NACOGDOCHES – Abilene Christian women's basketball fell from the ranks of the Southland unbeatens after Stephen F. Austin Ladyjacks posted a second-half rally to win, 66-55, Wednesday night at WRJ Coliseum.
Winners of eight straight games, the Ladyjacks (14-3, 6-0 SLC) moved into sole possession of first place as their win was coupled with Central Arkansas' 52-48 home loss to New Orleans (8-10, 4-3 SLC). The second-place Bears (13-5, 6-1 SLC) and Wildcats (12-5, 6-1 SLC) meet one another Saturday at 1 p.m.
ACU led throughout the first quarter and used a 10-2 run late in the second to retake the lead at 30-29 going into halftime, but it was all Ladyjacks after the break as the home team outscored the Wildcats, 19-9, over the next ten minutes.
Sierra Allen – who led all Wildcats tonight with 17 points – sank ACU's lone field goal of the period at the 5:50 mark to pull her team within a point at 35-34. But two SFA offensive rebounds on the next possession led to a Stevi Parker layup, which sparked a game-changing 11-1 run.
A 3-pointer from Marissa Banfield at the 1:55 mark put SFA ahead 48-35, and halfway through the fourth quarter the Ladyjacks ballooned their lead out to 17 points following a pair of Parker free throws.
Parker led all players with 18 points, 10 of which came from the charity stripe. ACU was called for 26 personal fouls that led to 30 trips, and the Ladyjacks capitalized with 24 freebies on a night when their offense only shot 37.5 percent (18-48) from the field.
ACU shot quite well in the first quarter, hitting 7 of its first 13 tries – including a pair of treys – but its second-quarter percentage (28.6) was close to half that. The Wildcats went on to hit 2-of-14 3-point attempts in the second half as they finished 6-25 from long distance (.240) and 18-54 (.333) overall.
Rebounds were 36-34 in ACU's favor, and each side scored 21 points off turnovers. SFA additionally outscored the Wildcats in the paint, 26-14, and its bench – led by Banfield's 14 points – totaled 27. All of 11 of ACU's bench points came courtesy of
Lexi Kirgan, who made all four field goals (including a 3-pointer) and two free throws in 10 minutes of action.
Kirgan's back-to-back layups near the two-minute mark of the fourth, brought the Wildcats back into the game at 58-52 but four missed ACU field goals coupled with eight-consecutive SFA free throws sealed the home team's victory.
Sara Williamson was second on ACU with 10 points to go along with six assists, two blocks and three steals, while
Dominique Golightly served as the Wildcats' leading rebounder with 11.
