Women's Basketball | 11/10/2016 10:34:00 AM
ACU vs. Missouri:
Live Stats |
Video Stream (SEC Network) |
Audio (102.7 FM - The Bear) |
Game Notes
Preseason WNIT Game Notes (w/Championship and Consolation Brackets)
ABILENE - Several months after being selected to participate in its second WNIT Tournament in less than a year, Abilene Christian women's basketball finally will tip off its 2016-17 season Friday at No. 24 / RV Missouri in their first-round preseason WNIT contest.
The game begins at 7 p.m. and will be nationally live streamed by
SEC Network + and carried locally on
102.7 FM – The Bear.
Grant Boone will handle the play-by-play for the ACU broadcast.
The Wildcats received this invitation after winning the Southland Conference regular-season title and going 26-4 overall – a record that gained the attention of the pollsters running the
CollegeInsider.com Mid Major Top 25 Poll. ACU then registered a strong showing in a four-point, 66-62, defeat at UTEP in the first round of March's postseason tournament.
With the Preseason WNIT bracket released in mid June, ACU and Missouri have had the better part of five months to prepare for their first ever meeting. The Wildcats, however, got a bit of a head start thanks to an August international trip to Canada, where they beat teams from Queen's University and Carleton University in comeback fashion. The Wildcats then scheduled a few closed-door scrimmages and earlier this week they dominated McMurry from start to finish in a 97-46 exhibition triumph.
Four of ACU's five starters all scored in double figures led by
Alexis Mason and
Suzzy Dimba's 15 points. Mason additionally tied
Lizzy Dimba for the team lead in rebounds with eight, finishing three assists and two rebounds shy of a triple-double, while sophomore
Sara Williamson scored 10 points off the bench on 3-of-4 shooting with eight assists in only 15 minutes.
The Tigers come into this game with a No. 24 national ranking from the Associated Press and are receiving votes in the coaches' poll organized by USA Today and the WBCA. These rankings are based on last year's 22-10 season in which the Tigers finished 8-8 vs. the SEC and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Championship. They spent eight consecutive weeks in the AP Top 25 poll during the 2015-16 campaign, the longest run for the program in more than 30 years.
Mizzou returns four Tigers from a season ago who started at least 24 games, including redshirt senior Lindsey Cunningham, SEC Freshman of the Year Sophie Cunningham, senior Sierra Michaelis and sophomore Cierra Porter.
The Tigers have two exhibition wins under their belts. On Nov. 1 they toppled Central Missouri 65-35, and on Monday night they destroyed Truman State, 87-53, with only eight players.
The winner of Friday's game plays their second-round WNIT game Monday against either Nebraska or UT Rio Grande Valley. The Wildcats would go to Nebraska on Nov. 14 if both they and the Huskers are victorious in their first-round matches. A win over Nebraska puts the Wildcats into the semifinals, scheduled for Nov. 17, while a loss sends them into consolation round three for all who fall in the quarterfinals. Those games will be played either Nov. 18 or 19.
If UTRGV upsets the Cornhuskers, then the Wildcats have a good opportunity to play host to the Vaqueros on Monday, Nov. 14.
Should ACU lose to Missouri, the Wildcats would still be considered as possible hosts for consolation rounds one and two at Moody Coliseum on Nov. 18 and 19. Details on these game would be announced by the WNIT upon the conclusion of all first-round games on Saturday, Nov. 12.
The Preseason WNIT Championship game is slated for Nov. 20 and will be carried by CBS Sports Network.
