ABILENE – A shot at the Lone Star Conference's regular-season championship hangs in the balance for the Abilene Christian women's basketball team when they visit a red-hot Midwestern State squad Wednesday night that's a perfect 10-0 on its home court.
The first-place Mustangs (18-3, 13-2 LSC) and second-place Wildcats (17-4, 12-3 LSC) tip-off at 5 p.m., and fans that can't make the trip to Wichita Falls can still follow all the play-by-play action via
Grant Boone's broadcast carried locally on AM-1280 KSLI.
Midwestern State also will provide a live audio stream and statistics on its web site.
ACU's rematch with MSU is nothing short of a must-win situation. A victory for the Wildcats pulls the two schools into a tie, but a loss gives the Mustangs an overwhelming 3.0 game lead (including tiebreaker) with four to go. The Wildcats have a slightly easier schedule than MSU over the next four weeks as they'll face three of the league's four worst teams; however, it's doubtful that any of the schools left on Midwestern's slate – with the possible exception of Tarleton State on Feb. 23 – will come close to slowing down a team that hasn't lost since Dec. 31.
The Mustangs began their current 11-game winning streak at Moody Coliseum on Jan. 3 with a 76-62 victory over the Wildcats. ACU struggled mightily under the glass as MSU won the rebounding war, 50-25, and pulled down 19 offensive boards compared to just 15 defensive for the Wildcats. Abilene also had issues at the free throw and 3-point lines and trouble holding onto the ball as evident by its 16 first-half turnovers, all of which resulted in a 13-point halftime deficit.
The Wildcats' offense picked up a little steam in the second half, scoring 41 points, but the defense failed to contain the Mustang duo of Andrea Carter and Kristi Degelia, which combined for 46 points. Carter also had the most rebounds with 10 to go along with five steals and a block, and was a perfect 8-8 from the free-throw line.
ACU responded to its loss vs. MSU with a season-best eight-game winning streak that kept the schools tied for first place through most of January, but then Wildcats dropped a shocker at Eastern New Mexico at the start of February and have been chasing the Mustangs ever since.
Statistically, the Wildcats begin the week with conference's No. 1 scoring offense with 75.7 points per game thanks in part to their 33.4 3-point field goal percentage. ACU leads the LSC with 187 3-pointers made, while simultaneously laying claim to one of the nation's five-best 3-point field-goal defenses. Opponents this season have made less than a quarter of their 400 3-point attempts (24.7), and overall, are only shooting 35.6 percent from the floor.
Midwestern State is just a few points shy of being the conference's No. 1 scoring offense (68.9) and defense (58.3), but still ranks among the top five in 20-plus categories with the exception of 3-point field goals made (7th, 3.9 per game). The Mustangs rank third in the LSC in both rebounding (+3.8) and turnover margin (+2.33) as well.
Degelia, a junior, is third in the conference in scoring with 15.7 points per game, while her teammate Carter, a sophomore, is second in rebounding (10.2) and ninth in scoring (12.4) behind a .508 field-goal percentage.
For the Wildcats, junior
Mackenzie Lankford leads her team in scoring with 13.3 points per game after dropping 31 points on Tarleton State Saturday night, and freshman
Whitney West is the new No. 1 in 3-point shooting at 44.8 percent. West made 5 of 7 treys last Wednesday in the Wildcats' win at Commerce.
Lankford's effort vs. the TexAnns, which was the second-best scoring performance of her career, earned her Lone Star Conference Offensive Player of the Week honors. A native of Weatherford, Texas, Lankford poured in 25 first-half points on 7 of 9 shooting, including 5 of 7 from 3-point range. She was also 7 of 10 from the free throw line, pulled down four rebounds and had two assists in 30 minutes of play.
Defensively for the Wildcats, senior
Kelsey Smith ranks second to Angelo State's Lauren Holt in blocks with 1.7 per game and is eighth with 6.7 rebounds per game.
Cameron – who the Wildcats will meet in Lawton Saturday at 2 p.m. – begins its week in last place and on a seven-game losing streak. The Aggies (4-17, 3-12 LSC) have only won twice since start of 2013 with their last victory coming on Jan. 12 vs. Commerce.
Chelsea Stamp is Cameron's leading scorer with 11.4 points per game and averages 2.5 3-pointers per game. Teammate Brittany Harris, meanwhile, ranks second in the league in assists with 3.6 per game.
ACU leads its all-time series with MSU 36-22 despite having lost five straight to the Mustangs. The Wildcats also have not won at D.L. Ligon Coliseum since posting an 80-77 victory there on Jan. 15, 2011.
In its all-time series vs. Cameron, ACU leads 19-9 after beating the Aggies earlier this season, 90-43.
