Women's Basketball | 1/25/2017 2:05:00 PM
ACU at Incarnate Word:
Live Stats |
Video |
Audio (98.1 FM – The Ticket) |
Game Notes
ABILENE, Texas – Abilene Christian and Incarnate Word renew their decades-long rivalry Thursday at the Convocation Center for a 5:30 p.m. tip off. ACU leads the all-time series, 18-8, and is 6-0 against the Cardinals since their move into the Southland Conference prior to the 2013-14 season.
Live stats and a video stream will be available through UIWCardinals.com, while the ACU broadcast can be heard in Abilene on 98.1 FM – The Ticket with Seth Wilson handling the play-by-play.
ACU (11-7, 5-1 Southland) comes into this game on a two-game winning streak with its last victory taking place Jan. 19 at Nicholls. The Wildcats beat the Colonels, 89-73, for the 800th win in program history as the Wildcats scored a season-best 51 second-half points to overcome a one-point halftime deficit, 39-38.
The Wildcats also shot a season best 54.4 percent from the field (31-57) and allowed an opponent season low 19 rebounds, which were the fewest surrendered by the Wildcats during their time as a DI program, and lowest since Northwestern State came away with 20 on Jan. 7, 2016.
Offensively, four Wildcat starters all scored in double figures led by Alexis Mason's 24 points. Breanna Wright had a career-high seven assists. Suzzy Dimba scored 19 points, and Lizzy Dimba (16/10) and Sydney Shelstead (13/12) each had double-doubles.
A week earlier against Lamar, senior Lizzy Dimba became the fourth and final member of ACU's senior class to record 1,000 career points. ACU is now one of only a few NCAA women's teams this season to have four players who reached that scoring milestone.
South Carolina has four players with 1,000-career points, however, two of those players transferred in with 1,000 points, while Tennessee last had four 1,000-point scorers in 2014-15 and Academy of Art did so in 2015-16
Suzzy Dimba and Sydney Shelstead each reached 1,000 points late in the 2016-17 season, and junior Alexis Mason reached this goal on Jan. 23, 2016 at Incarnate Word. Lizzy Dimba became the seventh Wildcat under Julie Goodenough to attain 1,000 points with 13 points against the Cardinals to join a list that also includes former Julie Goodenough-coached players Mack Lankford (1323 points), Renata Marquez (1285) and Whitney Swinford (1183).
Another milestone ACU's senior class has reached this year is all have played in 100 collegiate games. Suzzy Dimba and Shelstead reached this milestone Dec. 17 vs. Murray State. Mason hit 100 games Jan. 12 vs. Stephen F. Austin and Lizzy Dimba did so last week vs. Nicholls.
The Cardinals enter their rivalry game at 5-14 overall and 3-5 vs. the Southland Conference. UIW began the year 0-9, but then won four straight against LSU-Alexandria, A&M-Kingsville and Southland foes Nicholls and Southeastern Louisiana. The Cardinals swept their season series from the Lady Lions on Jan. 19 to snap a four-game conference losing streak, but lost their follow-up game to first-place Stephen F. Austin (94-75).
UIW is led in scoring and rebounding by Celia Garcia Paunero with 17.8 points and 10.5 rebounds per game.
