ACU welcomes Dyess AFB neighbors for Air Force game; visits KSU Monday

Women's Basketball | 12/17/2014 11:38:00 AM

ACU Women's Basketball Game Notes (vs. Air Force and Kansas State)

Live Stats vs. Air Force | Live Video

Live Stats at Kansas State | Video | Audio

ABILENE - Abilene Christian's busy Winter Break schedule rolls on this weekend with the Wildcats first playing host to Air Force Saturday at 1 p.m. before taking off to Manhattan, Kansas for a 7 p.m. Monday game at Kansas State.

Al Pickett is the play-by-play announcer for both games; however, only the Kansas State game will be broadcast locally on 98.1 FM - The Ticket due to a broadcast conflict Saturday with the ACU men's basketball game at Boise State. The ACU and Air Force game is an internet-only broadcast.

All fans can get into the Air Force game for free thanks to a generous Christmas gift from the Abilene Teachers Federal Credit Union. Additionally, Dyess base personnel will provide the Color Guard and sing the Star-Spangled Banner, and Col. Steven Beasley, vice commander of Dyess' 7th Bomb Wing, is scheduled to play ACU president Dr. Phil Schubert in a game of C-A-T at halftime followed by a contest between teams from the Dyess Youth League.

Saturday's game marks the fourth all-time meeting between Air Force and Abilene Christian, with the Wildcats winning the first three games played between 1983 and 1986. ACU won the first game, 58-51, in early 1983 and defeated the Falcons the following season, 82-61, in the quarterfinals of the 1984 NCAA Regional Tournament. Their most recent meeting took place in 1986 with the Wildcats winning again, 86-69.

This year's Falcons - members of the Mountain West Conference - are off to a 1-9 start and are led in scoring by Jimi Blagowsky's 12.0 points per game. Blagowsky is from nearby Edmond, Okla., and has five teammates who call the Lone Star State their home. 

Abilene Christian and Kansas State meet for the first time in program history Monday at Bramlage Coliseum. The Wildcats originally were to have played on this date at TCU, but those plans were adjusted after head coach Jeff Mittie and his staff left Fort Worth for Manhattan. 

KSU was picked to finish ninth in this year's Big 12 preseason poll just ahead of Texas Tech following last season's 11-19 finish, but are off to a quality 7-1 start. Leading the Wildcats this season are Breanna Lewis with 13.9 points per game and Ashia Woods with 7.6 rebounds per game. 

Mittie has a 3-0 record vs. ACU, including last fall's 82-55 triumph on the Horned Frogs' bench. He also led Missouri Western to two wins over the Wildcats during the 1994-95 season, the second of which came in the NCAA Regional Semifinals.

The ACU Wildcats, meanwhile, are off to their third consecutive 6-2 start under head coach Julie Goodenough following Monday's 100-52 home victory over Southwestern Christian University. The Wildcats' defense stuffed the Eagles as their 52 points were one of several opponent season lows.

SCU also was held to 19 field goals, a .311 field goal percentage and 28 total rebounds (eight offensive rebounds).

Conversely, ACU set or tied several team highs against the Eagles, including 52 first-half points, 15 3-pointers, 19 offensive rebounds, 55 total rebounds (36 on defense) and 24 assists. Alexis Mason was one of five Wildcats to reach double figures that night with 22 points and tied three teammates with a game-high eight rebounds.

Additional new and updated ACU women's basketball notes are listed below.
 

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FIVE OVER TEN: All five of ACU's starters are averaging 10.0 or more points a game this season through eight contests making the Wildcats the only team in the Southland Conference to have their entire starting rotation scoring in double figures ... Alexis Mason leads ACU with 16.4 ppg followed by Suzzy Dimba (12.6), Lizzy Dimba (12.4), Whitney West (12.0) and Sydney Shelstead (11.9) ... Central Arkansas has the second most starters in double-figure scoring with three.

