HUNTSVILLE, Texas – The ACU women's basketball team faces its biggest Southland test of the season when it travels to Johnson Coliseum on Wednesday night for a matchup with Sam Houston State. ACU (13-2, 5-1 SLC) battles the Bearkats, who are not only 13-4, but a perfect 8-0 in league play, and riding a nine-game winning streak. The Wildcats look to build off its 61-53 victory over Southeastern Louisiana last Saturday as it heads out for the first of a very challenging three-game road trip.
FOLLOW THE GAME
ACU at Sam Houston State: Wednesday, Jan. 22 (5 p.m.)
- Watch: ESPN+
- Listen: 98.1 The Ticket (
Zach Carlyle)
- Live Stats: StatBroadcast
SERIES HISTORY
- ACU leads the all-time series 15-7 with Sam, and has really been dominant lately. The Wildcats have eight wins over the Bearkats since 2013, the year ACU moved to Division I. ACU had won eight straight in the series until SHSU earned a 72-63 win in Moody Coliseum last February. The first meeting in the series took place during the 1980-81 season.
ACU STORYLINES
- The team ranks seventh in the country in scoring at 82.9 points per game, and the +22.1 scoring margin per game ranks ninth in all of women's college basketball as well. The 49.1% shooting from the field ranks fourth in America, and the 10.5 three-point field goals made per game rank third in the nation.
- The following milestones were achieved in the win over Southeastern Louisiana:
- ACU is 19th in the nation in assists per game (17.5), 61st in assist/turnover ratio (1.1), and 13th in steals per game (11.7).
- ACU, with a depleted lineup, got back to its winning ways on Jan. 18 with a big home win over Southeastern Louisiana, 61-53. Junior Alyssa Adams poured in a career-best 22 points and 11 rebounds as the Wildcats picked up their 13th win. ACU, despite turning it over 20 times, stayed with basically a five-man lineup for 40 minutes and maintained an eight-point lead throughout.
- ACU checks in at No. 17 in the latest Mid Major Poll, dropping down from its previous ranking of 11, the highest the team had ever been. The 'Cats have earned key road victories this season. The team topped then-No. 16 Wright State on Nov. 15, and won at Portland on Nov. 29, who was receiving votes. ACU has been ranked 11, 12, 15, 17, 18, and 21 this season.
- Junior Alyssa Adams put together the best game of her career against Southeastern Louisiana. Making just her second start, Adams went off for 22 points and 11 rebounds, both career-highs. The San Antonio native went 8-of-10 at the free throw line, both the most in her career, and played 38 minutes on the floor, the most she's ever played.
- Senior Breanna Wright has now scored 1,277 points in her career, moving into the illustrious 1,000-point club late last season. Wright is shooting an insane 47.7 percent from the floor including 43.0 percent from behind the three-point line. The Jarrell, Texas native has also recorded 482 career assists, the most in ACU's Division I history.
SCOUTING SAM HOUSTON STATE (13-4, 8-0 SLC)
- The Bearkats last lost on Dec. 15 against the Oklahoma Sooners, and are undefeated in conference play under second year coach Ravon Justice.
- Sam is scoring 80 points per game themselves, making this game a matchup of the top two offenses in the Southland.
- The team is headlined by Jenniffer Oramas, Amber Leggett, and Jaylonn Walker, with Leggett and Walker ranking in the top four in scoring in the conference.
- The game will feature the top four scorers in the Southland (Wright, Leggett, Golightly, Walker).
