ABILENE – First conference game? Check. First conference win? Check. The ACU women's basketball team got the Southland portion of its schedule off to a good start Wednesday night in a physical battle with the New Orleans Privateers. Despite a high number of turnovers on both sides, ACU (8-1, 1-0 SLC) hit 10 three-pointers and picked up a 76-62 victory inside Moody Coliseum. The Wildcats have now beaten the Privateers each of the last six times they've met.
Turning Point
- With ACU leading by nine at halftime (35-26), New Orleans came out and punched the Wildcats early in the third to cut the lead to three, 42-39. From that point, the Wildcats brought out their own right hook and went on an 11-1 run to lead 53-40.
Dominique Golightly and
Breanna Wright each hit big three-pointers in that stretch, and
Alyssa Adams worked hard underneath to extend the lead. ACU's lead was never less than 11 the rest of the game.
Key Plays
- With the game tied 10-10 at the 3:45 mark of the first period, the Wildcats closed the quarter on an 11-2 run to lead 21-12.
Makayla Mabry scored in the paint, Wright hit a pair of threes in the corner, and
Madi Miller added a free throw to push the advantage to nine.
- UNO cut the Wildcat lead to 13 a couple of times in the fourth quarter, but ACU had an answer every time. Lexi Ducat hit a layup in the fast break to push the lead to 15 early in the fourth, and Miller did so two minutes later.
- The Privateers got within 12 with three minutes to play, and the final dagger came from Golightly, who hit a three in the corner to ice the game. After Wright missed a triple at the top, Adams hustled to grab an offensive rebound near the sideline. The junior spun and flung the ball to Dom, who buried the game-icing three.
Stat Pack
- Turnovers came in volume Wednesday night. ACU turned it over 22 times, but the Wildcats answered by forcing 25. Points off turnovers were almost even, with ACU leading 23-22.
- UNO won the points in the paint 38-30, but the three-point shot mattered. UNO was just 1-of-8 from distance, while the Wildcats connected on 10-of-30 from behind the arc.
- Second-chance points were big as the Wildcats led 23-13. The key was offensive rebounding; AU hauled in 21 o-boards do UNO's just 20 defensive rebounds on that end of the court.
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Breanna Wright led the Wildcats with 17 points, but got plenty of help from Ducat and Adams, who each tallied 12.
- Miller added 11 off the bench; the sophomore has five double-digit scoring games this season.
- Ducat had the first double-double for any Wildcat this season after tallying 12 points and 10 rebounds.
- ACU added 11 more steals to its total this season, with Wright's four leading the way. Adams and Miller added three and two, respectively.
- The Wildcats took multiple charges in the game, including two key ones from
Anna McLeod, who showed up defensively with five rebounds.
The "Good"-ie Bag of Quotes
Head Coach Julie Goodenough
On responding after the tough start to the third quarter…
"They came out strong in the second half, and we came out really sluggish. But I give our veteran team credit for standing tall and fighting back. We hit some big shots and did what we needed to do defensively to push our lead back."
On what's next…
"It's a tough schedule, but we probably won't have them do a lot physically these next couple days. Our players need to come ready mentally tomorrow, and then we travel on Friday for a big game at Nicholls. We will be ready, and we are excited about the next challenge."
Up Next
- ACU hits the road for a date with the Nicholls Colonels on Saturday in Thibodaux, La. The tipoff is slated for 1 p.m. and can be heard on 98.1 The Ticket.