RPI BUSINESS: The Wildcats are ranked 119th of 349 teams in the latest women's basketball RPI poll released by the NCAA, situated between 5-3 Cleveland State and 4-3 Western Michigan ... ACU is the second Southland team in the poll behind No. 107 Nicholls ... Air Force is No. 340 and Kansas State is No. 73 ... The RPI for previous opponents include No. 84 for Texas Tech, No. 164 for UTSA, No. 176 for Eastern Washington, No. 312 for George Mason and No. 343 for UMKC.

AMONG THE SOUTHLAND LEADERS: ACU has all five of its starters ranked among the Southland's top-20 scoring leaders: Alexis Mason (4th – 16.4), Suzzy Dimba (13th – 12.6), Lizzy Dimba (15th – 12.4), Whitney West (17th – 12.0) and Sydney Shelstead (19th – 11.9) ... The top-10 rebounding leaders includes Shelstead (4th – 9.3) and Suzzy Dimba (7th – 8.0)  ... Suzzy Dimba also ranks third with 2.8 steals per game, while Alyssa Echols (2.1) and West (1.9) rank sixth and ninth in this category ... West is eighth with 3.1 assists per game and fourth with a 1.5 assist/turnover ratio ... West and Mason are ranked among the top four in 3-point field goal percentage (.333 and .306) and 3-pointers made (2.4 and 2.1).

MILESTONES MET AND APPROACHING: Lizzy Dimba is eight points away from 400 and pulled down her 200th rebound at Texas Tech ... Suzzy Dimba recorded her 300th career rebound vs. Eastern Washington and needs 60 more points to reach 500 ... She played her 1,000th minute at UMKC ... Alexis Mason surpassed 500 career points during the Southwestern Christian game and posted her 100th assist vs. George Mason ... Mason also played her 1,000th minute vs. Eastern Washington ... Sydney Shelstead attained both 200 career points and 300 career rebounds at the Plaza Lights Classic ...  Whitney West dished out assist No. 150 vs. Wayland Baptist and is 27 away from 200 ... She also scored career point No. 600 vs. George Mason.

CATCHING CURTIS: ACU's Dec. 15 win vs. Southwestern Christian was the 45th for Julie Goodenough as the Wildcats' head coach, tying her with Dr. Joyce Curtis (45-57, .441) for fifth on the program's all-time wins list ... A professor emerita of exercise science and health, Dr. Curtis was the first coach for women's volleyball, badminton, basketball and tennis and was inducted into the ACU Sports Hall of Fame in 2003 ... Goodenough's .677 winning percentage is second only to Suzanne Fox (117-33, .780) ... She needs 51 wins to pass Wayne Williams for fourth place on ACU's victory list ... Williams went 96-70 (.578) from 1997-2003.

CHRISTMAS PRESENCE: The Wildcats are an impressive 8-2 over the past five seasons in games leading up to Winter Break ... ACU went 1-1 at home in 2010 before winning all four games at the West Texas Lady Buff Classic between 2011-12, beating Shaw, Southwestern Oklahoma, Arkansas-Fort Smith and Emporia State ... ACU won two of three games at Texas Tech last December and started this year's break with a convincing 100-52 win over Southwestern Christian.

BATTLE TESTED: ACU suffered a tough 61-44 road loss Dec. 3 at Texas Tech, which marked the season debut for one of the Lady Raiders' top players, Amber Battle ... In her first game back from a  lengthy suspension, Battle posted a double-double of 13 points and 11 rebounds ... Lizzy Dimba was the lone Wildcat to reach double figures in scoring as she hit 8-of-11 free throws to finish with 10 points and seven rebounds ... Her sister, Suzzy, pulled down eight boards in a rematch of local rivals.

