ABILENE – After back-to-back losses to Lamar last week that halted some of the momentum they had built over the previous week, the ACU women's basketball team needed a win any way it could get one.
Saturday afternoon that meant the Wildcats had to fend off two Southeastern Louisiana shots inside the last eight seconds and two inbounds passes under the Lady Lions' basket in order to hang on for a 75-74 win in Southland Conference action at Moody Coliseum.
The win snaps a short two-game losing streak for the Wildcats and pushes them to 12-10 overall and 4-7 in the Southland. Southeastern Louisiana, meanwhile, falls to 7-14 and 3-7. ACU is back in action Thursday at 6:30 p.m. when it takes on Sam Houston State in Huntsville.
ACU trailed Southeastern 47-41 at halftime, but a better defensive effort helped the Wildcats to a 71-62 lead with 6:48 to play. After giving up 47 first-half points on 48 percent shooting from the field, the ACU defense clamped down in the second half, allowing just 27 points and 29 percent shooting (9 of 31).
The Wildcats trailed 59-54 with 12:18 to play after a 3-pointer by Peaches Anderson, but they ripped off a 17-3 run over the next six minutes to take the six-point lead. Junior guard
Whitney West had seven points in the game-changing run for the Wildcats, while
Suzzy Dimba,
Lizzy Dimba,
Madison Parker,
Sydney Shelstead,
Paris Webb and
Sydney Shelstead each had two points for the Wildcats int he run.
Offensively, the Wildcats made an even more concerted effort in the second half to get the ball inside to Shelstead and the Dimba twins and with drives to the bucket by their guards. Shelstead and
Lizzy Dimba each finished with double-doubles with 17 and 15 for Shelstead and 17 and 13 for
Lizzy Dimba, while
Suzzy Dimba finished with 15 and 5. ACU out-scored the Lady Lions in the 49-18 for the game, including 27-6 in the second half.
"We made a concerted effort to get the ball into our posts because we knew they would be playing behind us defensively," ACU head coach
Julie Goodenough said. "I was really proud of the way Sydney, Suzzy, Lizzy, Madison and
Sierra Allen played (today). I thought all of our posts were really active and wanted the ball."
With the Wildcats' inside game effective, they virtually abandoned the 3-point shot as the team has taken and made more 3-pointers than any other team in the league shot a season-low 14 3-pointers (making four) in Saturday's game.
All of that led to ACU's 71-62 lead with 6:48 to play. That lead, however, shrunk to 72-68 with 2:28 to play on a free throw by Jameika Hoskins and then down to 72-71 with 2:03 left on a layup by Hoskins.
Suzzy Dimba made a big jumper with 1:46 to play to give ACU a 74-71 lead, and then Shelstead hit the second of two free throws with 1:19 to play to make it a 74-71.
Elizabeth Styles buried a 3-pointer for the Lady Lions – their 13th of the game – with 42 seconds left in the game to cut ACU's lead to 75-74, setting up the frantic final seconds.
Webb missed a short jumper in the lane for ACU with 14 seconds left and Dani Fielder grabbed the rebound for the Lady Lions and they raced to the other end. Elizabeth Styles missed a jumper with eight seconds left and
Lizzy Dimba grabbed the rebound, but fell to the ground with 6.3 seconds left and was called for a travel.
On the ensuing inbounds play, Nanna Pool missed a short jumper and the ball went off a Wildcat player out of bounds with 1.9 seconds left. Once again the Lady Lions inbounded under their own basket, but this time Styles lost control of the ball and
Whitney West – who had 14 points in the game – fell on the loose ball as time expired.
" I was really proud of the way we played those last few seconds," Goodenough said. "We needed a win and we had to play tough and fend off two inbounds plays to get it done and we were able to make it happen."
