ABILENE – Abilene Christian women's basketball will host the first SEC school ever to play in Moody Coliseum Saturday when the Arkansas Razorbacks make their Big Country debut as part of the Wildcats' annual Christmas Slam doubleheader.
The ACU twinbill begins at 10:30 a.m. with the men hosting Schreiner, and then the women's game will tip off at approximately 1 p.m. Fans who can't make it to Abilene can watch the game on
Eleven Sports and
Southland Digital Network or listen on
98.1 FM – The Ticket.
In addition to two exciting games, this year's slam will feature a festive Christmas concession menu composed of breakfast burritos and pastries, Christmas cookies, hot chocolate and coffee. Free mini Christmas bundt cakes also will be made available to the first 200 fans, and Santa Claus wll be there to greet children of all ages.
ACU's Campus Store additionally will be open on the Moody Coliseum Concourse to offer a 25% discount on all sweatshirts. And at halftime there will be a performance from Christmas Cheer followed by a Blazing Wings Competition sponsored by Buffalo Wild Wings.
"We're expecting a loud and rowdy crowd to pump up our team and give us a true home-court advantage," said head coach
Julie Goodenough. "While we're thankful to Arkansas for coming here, we still have to make the most of this rare opportunity and get the entire ACU and Big Country communities to be part of an exciting atmosphere. It's going to be warm in the coliseum with plenty of Christmas activities and music."
ACU remains atop the Southland Conference at 7-1 and is ranked 25th in the Mid-Major Top 25 for the second consecutive week despite a recent loss on the road at Tulsa. In addition to being No. 1 in Southland winning percentage (.875), the Wildcats also are tops with 148 assists and 69 blocks, plus field goal percentage defense (.340), 3-point field goal defense (.221), rebound margin (+14.5) and scoring margin (+27.5).
Junior guard
Breanna Wright is the Southland leader with 5.3 assists per game followed by senior
Sara Williamson who ranks seventh with 4.1 assists and 1.25 blocks per game. The Rowlett native also ranks fifth with a 2.2 assist / turnover ratio, while Wright is eighth in this category at 1.8.
Makayla Mabry is the league's fourth-leading blocker with 1.38 per game. Newcomer
Lexie Ducat ranks seventh in rebounding (7.3), and junior
Dominique Golightly is among the Southland's top 3-point shooters in terms of attempts (58), makes per game (2.0) and percentage (.276).
Golightly scored 24 points during last year's 79-65 loss at Arkansas, connecting on 7-of-15 3-point attempts.
"I'm proud of where our team is even though there are areas we still need to improve on," said Goodenough. "We're being led by our lone senior Sara and a group of juniors who've created high intensity practices and who make certain our young players take the scouting reports seriously. Right now we're ready for another home game and for this big challenge against Arkansas."
Arkansas (6-3) is only the fourth SEC school ever to face Abilene Christian, joining Mississippi (0-1), Missouri (0-1) and Texas A&M (3-3), and last season's win vs. the Wildcats was one of 13 as the Razorbacks finished the year with a .419 winning percentage (13-18 overall, 3-13 vs. the SEC).
A majority of Arkansas' wins this season have come against mid majors comparable to ACU, including the Southland's Northwestern State (98-53), UT Arlington (66-65) and Oral Roberts (74-61). They've also beat Tennessee State and Tennessee Tech, and Wisconsin by one point in Nashville, 69-68. Their losses have come against No. 22 Arizona State (85-88), Pittsburgh (61-54) and No. 22 Iowa State (91-82).
Arkansas is the No. 4 rebounding team in the SEC with 364 and is ranked third with an impressive 7.1 turnover margin as the Razorbacks force an average of 19 per game. They also are one of best NCAA teams in getting to the free-throw line (141 makes on 216 attempts, .653) and shot blocking (4.4 per game).
Razorbacks to watch Saturday include their leading scorer Chelsea Dungee (18.8 ppg), rebounder Kiara Williams (8.1 rpg) and 3-point shooter Alexis Tolefree (2.2 3-pointers per game).
"They are a really athletic team," said Goodenough. "They score a lot of points in transition, so limiting them to one shot per possession is going to be crucial. We also have to capitalize having Arkansas on our home court. They have a great defense, which means we have to be shot ready and finish our shots in the paint with contact."