PURE WEST: Junior guard earned Plaza Lights Classic MVP honors and was named to its all-tournament team Nov. 29 after leading the Wildcats to consecutive victories over George Mason of the Atlantic 10 Conference (88-86) and the host Roos of the WAC (80-55) ... West netted a pair of go-ahead baskets during the final minute of the Wildcats' game vs. the Patriots, with the game-winner banked in with six seconds remaining ... She then was credited with a block on George Mason's final attempt coming with two seconds left on the clock ... West torched the Roos behind a career-high 24 points on 9-21 shooting (5-12 3-point range) ... West's efforts in Kansas City combined with her 11-point game last Monday vs. Eastern Washington earned her Southland Conference Player of the Week honors ... She is the Wildcat's first winner of this prize since Suzzy Dimba won her award last December following the win at Texas Tech.

MASON V MASON: Sophomore guard Alexis Mason was given a spot on the Plaza Lights Classic all-tournament team after averaging 22.0 points per game ... Mason began the two-day, four-team classic with a career high 28 points vs. George Mason in which she hit 10-20 shots from the floor (four 3-pointers) ... 20 of her points came in the first half as the Wildcats went into the break ahead by 10 points at 43-33 ... Mason's 28 points were the most by a Wildcat since Renata Marquez dropped 32 on Arlington Baptist on Feb. 18, 2014.

SYD THE KID: Sophomore center Sydney Shelstead played one of her best games as a Wildcat vs. Eastern Washington with 18 points and 18 rebounds ...  Her 18 rebounds were the most by a Wildcat since Kelsey Smith had 19 in a win over Incarnate Word on Feb. 15, 2012 ... Shelstead went on to record a 19 point/11 rebound double-double vs. George Mason and just missed a third consecutive double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds at UMKC.

ON EAGLES' WINGS: ACU earned its first win over a Big Sky school in close to 20 years Nov. 24 when the Wildcats defeated Eastern Washington, 79-72, in comeback fashion ... The Purple and White gave up 45 points and 18 field goals in the first half before limiting the Eagles to 27 points and 40 percent shooting from the field in the second half ... EWU hit back-to-back buckets late in the second half to take a 70-68 lead with 5:29 to play but a layup by Jade Redmon would be the Eagles' final field goal of the game and their final points until Lexie Nelson hit two free throws with six seconds to play ... In between, Sydney Shelstead powered an ACU run with three points, four rebounds and one assist for a dagger 3-pointer from Whitney West that gave ACU a 78-70 lead 1:35 to play ... ACU's last win vs. the Big Sky came vs. Portland State during the 1995-96 season.

RIVER CITY RECAP: ACU lost its first game of the season Nov. 19 at UTSA, 70-57 ... The Wildcats set season highs for steals with 18 ... Sophomore Sydney Shelstead recorded a single-game career high of three blocks, while guards Whitney West and Alyssa Echols each had a career high five steals ... Mason finished the game with 11 points on 3-of-11 shooting and  5-of-6 free throws ... Lizzy Dimba, meanwhile, went 7-of-10 from the charity stripe in finishing with a game high 13 points and pulled down eight rebounds to tie Shelstead for the team lead.

HOMECOMING: ACU completed its two-game, season-opening homestand at 2-0 following a Nov. 17 win over Howard Payne, 102-60 ... The Wildcats kicked off their 44th season of women's basketball on Nov. 15 with a 91-64 victory over Wayland Baptist ... ACU has won its last five season openers and is 27-17 all-time on Opening Night ... Moody Coliseum is in its 46th year of hosting basketball at ACU, with the first men's game played here on Feb. 27, 1968 ... The Wildcats' history as a program dates all the way the back to 1971-72 and has only called six individuals head coach ... The Wildcats' all-time home record is 362-116 (.757).

BRING THE PAYNE: ACU hit the century mark for the first time this season and 48th in program history Nov. 17 with its dominating 102-60 victory over Howard Payne ... The Wildcats outscored Howard Payne 20-6 in the opening five minutes of the contest and coasted from there as freshman Madison Parker (15) and sophomores Alexis Mason (24), Suzzy Dimba (17), Lizzy Dimba (15) and Sydney Shelstead (14) all scored in double figures ... The Wildcats shot 51.4 percent from the field (37 of 72), including 41.7 percent from 3-point range (10 of 24).

