50 rebounds and forced Cameron into 18 turnovers, which the Wildcats then converted into 31 points.
Freshman
Kynzie Newman had a career night vs. the Aggies, scoring a personal best 22 points on 7 of 9 shooting (6-7 from 3-point range). Newcomer
Shannon Sanders also posted a career high with nine rebounds, while
Kelsey Smith contributed 18 points and eight rebounds.
ACU's 90 points vs. Cameron were its most since dropping 96 on Texas A&M-International in the season opener and pushed it to No. 1 within the league and 25th nationally in scoring offense at 74.9 points per game. The Wildcats also are tops in terms of scoring margin (+9.5) and 3-point field goals made (8.4).
And because the Aggies shot just 22.9 percent from the floor and 13 percent from the arc, ACU is No. 1 in field goal (.352) and 3-point field goal (.222) defense as well.
Despite having the No. 1 scoring offense, only Smith is ranked among the LSC's top-10 scoring individuals at 12.3 ppg, but junior
Mackenzie Lankford and sophomore
Sadie Dickinson are right behind her at 11.6 ppg while junior
Renata Marquez has an 11.5 ppg average.
Smith also is among the LSC's top 10 leaders in field goal percentage (.517), rebounding (7.5) and blocks (1.5).
ACU split its 2011-12 season series with TWU, first losing on the road, 74-68, before winning at home, 69-57, bringing its all-time series record vs. the Pioneers to 39-13. Smith recorded a double-double of 21 points and 14 rebounds during last year's win over TWU, which went on to finish seventh in the league at 8-12 (13-14 overall).
This season, Texas Woman's the league's No. 7 scoring offense at 55.1 ppg but its No. 2 defense at 61.8. Cluley is tops in the LSC with 3.7 assists per game, while Toree Mason is the Pioneers' leading scorer with a 10.4 ppg average.
