ABILENE - Abilene Christian women's basketball set season highs in 10 categories and each member of the roster scored at least two points as the Wildcats pummeled the Lady Lobos of Sul Ross State, 106-58, Wednesday afternoon at Moody Coliseum.
ACU (6-6) today reached the century mark for the 50th time in program history and for the first time in two years led by senior guard
Alexis Mason's season-high 24 points. The Wildcats additionally received 18 points from senior
Sydney Shelstead and 13 points apiece from freshman Breanna Wright and senior
Suzzy Dimba, who finished two assists and one rebound away from ACU's first NCAA DI triple-double.
Dimba's eight assists were a career best. She also blocked two shots and came away with three of the Wildcats' 17 steals that helped lead to 38 points off turnovers.
Mason's 24 points were a result of eight field goals, including six from 3-point range, and two free throws. She has now made 230 3-point field goals in her career, leaving her four behind former teammate
Whitney West Swinford (234) and nine behind record holder Ashley King (239).
Both schools combined for 23 treys on 68 attempts, but it was the Wildcats who got off to a faster start as they connected on four of their first five attempts as part of a 52.2 percent (12-23) first quarter. ACU also exposed Sul Ross in the paint, outscoring the Lady Lobos, 50-18, and used 21 offense rebounds to net 28 second-chance points.
The Wildcats today also recorded their best game of the season at the free-throw line, making 17-of-20 attempts (85.0 percent), while Sul Ross (6-6) missed half of its 16 tries.
ACU led this contest from wire-to-wire thanks to four consecutive 3-pointers from four different players. Wright gave the Wildcats the game's first lead at the 9:40 mark, and before two minutes had passed, the home team held a 12-2 lead with additional 3-pointers coming from Mason and Lizzy and
Suzzy Dimba. Sul Ross came back to get within three points at the 3:14 mark as the Lady Lobos made 8-of-16 field goal attempts in the first quarter with four 3-pointers, but the Wildcat defense limited them to 14 second-quarter points and only 20 points throughout the second half.
After the Lady Lobos got to within one possession of the lead, the Wildcats finished the first quarter on a 9-3 run and pushed their lead to 20 points (58-38) at the break following four consecutive free throws from
Sara Williamson.
In quarters three and four, the Wildcats outscored the Lady Lobos by matching 24-10 scores as Sul Ross made only eight of its last 21 field goal attempts while turning the ball over 15 times.
ACU begins Southland Conference play Saturday at 12 p.m. at Southeastern Louisiana. The game will air live on 98.1 FM – The Ticket with
Grant Boone handling the play-by-play.