AN OSCAR FOR MADISON: In just her second collegiate game, freshman Madison Parker posted a double-double off the bench with 15 points on 5-9 shooting (2-3 3-point range) and 12 rebounds (6 offensive) ... Her 12 rebounds led the team as she became the first Wildcat to lead the team in rebounding other than Suzzy or Lizzy Dimba since December of last season – breaking the Dimbas' streak at 18 games. 

FOUL PLAY: The Wildcats began their win over Howard Payne with 18 consecutive successful free-throw attempts as they finished the game 18-19 (.947) with the lone miss coming from Suzzy Dimba with 3:35 remaining ... ACU's free throw streak was its best since knocking down 17 straight on March 4, 2010 vs. Central Oklahoma (31-33) ... The Wildcats also made 17 straight FTs to end the West Texas A&M game played on Feb. 7, 2008 ... More recently, the Wildcats had a 15-of-15 free throw game at St. Edward's in Dec. of 2012 and made 15 of 16-second half free throws to finish a Jan. 5, 2013 game at Cameron, 19 for 20.

FLYING QUEENS GROUNDED: During ACU's season-opening 91-64 win vs. Wayland Baptist the Wildcats held the Flying Queens to .323 shooting (.091 3-pointer) and scored 38 points off the opposition's 29 turnovers ... WBU's 52 rebounds were the most by an ACU opponent since Texas A&M-Kingsville pulled down 60 on Feb. 19, 2012 ... Tulsa recorded a opponent season high 50 last season as did several foes during the 2012-13 season ... LaTericka Anderson had 17 rebounds, which were the most by an ACU opponent since Tarleton State's Kiara Wright had games of 19 and 23 vs. the Wildcats on Dec. 8, 2012 and Feb. 9, 2013 ... The 29 turnovers forced by ACU were its most since reaching that same total last year at North Texas on Nov. 23, 2013.

THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT: Head coach Julie Goodenough introduced her 2015 recruiting class the week of Nov. 10 ... Coming to join the Wildcats' next season are Shelby Jones (Clovis, N.M./Clovis HS), McKenzie Martin (Allen, Texas / Allen HS), Breklyn Wentz (Lubbock, Texas / Trinity Christian ) and Sara Williamson (Rockwall, Texas / Rockwall HS) ... Martin and Williamson are both coming to ACU from the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, while Wentz - a native of Lubbock - is the younger sister of junior Parker Wentz of the Wildcats' men's basketball team ... Jones grew up in the Eastern New Mexico hamlet of Clovis.  

IT'S LIKE, YOU KNOW, WHATEVER: Despite posting a winning 8-6 record during its first year as a NCAA DI member of the Southland Conference and returning five players with starting experience, the Southland Conference voters picked Abilene Christian to finish eighth in the preseason poll ... The Wildcats also failed to land any players on the all-preseason first or second teams even though sophomore Suzzy Dimba was the lone freshman last season named to an all-defensive team alongside five seniors ... Stephen F. Austin is expected to repeat as conference champions.

ALL-CONFERENCE HONOREES: Suzzy Dimba and Renata Marquez were Southland Conference honorable mentions in 2013-14 ... Dimba also was one of just five student-athletes – and the only first-year player – tabbed to the conference's all-defensive team.

MAKING THE GRADE: Renata Marquez was the lone Wildcat named to the Southland Conference all-academic (second) team, but was one of nine tabbed to the league's Commissioner's Honor Roll ... Joining her on this list were current Wildcats Lizzy and Suzzy Dimba, Katelyn Goodman, Sydney Shelstead and Whitney West.

