Second half of WBB’s Southland season starts at Lamar, Southeastern

Women's Basketball | 2/3/2016 1:15:00 PM

Game Notes
 
Lamar – Live Stats | Video (ESPN3) | Audio
Southeastern – Live Stats | Video | Audio
 
ABILENE – Abilene Christian women's basketball puts several winning streaks on the line this weekend as the Wildcats start their final month of the regular season with road games at Lamar and Southeastern. ACU has won its last nine games away from Moody Coliseum.
 
ACU's Thursday night game at Lamar tips at 7 p.m. and was picked up for broadcast this week by ESPN3. The Wildcats (18-2, 9-0 Southland) are 4-0 on ESPN3 since starting Southland Conference play in 2014.
 
Both contests also will have live stats and Grant Boone's broadcast will air locally and globally via 98.1 FM – The Ticket.
 
The Wildcats come into this weekend tied with Notre Dame, George Washington and Louisville for the nation's fourth-longest current winning streak at 14 games, and their recent wins over Lamar and Houston Baptist pushed them from 21st to 17th in the weekly Mid Major Top-25 Poll published by CollegeInsider.com.
 
Last Saturday ACU broke its three-game series-losing streak vs. Lamar (8-13, 4-6 Southland) in a big way by hitting a season-high 15 3-pointer (.455) en route to a 90-62 victory over the Southland Conference preseason favorites. Junior guard Alexis Mason had 17 points in addition to tying a team-season high with 13 rebounds for her second consecutive double-double, and registered seven assists for the second time in four games to match the team's season high.
 
Overall, five Wildcats reached doubles figures in scoring, including reserve freshman guard Sara Williamson who scored a career high 13 points on 3-3 shooting with two treys and five free throws and senior guard Whitney West Swinford knocked down five 3-pointers to finish with 18 points. Suzzy and Lizzy Dimba had 17 and 11 points, respectively.
 
ACU's 90 points scored vs. Lamar is the second-highest point total allowed by one Southland Conference school vs. another this season. McNeese dropped 96 points on Southeastern (3-16, 2-6 Southland) on Jan. 27, 2016.
 
The Wildcats are 3-1 all-time vs. the Lady Lions of Southeastern with all three wins coming after the ACU joined the Southland.
 
ACU's most recent win vs. Southeastern was an 83-65 decision in Hammond, La., during which Suzzy Dimba (23 points / 15 rebounds) and Sydney Shelstead (14 points / 11 rebounds) each recorded double-doubles and the team posted a season-high 33 free-throw attempts (23-33, .697).
 
Their first game last season was much closer as ACU hung on at home for a 75-74 win at Moody Coliseum, despite receiving 49 points in the paint. Southeastern's Nanna Pool had a chance at making the game-winner on the final possession with six seconds remaining, but her short jumper hit the rim and the Wildcats' recovered the rebound.
 
In the 2014 game played at Hammond, the Wildcats had six players reach double figures in a 96-82 win – in fact, the 96 points remain ACU's highest single-game scoring total against a Southland opponent.
 
Southeastern was picked 12th in the league's preseason poll, however, the Lady Lions' have two conference wins over the perennial favorites Stephen F. Austin (W, 65-56) and Lamar (W, 73-66). They are led this season by Taylin Underwood (14.5 ppg), Pool (14.3 ppg / 8.2 rpg) and KaeLynn Boyd (12.0 ppg).
 
#ACU4SUE
On a more somber note, ACUSports.com learned this week that Sue Williamson, mother of freshman guard Sara Williamson, is battling cancer. In response ACU women's basketball has set up a GoFundMe.com page (gofundme.com/acu4sue) on her behalf to raise $10,000 by the end of the month. All proceeds will go directly to the Williamson's medical expenses.
 
Sue Williamson will be among those honored during ACU's annual Play4Kay game on Feb. 10 vs. Sam Houston State. Tip time is 7 p.m.