Live Stats (Lamar) |
Live Stats (Sam Houston State)
ACU Broadcast (Lamar) |
ESPN3 Broadcast (Sam Houston State)
ABILENE - Abilene Christian women's basketball team looks to get back in the win column this week with a pair of home games against Southland Conference rivals Lamar and Sam Houston State. The Wildcats started the year 7-0 at home in pushing their Moody Coliseum win streak to 15 games, but couldn't get past Central Arkansas last Saturday in a 67-54 defeat.
ACU is facing Lamar for the first time in program history Thursday at 5:30 p.m. during the school's second annual Chapel Credit Night. ACU students can earn two chapel credits by sliding their ID cards before the women's halftime and out after the men's halftime. This year's guest speaker is
Dr. Kelvin J. Kelley, an associate professor of theology and coordinator of the Hardin-Simmons student diversity program.
ESPN3 will televise Saturday's 1 p.m. game as the Wildcats renew an old rivalry with Sam Houston State, which was a member of the Lone Star Conference from 1931 to 1984. The Bearkats won their last meeting against ACU, 57-51, in the finals of the 1984 Lone Star Conference Tournament that tied the all-time series at 5-5.
ACU women will make a second appearance on ESPN3 on Feb. 13 when the Wildcats visit Incarnate Word at 6 p.m.
ACU went 1-1 last week at home as it followed a convincing 70-56 victory over the defending Southland Conference Tournament champions from Oral Roberts with a difficult loss to the Sugar Bears of Central Arkansas.
Against the Golden Eagles, freshmen
Alexis Mason and
Suzzy Dimba turned in a pair of celebrated performances while the team committed just eight fouls through 40 minutes of action. Mason made 6-of-9 baskets and was 4-of-6 from 3-point range in leading all scorers with 18 points, and her .667 shooting percentage was her second highest of the season since banking in 10-of-13 (.769) attempts against Texas A&M-Commerce on Dec. 3.
Dimba, meanwhile, pulled down a team and single-game career high 15 rebounds, including 12 off the defensive glass. Her 15 rebounds were the most by a Wildcat since
Kelsey Smith recorded 19 vs. UIW in 2012. With eight games this season with 10 or more rebounds, Dimba is ranked seventh among the Southland leaders with 8.2 rebounds per game. She had 10 rebounds Saturday vs. Central Arkansas.
Senior
Renata Marquez continues to be ranked among the Southland's top-15 leaders in scoring (13.3), rebounding (6.4), assists (3.4) and steals (2.3). She also is fifth with 3.3 offensive rebounds per game and is ranked among the league's best 3-point shooters with a .368 percentage and 2.2 3-pointers made per game.
Sophomore
Whitney West is tied with Marquez in averaging the fourth most 3-pointers per game.
As a team, ACU leads the Southland in six statistical categories, including scoring offense (74.2 ppg), scoring margin (+10.6), assists (15.4), steals (10.5), 3-pointers made (9.3) and 3-point field goal defense (.246).
Lamar (9-8), which is tied for third in the Southland with McNeese State at 4-2, is the league's second-most prolific 3-point shooting team. The Cardinals have made 131 treys on 4-7 attempts for a .322 shoot percentage. ACU, however, is first in both categories with 168 three pointers made through 505 tries (.333).
Junior Dominique Edwards is Lamar's leading scorer (16.6) and rebounder (8.2), while second team all-Southland Conference preseason selection Gia Ayers leads the league with 5.0 assists per game and ranks fourth with 34.1 minutes played.
Lamar, which was picked to finish seventh in the Southland coaches' preseason poll, had its season best four-game winning streak stopped Saturday, Jan. 18 at Southeastern La. (L, 62-67).
Sam Houston State (8-9, 3-3 SLC) enters the week on a three-game winning streak and will first play at Incarnate Word Thursday before coming to Abilene. After losing seven straight from late November to early January, the Bearkats recorded consecutive one-point wins over Nicholls and Southeastern Louisiana before beating New Orleans by 31 points, 78-47.
Leading the Bearkats this season is junior Angela Beadle, who ranks sixth in scoring with 15.4 points per game and first in rebounding with 9.8 per game. She also has eight double-doubles, plus the league's fourth-highest field goal percentage (.511) and seventh-most blocked shots (18 / 1.1 avg.).
Beadle sank 14 field goals last week vs. Southeastern Louisiana, and in a November game against Louisiana Lafayette she pulled down a conference season best 19 rebounds.