2013-14 RECORD BREAKDOWN: The Wildcats went 18-12 and 8-6 during their first season as NCAA DI members of the Southland Conference to lift their all-time program record to 746-464 (.617) in 1,210 games played ... ACU went 11-3 at Moody Coliseum and 7-9 on the road ... 3-7 on Saturdays and 4-8 on weekends ... 14-4 during midweek games, including 4-0 on Tuesdays and 6-2 on Thursdays ... 6-4 in day games and 12-8 in night games ... The Wildcats are 26-23 all-time vs. last season's Southland Conference opponents: 0-1 vs. Central Arkansas, 1-0 vs. Houston Baptist,14-8 vs. Incarnate Word, 0-1 vs. Lamar, 0-1 vs. McNeese, 1-0 vs. New Orleans, 1-0 vs. Nicholls, 0-1 vs. Northwestern State, 1-0 vs. Oral Roberts, 1-1 vs. Southeastern Louisiana, 7-5 vs. Sam Houston State, 0-4 vs. Stephen F. Austin and 0-1 vs. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.  

2013-14 POTPOURRI: ACU's sweep of Incarnate Word in 2013-14 was its first since 2006-07 ... ACU's 96 points at Southeastern Louisiana were their most against a Southland team last season and most against a conference opponent – in a regulation game – since scoring 93 vs. Texas A&M-Commerce in 2012 ... ACU's 111 points vs. Texas Lutheran were the most scored by a Southland Conference team in a single game ... The Wildcats also recorded conference team highs in field goals made (41) and attempted (89), 3-point field goals (18) and attempts (50) and assists (30).  

FAB FRESHMEN: ACU had eight freshmen on last year's team who combined for 1,435 points through 30 games ... That total accounts for 62.8 percent of the Wildcats' 2,285 points ... Here's a listing of the top-five freshman classes in terms of scoring in addition to number of games played and freshman scoring per game:
1.     North Carolina – 1,821 points (62.5%) | 37g (42.9 ppg)
2.     Indiana – 1,466 points (61.9%) | 34g (43.1 ppg)
3.     ACU – 1,435 points (62.8%) | 30g (47.8 ppg)
4.     UNC Wilmington – 1,199 points (70.3%) | 32g (37.5 ppg)
5.     Arkansas – 1048 points (52.4%) | 30g (34.9 ppg)

THREE'S COMPANY: The Wildcats made 291 3-pointers on 873 attempts through 30 games, in 2013-14 easily shattering the team records of 236 and 712 set in 2012-13 ... ACU's number of 3-pointers made and attempted rank third in the NCAA along with its average of 3-pointers made per game at 9.7 behind Sacramento State (12.4) and Florida Gulf Coast (10.2) ... ACU's 291 treys ranked behind five schools ... In the Feb. 18, 2014 game vs. Arlington Baptist, half of ACU's 108 points were scored from 3-point range as the team set two program records with 18 3-point buckets on 50 attempts (.360) … The old records of 17 and 46 were set vs. Texas Lutheran on Nov. 8, 2014 ... ACU's 16 3-point attempts vs. Florida Atlantic on Dec. 20 , 2013 and at UTSA on Jan. 4, 2014 were a season low.

UNBEATEN ON ESPN3: ACU was 2-0 last year when its games were broadcast via ESPN3 ... The Wildcats won their debut game on ESPN3 vs. Sam Houston State on Jan. 25, 73-67, at Moody Coliseum ... ACU's second-half comeback at Incarnate Word in a 73-67 win was broadcast by the Worldwide Leader in Sports a few weeks later on Feb. 13 ... ACU will not be on ESPN3 this season until Feb. 21 at Southeastern Louisiana.

