ABILENE – A two-minute, 10-0 run by the Sam Houston State women's basketball team coupled with back-to-back baskets to end the third quarter set the stage for the Bearkats' eventual 72-63 win over Abilene Christian Saturday afternoon at Moody Coliseum.
The win lifted Sam Houston's overall and conference records to 12-10 and 7-4, while the Wildcats slipped to 14-8 and 7-4. ACU and Sam Houston state are now tied for fourth place in the league standings behind Stephen F. Austin (10-0), Lamar (10-1) and Nicholls (7-3). The Colonels come to town Wednesday for a 6 p.m. game that will be contested at Hardin-Simmons due to campus preparations for Sing Song.
ACU battled back from a four-point deficit early in the third quarter after two free throws by
Breanna Wright (23 points) coming off a technical foul were followed by a jumper from
Dominique Golightly (9 points) at the 7:41 mark. Golightly's basket tied the score a final time at 35-35 as the Bearkats countered with a pair of free throws from Lydia Baxter (8 points, 10 rebounds) and consecutive 3-pointers from Dominique Maxwell (7 points) and Rachel Harrell (10 points).
A third turnover by the Wildcats during this stretch led to another jumper by Harrell, which gave the Bearkats a 45-35 lead with 5:36 remaining in the third quarter.
ACU managed to make it a one-possession game once more as
Makayla Mabry and
Madi Miller (8 points) combined to hit three 3-pointers over the team's next five possessions. Miller's second trey cut Sam Houston's lead to 47-45, but Harrell answered with her third field goal of the quarter. Then a Bearkat block led to Jenniffer Oramas hitting a jumper in the paint that put the visitors up 52-45 after 30 minutes of play.
The Wildcats began the fourth quarter with four consecutive points by
Alyssa Adams that closed the gap to 54-49, but the Bearkats would once again take a double-digit lead (62-53) following the media timeout and further iced the game by making their last eight free throws.
A jumper from Wright made it a 68-62 game with 42 seconds remaining; however, a defensive rebound by Baxter and offensive foul by Golightly over the Wildcats' next two possessions kept them from getting any closer.
ACU shot 42.3 percent from the field with 36 of their 63 points coming in the paint as its perimeter shots failed to find the mark most of the game. The Wildcats started 0-for-9 from long distance, then hit 4-7 in the third quarter, before missing twice in the final quarter.
ACU additionally lost the free throw (21-15), rebound (35-32) and turnover battles (21-16) to a team it defeated 91-79 in Huntsville at the start of Southland Conference competition.
