ABILENE – 23 years. That's how long it has been since the ACU women's basketball program began 10-1. That year the team started 18-1 on its way to a 24-6 campaign. What will this year bring? We don't know yet. But we do know is that the Wildcats picked up their 10th win before the calendar turned to 2020 after a 67-54 win over the New Mexico State Aggies in Moody Coliseum Saturday afternoon.
Breanna Wright tallied 23 points and hit five of ACU's 10 three-pointers in the game en route to the victory.
The Significance
- The win was the second of the season against a 2019 NCAA Tournament team; ACU beat Wright State, the Horizon League champion, on Nov. 15 in Dayton, Ohio. New Mexico State won 26 games and claimed the WAC title a season ago. ACU has now beaten the Aggies in back-to-back seasons.
The Turning Point
- The Wildcats held an 11-point lead at halftime, but New Mexico State was still in the game. That all changed at the beginning of the third period when ACU went on an 11-2 run to lead by 20, 46-26. The game would get as close as 12 points the rest of the way, but the game was never in doubt at that point.
Key Plays
- ACU never trailed in the game. They got off to a great start, forcing timeout calls from the bench in the first, second, and third quarters. ACU led 9-4 after
Lexie Ducat scored in the paint, forcing a timeout from NMSU. The Wildcats led by as many as eight in the first quarter.
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Anna McLeod, the junior from Houston, pushed the lead to 11 in the second quarter with a big three-pointer.
Breanna Wright would add another triple moments later to extend the lead to 14.
- The third-quarter spark was highlighted by Ducat's brilliance underneath on back-to-back post plays, as well as Wright from the three-point line.
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Makayla Mabry put the dagger in the Aggies in the fourth quarter with a three-pointer to push the lead to 66-51.
Stat Pack
- Free throw attempts were astonishing. ACU went 11-of-16 from the line, while New Mexico State had just one attempt all game (which went in).
- Wright's 23 points led the way, setting a new season-high for the senior. Wright hit five three-pointers, half of ACU's total for the game. The Jarrell native finished with six rebounds, three assists, and two steals.
- McLeod made tough shots look easy on her way to an 11-point effort on 4-of-7 from the floor. McLeod added five boards and four steals.
- Mabry tallied nine points with six boards, while
Alyssa Adams netted eight points to go along with her six rebounds.
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Dominique Golightly had just four points, but added a team-best seven rebounds and five assists.
- The 10-1 start is the best of the Division I era, and the best start since the 18-1 start in the 1996-97 season.
- The Wildcats never trailed in a game for the sixth time this season.
"Good"-ie Bag of Quotes
Head Coach Julie Goodenough
On her team never trailing in the game…
"We just controlled what we could control. We have a veteran team that knew exactly what they needed to do. We hit key shots when we needed to and got key stops. It was a really good win for us today."
On having 10 wins before January…
"It means a lot for our team. We set high goals for ourselves, but to have this kind of start before we get into the heart of the schedule sets us up in great position."
On what this week looks like without a game Thursday…
"We are really going to focus on ourselves. We have a bye week already on Wednesday, but that'll be good for us. We can focus on us and rest and get ready for a really good Lamar team."
Up Next
- That Lamar team comes to town on Saturday, Jan. 4 as the Wildcats resume Southland play. The tip is slated for 1 p.m. and can be seen on ESPN3.
