Women's Basketball | 11/23/2016 10:09:00 PM
ACU vs. Texas A&M:
Live Stats |
Video (SEC Network +) |
Audio (98.1 FM - The Ticket) |
Game Notes
ABILENE - Two victories last weekend in the Preseason WNIT Consolation bracket have Abilene Christian women's basketball back in the
CollegeInsider.com Mid Major Top 25 for the first time since March, and on Saturday night the Wildcats will have that ranking challenged when they begin a three-game road trip at No. 25 / RV Texas A&M at Reed Arena.
Tip off is at 6 p.m. as the game will be carried live by both SEC Network + and 98.1 FM - The Ticket. The TV broadcast team is composed of Mike Wright (play by play) and Tap Bentz (color), while ACU's
Grant Boone will handle play by play on radio.
After being pinned in the receiving votes column the last two weeks, the Wildcats entered the Mid Major poll at No. 25 (74 points) earlier this week as a reward for beating both Omaha, 73-66, and UT Rio Grande Valley, 70-54, on back-to-back nights at Moody Coliseum. They also toppled Howard Payne last Tuesday, 87-52, as part of a 3-0 homestand.
ACU's game vs. Omaha was special in that it marked the first major in-season tournament game hosted by Moody Coliseum since the school's foray into NCAA DI Athletics. And the two schools did not disappoint the raucous and energetic crowd as there were 20 lead changes and seven tie scores. In fact, neither team led by more than two possessions the entire night until
Suzzy Dimba's final free throw with eight seconds remaining made it a seven-point game.
Saturday's night's game vs. UT Rio Grand Valley was equally close until the Wildcats started the third quarter on a 13-0 run in which they received five straight points from sophomore guard Sara Williamson, starting in place of an injured Alexis Mason. Williamson finished with a career high 16 points and helped ACU complete the contest on a game-ending 15-3 run that lasted the better part of five minutes.
Senior forward Sydney Shelstead additionally enjoyed a phenomenal week, which was capped by two record-breaking free-throw performance vs. UTRGV as she reset the school's single-game records for most free throws and attempts. Shelstead's 15 free throws broke the record of 14 shared by Jody Meyer (vs. Central Okla., March 4, 2010) and Mack Lankford (vs. Tarleton State, Jan. 14, 2012) and her 20 free throw attempts broke the record of 19 previously held by Meyer since Nov. 24, 2009 (vs. UT Permian Basin).
A native of Mineral Wells, Texas, Shelstead averaged 21.3 points and 10.3 rebounds per game last week with eight steals and two assists – all of which earned her Southland Conference Player of the Week honors for the second time in her career. In addition to breaking ACU's free throw records, Shelstead also recorded the 20th and 21st double-doubles of her career and set a new career single-game high of six steals vs. Howard Payne. Her effort vs. Omaha included a team-high 18 points.
This week's game against Texas A&M marks the sixth all-time meeting between ACU and the Aggies. The Wildcats lead the series 3-2 with their most recent meeting taking place early in the 1985-86 season with the Aggies prevailing, 66-47
The two schools also met twice during the 1980-81 and 1984-85 seasons. ACU won the first two games by scores of 108-86 and 63-61 and split its 1984-85 series with the Wildcats losing the first game, 74-64, and winning the second, 73-52. Saturday's game at Reed Arena also is the second of two games this season vs. the SEC as ACU lost its season opener at No. 24 Missouri, 52-46, on Nov. 11 in the first round of the Preseason WNIT.
No. 25 Texas A&M is playing for the third time this week and is 4-0 following Wednesday night's 55-37 win over Little Rock and Sunday's 63-48 triumph over the Southland Conference's Stephen F. Austin. Last year's Aggies went 22-10 overall and 11-5 vs. the SEC. They then lost to Tennessee in the first round of the SEC Tournament and went 1-1 in the NCAA Championships, beating Morgan State (74-65) and falling to No. 10 Florida State (74-56).
