ABILENE – The ACU women's basketball team opened the season with a bang Tuesday night at Moody Coliseum, hitting 15 three-pointers and shooting 68% from the floor en route to a 111-43 victory over Abilene's own McMurry Warhawks. The Wildcats led 29-7 at the end of the first quarter and never looked back en route to their highest scoring game since the 2013-14 season. Five players scored in double figures as ACU begins its season 1-0 for the third straight year.
Banner Night
- Prior to the game, the team unveiled its 2019 Southland Conference Tournament Championship banner to celebrate its first trip to the NCAA Tournament in front of a raucous crowd inside Moody Coliseum.
Key Plays
- Junior
Anna McLeod hit the first shot of the night 19 seconds into her first game as a Wildcat. The Lousiana Tech transfer went on to score a game-high 19 points on 6-of-8 from the floor including 4-of-5 from the three-point line.
- Senior
Breanna Wright had 10 points in the first quarter on her way to a 17-point night. It was an incredibly efficient night for the Jarrell native, shooting 7-of-8 from the field.
- Sophomore
Madi Miller came off the bench came off the bench in the middle of the first quarter and made an immediate impact with a steal at the 4:32 mark. Miller scored a career-high 14 points as well, connecting on 4-of-7 from the floor.
- Junior
Josie Larson came off the bench and knocked down 5-of-6 from the floor and 4-of-5 from the free throw line en route to matching a career-best with 16 points.
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Dominique Golightly hit her only three at the six-and-a-half minute mark of the third quarter on her way to an 11-point night.
- ACU jumped out to a 10-1 start on a Wright fast break layup on a missed shot, and the transition offense was off and running. ACU recorded 18 fast-break points.
Turning Point
- The Wildcats led 14-2 in points in the paint in the first quarter. ACU scored 12 straight points to open up a 22-point lead to put the game away in the first 10 minutes. The Wildcats would score 29 in each of the first two quarters, and stayed balanced all game with 25 in the third and 28 in the fourth.
Stat Pack
- Wright tallied 17 points to move her career total to 1,101. The senior added three assists and two steals.
- McLeod's 19 are a the most in a collegiate game including her time at Louisiana Tech. McLeod added to steals as well.
- ACU was incredibly efficient. The team shot a Division I program record 68% from the floor (40-59) including a ridiculous 60% from the three-point line (15-25).
- The 15 three-pointers made marks the fourth time in the last six games dating back to last season the Wildcats have made double-digit shots from distance.
- The defense held McMurry to 34% shooting and just 1-of-12 from the three-point line. However, ACU only outrebounded the Warhawks 29-24.
- ACU tallied 23 assists as a team, led by
Pamela Herrera's six. Miller and
Kamryn Mraz each added four.
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Lexi Kirgan tallied nine points on 4-of-5 from the floor and hauled in a game-high seven rebounds.
- ACU forced a ridiculous 28 turnovers, with Mraz's three steals leading the way.
- Mraz matched her career-best with nine points.
Quote Boat
Head Coach Julie Goodenough
"I was really proud of the way our players executed on offense. We know we have a lot of scoring threats. We made the extra pass and we were ready to shoot at all times. We also made 25 layups which is above what we usually do. We took advantage of what they gave us and I was proud of the way we played offense tonight."
"Anna had a great debut in Moody Coliseum tonight. She's a great scoring threat and you can't give her a lot of space. She's also very good at moving down the floor in transition as well."
Breanna Wright
"I think we played really well, but we still have a lot of improvements. We have a lot of areas to improve still but we set a good standard for what we want to do."
Up Next
- The Wildcats will host the Mustangs of the University of the Southwest on Thursday morning at 11 a.m. for the annual Kids Day inside Moody Coliseum.
