ABILENE – In front of a Christmas Slam crowd at Moody Coliseum, the ACU women's basketball team returned home in a big way Thursday night with a victory over the Tulsa Golden Hurricane of the American Athletic Conference. The senior duo of
Dominique Golightly and
Breanna Wright was too much to overcome, combining for 44 points in the 73-63 victory. The Wildcats led for 31 minutes and now improve to 6-1 on the season.
Significance
- It is the first-ever win over Tulsa for ACU. The Wildcats went to Oklahoma twice in 2014 and 2018 to match up with the Golden Hurricane, but this time around got it done in front of their home crowd. ACU is 6-1 and has quality non-conference wins this season (Wright State, Portland, Tulsa).
Turning Point
- ACU led by six points at halftime, but the key run came to the third period. Golightly hit a three-pointer to push the lead to nine, and the lead eventually grew to 11 on a Wright triple at the 3:31 mark. Tulsa could not get the game close again. Every time the Golden Hurricane got within six, ACU answered the push the lead to double-digits.
Key Plays
- After a tough first quarter from the field that featured both teams shooting 5-of-16, ACU went to the paint.
Anna McLeod (9 pts) got a rebound and turned it into a fast-break layup, and
Lexie Ducat followed it up with a layup off a beautiful Wright pass inside. McLeod then went to the paint again, and ACU got its offense into a rhythm in the second quarter.
- With the game tied at 22 with 4:13 to play in the first half, ACU went on an 8-2 run to close the frame. Golightly hit a big three,
Makayla Mabry and
Madi Miller hit big free throws, and Ducat finished in the paint to push the lead to six at halftime.
- Golightly scored six straight points in the young moments of the third quarter, including a three-pointer. The momentum from the Chickasha, Okla. native sparked the key third quarter run that opened up the game.
- At the beginning of the fourth quarter, Tulsa got a big three-pointer from Addison Richards to cut the ACU lead to five points. On the next trip down, Golightly splashed home a three-pointer to answer the call. Tulsa never got it closer than six points again.
Stat Pack
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Dominique Golightly not only recorded a new season-high in points with 22, but joined ACU's illustrious 1,000-point club in the process. The senior has tallied 1,009 career points.
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Breanna Wright did her thing as well, matching her teammate with a game-best 22, also marking a new season-high. The Jarrell, Texas native hit 10-of-11 free throws in the process, and was key in the 16-of-20 shooting night at the line for ACU.
- McLeod and Mabry each finished with nine, while Ducat added six. Ducat was big on the glass, hauling in eight boards. Mabry finished with a game-best 11 rebounds, including three offensive.
- ACU outrebounded Tulsa 41-30, and recorded 15 offensive rebounds. With Tulsa tallying just 21 defensive boards, the offense continued to give itself chances on that side of the floor.
- Free throws were the difference. ACU went 16-of-20, while Tulsa only had three attempts (making all three).
- The Wildcats shot just 7-of-26 from the three-point line, but found another way to get it done with timely rebounds and physical play.
- ACU led for 31 of the 40 minutes, and after three early lead changes, never trailed again.
Up Next
- The Wildcats have nine days off until they hit the floor again. ACU will host Schreiner on Saturday, Dec. 14 at 1 p.m.