SENSATIONAL SIX: ACU had six players hit double figures for the third time in 2013-14 during their March 3 win at Southeastern Louisiana ... Lizzy Dimba and Alexis Mason shared the team high of 16 points followed by Suzzy Dimba, Whitney West and Renata Marquez with 15 ... Sydney Shelstead contributed 14 points off the bench in 19 minutes on 6-of-8 shooting ... ACU previously had six players with 10 or more points on Feb 18 vs. Arlington Baptist ­– Marquez (32), Lizzy Dimba (18), Mason (14), Suzzy Dimba (13), Jessica Elkins (11) and West (11) – and on Nov. 19, 2013 vs. Northwood ... Shelstead led the Wildcats that night with 20 points followed by Marquez (16), Mason (15), Elkins (12) and Suzzy Dimba (10) ... Prior to this season, the last six ACU players to accomplish this feat were Jamie Meyer (20), Jody Meyer (12), Autumn Whitaker (16), Kelsey Darby-Holson (10), Kat Kundmueller (11) and Cecilee Perez (11) at SE Oklahoma on Jan. 10, 2009.

LOW TURNOVER: ACU's eight turnovers vs. Sam Houston State were a season low for 2013-14 … The last time ACU turned the ball over fewer than 10 times in a game was Nov. 22, 2008 vs. St. Edward's (9) … The Wildcats had an eight turnover game vs. Angelo State on Jan 14. 2003 … The single-game record for fewest turnovers is believed to be five (at Central Oklahoma on Dec. 2, 1999).
 
DOUBLE TRIO: Suzzy Dimba, Alexis Mason and Renata Marquez pulled off a rare feat during their game vs. Lamar  on Jan. 23 as all scored over 20 points ... It's believed they're the first ACU trio to accomplish this since Jan. 3, 2009 when Jamie Meyer (22), Audrey Maxwell-Lively (28) and Jody Meyer (20) led the Wildcats to a 104-95 win against Texas A&M-Commerce at Moody Coliseum.

NO FOULING AROUND: ACU recorded its fewest fouls of the 2013-14 season vs. Oral Roberts with eight ... Two players had two, while four others had just one ... The Wildcats' foul total was among the lowest in the Southland Conference last season (Central Arkansas had six vs. Houston Baptist) ... ACU last committed fewer than 10 fouls in a game last season vs. Southwestern Adventist (6); however, prior to that game ACU was last kept under 10 fouls in a November 2002 game vs. Incarnate Word (8).

REINING IN THE MAVERICKS: ACU celebrated its first win over a NCAA D-I program in 20 years on Nov. 27 in Arlington as the Wildcats held on to defeat the UTA Mavericks, 79-72 ... Prior to this victory, ACU had not defeated a D-I school since 1993 when they edged Idaho State, 75-74 ... Renata Marquez made 10 field goals to lead the Wildcats with 26 points and 12 rebounds for her third double-double of the season ... Whitney West blocked three shots and finished with 19 points.

A TRIPLE DOUBLE-DOUBLE: The Wildcats pulled off a rare feat in their win over Northwood as three players registered a double-double: Sydney Shelstead (20/10), Renata Marquez (16/10) and Suzzy Dimba (10/11) ... ACU had 17 double-doubles on the season with Suzzy Dimba at 11, Marquez with five and Sydney Shelstead with two ... The last time two Wildcats recorded a double-double was during its triple-overtime, 111-105, loss to Central Oklahoma (Jody and Jamie Meyer) on March 4, 2010 ... In a regulation game, however, you have to go all the way back to January of 2009 to find the last time two Wildcats had a double-double – and that was Jody Meyer (20/13) and Audrey Maxwell-Livey (28/11) in the Commerce game that immediately preceded ACU's 4 overtime clash vs. Texas Woman's ... In that lengthy contest, double-doubles were posted by Maxwell-Lively (18/12) and both Meyer sisters ... Jody had 17/13 and Jamie had 49/14.

SHOOT TO THRILL: The Wildcats shot an impressive .557 percent from the field in their 87-41 win vs. Angelo State on Nov. 14, 2014 connecting on 34-of-61 shots, including 13 3-pointers ... Their shooting percentage was a team-best under second-year head coach Julie Goodenough and highest since a Dec. 2010 game vs. East Central, in which the Wildcats recorded the same exact number of baskets and attempts ... The last time ACU shot better than 60 percent was in Jan. of 2010 at CSU-Pueblo.

