NORMAN, Okla. – Three Wildcats scored in double figures, including a second-straight 20-point night from senior
Lexie Ducat in ACU's 78-65 defeat at the hands of the Oklahoma Sooners Tuesday night at the Lloyd Noble Center. A key run to end the first half sparked the Sooners, and the Wildcats could not regain the lead in the final 20 minutes as OU (4-2) got back on the winning side of things. The loss is ACU's first of the season, but the echo of the game will be heard around college basketball: ACU can play with the anyone.
Turning Point
- The Wildcats grabbed the lead, 27-24, in the second quarter with a three-pointer from
Dominique Golightly and a layup from
Lexie Ducat at the 5:28 mark. From that point, Oklahoma went on a 12-2 run to close the first half, leading 36-29 at the break. After a 12-3 run by ACU opened the second, it was OU who gained all the momentum going into halftime.
Key Plays
- Sophomore
Madi Miller connected on a three-pointer from
Dominique Golightly at the 7:32 mark of the first quarter to get the Wildcats on the board. Miller would go on to have her third double-digit scoring day of the season after not recording one as a freshman. The Wylie, Texas native is off to an incredible start this season, averaging 11.6 points per game.
- Every time Oklahoma took the lead in the first quarter, ACU answered. Trailing 3-0, 6-3, 8-6, and 11-8, the Wildcats got the game tied every time. A 7-0 run from the Sooners after the media timeout put them ahead, but ACU was not done.
- ACU scored just 14 points in the second quarter, matching its lowest total in any quarter this season, but the visitors made a key run to start the frame.
Breanna Wright (9 pts) got the scoring started, and Ducat followed it with a bank-shot three-pointer at the top of the key. Golightly and Ducat followed it up with a three and layup respectively to push the Wildcat lead to 27-24.
- OU's 12-2 run to close the half was fueled by Taylor Robertson's 12 first-half points. Robertson finished with seven three-pointers.
- ACU opened the third quarter with a 6-0 spurt to get within three points. The Wildcats got within a possession three different times in the third period.
- OU went on a 13-6 run to close the third after ACU got within four points with a Golightly layup. The Sooners led 60-49 after three.
- ACU shot just 3-13 from the three-point line in the second half, including 1-6 in the third and 2-7 in the fourth. The Wildcats could not get closer than 10 points away in the fourth.
Stat Pack
- Ducat recorded just one 20-point game a year ago; the senior already has two in the first five games this season. Lexie finished with 20 points and eight rebounds and is averaging 12.8 points and 6.2 rebounds this season.
- Each team had 20+ turnovers in the game, and each side tallied 19 points off turnovers. ACU outscored OU 36-26 in points in the paint.
- OU held a 19-10 edge in second-chance points, and had 14 offensive rebounds to ACU's 18 defensive boards.
- Oklahoma shot 12-23 from the three-point line to ACU's 8-26. However, despite such a heavy margin in that category, Oklahoma could not put the Wildcats away.
- OU had a 26-16 edge in bench points.
- ACU made just 10 trips to the free throw line; Ducat had nine of those attempts (5-9).
- Miller's 12 points came on 4-8 at the three-point line, with a pair of three-pointers in each half.
- Golightly tallied 15 points in front of her home crowd; the Chickasha native brought nearly 100 people from her hometown to Norman. The team stopped in Chickasha on Monday and witnessed a wonderful get-together with Dom's biggest fans.
- Golightly also added four assists and six rebounds to go along with three steals.
-
Breanna Wright scored nine points, swiped the ball away six times, and added four helpers.
The "Good"-ie Bag of Quotes
Head Coach Julie Goodenough
On her team's effort…
"Our team fought so hard tonight. They just hit a few more shots than we did. But I was so proud of our toughness and we needed to face adversity. We needed to be tested this way, and I am excited to see how we handle this adversity moving forward."
On Madi Miller stepping in and playing 28 minutes…
"Madi [Miller] is tough as nails. She came in and hit some big shots for us, as she always does. Anna [McLeod] was just in the wrong place at the wrong time tonight. So Madi came in and played really well for us. She took a couple shots that were probably a little forced, but she played incredibly well."
On Chickasha's Dominique Golightly's fan base…
"I would take 12
Dominique Golightly's on my team. She is exactly the type of person you want on your team. When she was introduced in the starting lineup, the eruption from the crowd was amazing. It was awesome. They will be talking about this night for awhile. We had a great showing of Purple and White tonight. Chickasha was in full force."
Up Next
- ACU gets on a plane on Wednesday to head to Portland, Ore. for a date with the University of Portland Pilots on Friday, Nov. 29 at 2 p.m. pacific time.
