Women's Basketball | 2/22/2016 9:20:00 PM
Game Notes | ACU4SUE Live stats | Video | Audio ABILENE – The 'Road Warriors' of Abilene Christian women's basketball take their final trip of the regular season this week when they visit the Huskies of Houston Baptist for a 7 p.m. game Wednesday at Sharp Gym. ACU has won 11 of 14 games (.786) away from Moody Coliseum this season, including a pair of December neutral-site games at Air Force.
The game will be broadcast locally on 98.1 FM – The Ticket and HBUHuskies.com will provide live stats and video stream.
ACU (21-3, 13-1 Southland) has posted two series sweeps of league opposition (Sam Houston State and Southeastern Louisiana) this season, but it's going to be tough adding the Huskies to that list even though the Wildcats won their first meeting last month, 77-60.
Junior
Alexis Mason posted the first double-double of her career that game with 18 points and 11 rebounds to go along with three assists, and the Wildcat bench led by senior
Paris Webb outscored the Huskies' 22-7. Webb had seven points and five assists, while sophomore
Alyssa Echols pulled down a career high six rebounds and freshmen
Sara Williamson and
McKenzie Martin each knocked down a 3-pointer.
The Wildcats are going to again need that kind of production from their reserves if they want to beat a well-rested Huskies' team that's won four of its last six games to even its overall and Southland records to 12-12 and 7-7. HBU had off this weekend after playing Incarnate Word last Thursday, Feb. 18 (W, 62-61) and begins the week ranked fifth among schools eligible for the conference tournament.
ACU, meanwhile, has seen its starters log considerable minutes over the past two games since losing junior forward
Lizzy Dimba to a season-ending injury. All five starters played 35 or more minutes in Sunday's 72-70 home win over Southeastern, and last Wednesday at Corpus, the Wildcats' Starting Five averaged 36.4 minutes of playing time.
So far the Wildcats have been able to make up for Dimba's absence, which voids them of 10.1 points, 7.8 rebounds and 29.8 minutes per game. Against the Islanders,
Suzzy Dimba scored a career high 25 points and her team shot better than 50 percent from beyond the 3-point arc. Sunday vs. the Lady Lions,
Sydney Shelstead recorded her second-consecutive double-double, while the 5-foot-4-inch Webb had a career-high seven rebounds.
Webb didn't score vs. Southeastern, but she took care of the ball, dished out three assists and came away with two steals as the Wildcats hung on to beat the Lady Lions for the second-straight year at home, where ACU remains undefeated this season at 11-0.
The last two games between ACU and Southeastern at Moody Coliseum have been decided on the final possession. Taylin Underwood missed a potential game-tying layup with one second left following a missed free throw by KaeLynn Boyd on Sunday, and the previous season Nanna Pool missed a low-post jumper with 3 seconds remaining and the offensive rebound was dribbled out of bounds.
The Wildcats and Lady Lions each got off to slow offensive starts as the score was tied at 13-13 at the end of one quarter, and at halftime Southeastern held a two-point lead at 27-25. ACU's first-half point total of 25 was only two points higher than its season low of 23 vs. Central Arkansas on Jan. 2, but its second-half point total of 47 was only three-points lower of its season high 50, which last was reached at Sam Houston State.
ACU hit four of its six 3-pointers during a 27-point third quarter that put them ahead at 52-48 with 10 minutes remaining. The Wildcats, however, went cold again from the floor in the fourth quarter, but bailed out themselves by making 12 of their last 14 free throws. Mason sank a career high nine free throws to finish with 17 points as the team finished 28-33 (.848) from the charity stripe.
The Wildcats finished last year's game in Houston on an incredible 19-3 run to leave with a 53-50 victory. After the Huskies' Monet Neal sank a layup with 9:37 remaining, ACU's defense went into total lockdown mode by forcing eight turnovers and holding HBU scoreless on seven field goal attempts.
A layup from
Suzzy Dimba tied the game at 48-48 with 2:44 to go, and after Rachel Arthur hit two free throws,
Whitney West Swinford buried a huge 3-pointer that gave the Wildcats their first lead (51-50) since the 4:11 mark of the first half.
West came through once more in the closing seconds, blocking out to grab an offensive rebound after Mason missed both free throws with her team clinging to a one-point lead. And on the Huskies' final possession of the game,
Suzzy Dimba pulled down her eighth rebound off a missed 3-pointer by Erin McGarrachan.
