ABILENE - All five Abilene Christian starters reached double figures and combined for 21 offensive rebounds in the Wildcats' convincing 80-44 victory over Air Force Saturday afternoon in front of 1,720 energetic fans at Moody Coliseum.
The win lifted ACU's season record to 7-2, while the Falcons fell to 1-10.
Sophomore center
Sydney Shelstead led all players with 16 points and pulled down 12 rebounds to tie
Lizzy Dimba, who knocked down 8-of-9 free throws to finish with 15 points. Guards
Whitney West and
Alexis Mason each scored 11 points and drained a pair of 3-pointers, and
Suzzy Dimba dropped in 10 points to go along with four blocks and five assists.
"Our shots weren't falling like they should but I'm still proud of our offensive effort," said head coach
Julie Goodenough. "Everyone rebounded well and was intentional with their passes to finish the possession. We played unselfishly with a lot of assists."
The Wildcats only shot .329 for the game but had 24 overall offense rebounds (49 total) - that led to 18 second-chance points. Additionally, ACU turned the ball over just nine times and provided assists on 20 of their 24 baskets, eight of which were 3-pointers.
On the defensive end, the Wildcats limited the Falcons to 30 percent shooting as Air Force missed 35 attempts and all 13 of their long-range shots. In fact, nearly a third of the Falcons' 44 points came from the free-throw line as they made all but two of their tries (14-16).
The Falcons also had a hard time today holding onto the ball as evident by their 27 turnovers, which led directly to 32 Wildcat points.
"We were playing in a new zone and our players truly rose to the occasion," said Goodenough. "Everyone did a good job individually and took responsibility ... It was nice to get such a big win over a DI school that's not part of the Southland Conference. I feel it will give us a great boost of momentum going on the road to Kansas State."
Lindsey Lewis led the Falcons with 14 points and seven rebounds. Madeline Philpot scored 11 points off the bench in going 3-of-4 from the floor with five free throws.
The Wildcats return to action Monday at 7 p.m. for their first game vs. Kansas State. ACU's next home game is Dec. 31 at 1 p.m. vs. its long-time rivals from Angelo State.
