WICHITA, Kan. - Abilene Christian women's basketball suffered a tough 81-62 loss at Wichita State Friday night during the first day of the Shocker Winter Classic at Charles Koch Arena.
The Wildcats (4-6) outscored Wichita State (4-5) 56-51 over the final three quarters but could never dig their way out of a 26 point hole, in which the Shockers scored 30 first quarter points on 70.6 percent shooting (12-17) with two 3-pointers and four free throws. ACU was further hurt by several turnovers that led to 11 first-quarter points and the Shockers' interior presence that netted 18 points in the paint.
Wichita State scored the first six points of the game and didn't allow a Wildcat field goal until freshman
Breanna Wright hit a running layup with 5:05 remaining that made it a 12-4 game. The Shockers then scored 16 straight points in a span of 2:45 minutes to go ahead 28-4 at the 1:14 mark of the first quarter.
Rangie Bessard started the second quarter with consecutive layups to continue keeping the Wildcats at bay and later hit two more baskets in the half's final minute, giving her team at 24-point advantage at the break, 49-25. Bessard scored 18 points on 9-13 shooting with nine rebounds.
The Shockers additionally received a tremendous bench performance from Jeliah Preston, who led all Shockers with 21 points as she buried 8-of-11 field goal attempts – half of which were 3-pointers – in just 18 minutes of competition.
Preston made five consecutive baskets for the Shockers within a two-minute window in the third quarter and gave her team their largest lead of the night at 37 points (65-28) following a trey at the 6:31 mark.
From there the Wildcats trimmed their deficit down to 16 points as the Shockers went without a field goal for close to seven minutes. But Wichita State opted to create a shot for Hannah Mortimer (3 minutes) on its final possession, and she buried a 3-pointer with 15 seconds left thanks to a well-crafted screen at the top of the arc.
Alexis Mason led ACU and all scorers with 22 points, inching closer to the school's all-time 3-point record of 239 held by Ashley King. Mason's four treys tonight gives her 224 for her career.
Sydney Shelstead was second on the Wildcats with 11 points and led her team with seven rebounds.
The Wildcats return to action Saturday at 11 a.m. vs. Murray State, which earlier today defeated Incarnate Word, 72-68.
