ACU vs. Incarnate Word:
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Video |
Audio (98.1 FM – The Ticket) |
Game Notes
ABILENE - 'Team First Wins' has long been the mantra for the Abilene Christian women's basketball program under head coach
Julie Goodenough, and on Wednesday night, the senior class which embodied that rallying cry through four winning seasons will play its final game at Moody Coliseum.
Tip time for the Wildcats' home finale against the Incarnate Word Cardinals has been moved up to 5:20 p.m. in order to give this exceptional group of four women a deserving and heartfelt farewell. Live stats and video stream will be available in addition to the broadcast on 98.1 FM – The Ticket with
Grant Boone handling the play-by-play for both ends of the doubleheader.
ACU fans, however, are strongly being encouraged to attend the game in person. They're needed not only to celebrate the decorated careers of Lizzy and
Suzzy Dimba,
Alexis Mason and
Sydney Shelstead one last time, but if over 2,000 fans attend, then ACU President Dr. Phil Schubert has promised to dye his hair purple.
'Team First Wins' is a hard sell for some, but when looking at box scores, season stats and career stats, all the evidence is there to show that these four student-athletes bought into Goodenough's system from day one and made each other and their teammates better as a result. Together this quartet combined for more than 5,500 points, and over the past three seasons – when all were locked into the starting lineup – each has averaged more than 10.0 points a game. The four seniors have frequently ranked among the Southland Conference's top-20 scoring leaders, while post players Shelstead and the Dimba twins have all rated among the league's top rebounders.
Incredibly, ACU is one of only two known DI teams this season to have four 1,000-point scorers on its roster. The other is the Northwestern Wildcats (Nia Coffey, Ashley Deary, Christen Inman and Lauren Douglas). South Carolina also can claim similarly, however, two of their four players transferred in with over 1,000 career points.
ACU's group of seniors also has given the program its first Southland Conference regular-season championship, first Postseason and Preseason WNIT appearances, plus a combined 2,928 rebounds, 867 assists, 698 steals, 326 blocks, and 511 3-pointers. Mason will leave the program as its all-time leader in 3-pointers made (291) and attempted (842), and will likely finish as the school's sixth-leading scorer. She currently has 1,601 points through 112 games, a amazing feat when considering much of her competition was against DI teams.
Suzzy Dimba (940) and
Sydney Shelstead (862) also cracked the school's top-10 leaderboard in rebounds earlier this year, and if not for an unfortunate season-ending injury from the 2015-16 campaign, it's very likely Lizzy Dimba would have joined that elite list as well.
Needing more evidence that 'Team First Wins?' How about 81 victories posted by this senior class, including a freshman-year triumph over a Power 5 Conference school in Texas Tech? Then came a long string of non-conference DI wins as the Wildcats beat teams from Air Force, George Mason, Grand Canyon, Eastern Michigan, Eastern Washington, Omaha, Idaho, UT Arlington, UT Rio Grande Valley and UT San Antonio. And how about 48 victories and a .727 winning percentage against the Southland Conference?
Each member of this senior class additionally has been voted Southland Conference of the Week at least once and been tabbed to either a postseason or preseason all-conference team. They've also all been nominated for Academic All-America and appeared together on the Southland Conference Commissioner's Honor Roll.
Add up all the statistics and accolades and it's quite an impressive resume built by these four youngsters, who back in 2012 committed to what must have looked like an all-risk, no-reward opportunity – going to a small Christian university that was new to DI Athletics, and which could offer no promise of any postseason. So fast forward four years and it's a little beyond awesome to see all the success they've created for themselves and others along the way.
"They knew there would be no postseason conference or NCAA tournaments," said Goodenough, "but they still came in here with lofty goals. They wanted to be first to win a Southland Championship and go to the WNIT, and they did it. They've also written our entire DI record book and it's going to be tough for anyone to come in here and break them.
"As well as each player was individually, they did it all with a great team around them. And it was impressive to have year in and year out four scoring threats and three of the league's top rebounders."
ACU enters this game at 20-8 overall and 14-2 vs. the Southland Conference – a half game behind 15-2 Central Arkansas, which is idle Wednesday night before playing its season finale Saturday vs. Northwestern State. The Wildcats also are a game up on third-place Lamar (13-3) and two up on fourth-place Stephen F. Austin (12-4).
Goodenough and her team won 20 games for the third time in five seasons Saturday at Sam Houston State, beating the Bearkats, 72-39.
The 39 points allowed were an opponent season low, as were the Bearkats' two first-quarter points and 16 first-half points. The Wildcats' had not allowed this few points since Missouri Valley scored 35 in November of 2015, and the previous conference opponent low point total of 41 was previously held by Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (Feb. 18, 2015).
All four seniors reached double figures in scoring for the second time this season vs. Sam Houston State, and for the fifth time this season ACU tied its single-game high with 13 3-pointers. Mason hit five treys to lead the Wildcats with 16 points, followed by
Suzzy Dimba with 12 and
Lizzy Dimba and Shelstead with 10. Suzzy also recorded two steals to give her 250 in her career, while
Breanna Wright tied a career high with seven assists.
In two games vs. Sam Houston this year, ACU assisted on 45 of 52 field goals (86.5 percent).
Incarnate Word comes into Wednesday's contest at 9-18 overall and 7-9 within the Southland Conference. The Cardinals have won their last three games and four of their last seven games since falling at home to the Wildcats, 75-66. In that game played on Jan. 26, ACU posted its third-straight second-half comeback, rallying from a five-point third-quarter deficit thanks to 13 3-pointers on a conference season high 42 3-point field goal attempts.
Lizzy Dimba scored 16 points with four treys that tied her career high and Mason scored over 20 points for the third straight game after making 5-of-13 long-distance shots.