OLD GUARD: ACU has the luxury of returning five letterwinners - all of whom were starters - from last season's 18 win team: junior Whitney West and sophomores Lizzy and Suzzy Dimba, Alexis Mason and Sydney Shelstead ... This quintet was responsible for producing 1570 points, 718 rebounds, 293 assists, 190 steals and 86 blocks in 3869 minutes played.

NEW PIECES: The Wildcats' recruiting class consists of four high school players and junior college transfers Ellyn Avery and Paris Webb ... She and freshman Alyssa Echols of Pflugerville HS will handle the point guard position, while Avery gives the Wildcats another hot 3-point hand along with Whitney West and Alexis Mason ... Sierra Allen (6-1) and Madison Parker (5-10) will play down in the post ... Alana Aguirre - the daughter of former NBA All-Star Mark Aguirre - will miss the season due to injury.

WILDCATS ARE GOODENOUGH: Julie Goodenough is at the start of her 21st season as a collegiate head coach and third at the helm of the ACU basketball team ...Her first team shared the Lone Star Conference regular-season title with Midwestern State at 16-4 and finished with an overall mark of 21-7 – the program's first 20-win season since 2004-05 ... Her efforts also resulted in her earning co-Coach of the Year honors from the LSC as the Wildcats made their first NCAA postseason since 2008-09 ... Goodenough won her 300th game on Jan. 15, 2013 vs. Incarnate Word, after the Wildcats prevailed over the Cardinals, 76-65 ... The Feb. 1, 2014 game at Northwestern State was Julie Goodenough's 50th as ACU's head coach.

THE FAMER: Second-year assistant coach Kendra Hassell has been inducted into three local Halls of Fame since joining the Wildcats in the spring of 2013 ... In recognition of her high school (Colorado City, Texas) and collegiate accomplishments, Hassell was inducted in the Big Country Athletic Hall of Fame in May of 2014 and the Hardin-Simmons Athletics Hall of Fame in July of 2013 ... She was inducted into the American Southwest Conference in early December of 2014 ... Hassell played for Julie Goodenough at HSU and later coached with her at Oklahoma State and Charleston Southern.

NEW COACHES: Julie Goodenough hired two new assistant coaches this summer: Kyle Felan and Matt Stine ... Felan comes to Abilene after spending four seasons working in several roles for the women's basketball coaching staff at Texas A&M University ... Stine worked with the women's basketball programs at Dayton and TCU. 

SOUTHLAND BOUND: As second-year members of the Southland Conference, Incarnate Word and ACU were not eligible to win a conference championship during their D-I transition period ... Pending NCAA approval, the Wildcats would be fully eligible beginning with the 2017-18 basketball season.

ARE YOU SOUTHLAND STRONG?: The conference motto encompasses a positive mindset and confident outlook for everything that happens in the Southland ... It is about competitiveness and success in the conference, in the NCAA, in professional sports and many other great achievements by member institutions and student-athletes ... It is also about being successful in the classroom and workforce and about great works by the league's athletic departments reaching out and giving back to the local communities and student-athletes providing leadership through their endless efforts with local charity and youth groups.

LEAVING THE LONE STAR: The Wildcats won 16 combined Lone Star Conference championships from 1983 to 2013, which includes divisional, regular season and tournament titles ... ACU also left the LSC holding nine individual career records, plus three season records and single-game records ... Claudia Schleyer, who played at ACU from 1982-86, remains the LSC's all-time leading scorer with 2,770 points, and the 1995-96 team still holds three LSC's single-season records for most points (2,950), scoring average (89.4 ppg) and assists (635).

THE ACU PROMISE: ACU is a vibrant, innovative, Christ-centered community that engages students in authentic spiritual and intellectual growth, equipping them to make a real difference in the world ... Its mission is to educate students for Christian service and leadership throughout the world.