ABILENE – The first 20 minutes Wednesday night were dominated by the ACU women's basketball team, and despite an offensively-challenged second half, the Wildcats earned a 71-54 win over Houston Baptist. The ladies scored 49 points in the first half to improve to 18-4 on the season and 10-3 in Southland play.
Southland Significance
- ACU moves into a tie for third place in the standings with Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, who the Wildcats play on Saturday. SFA remains at the top at 12-2, with Sam Houston State a half-game ahead of ACU at 11-3. The Wildcats will play all three teams in the top four again this season.
Turning Point: The second quarter.
- ACU led 23-14 at the end of the first period, ending the frame with a 5-0 run. But the second quarter was all Wildcats, outscoring the Huskies 26-15.
- The 'Cats went 5-of-9 from the three-point line in the quarter, and shot 52% from the floor overall.
- Makayla Mabry and Breanna Wright each hit a pair of triples, as part of a huge first half shooting from deep. ACU hit 10 three-pointers in the first half, with Mabry and Wright each hitting four, and built a 20-point halftime lead at 49-29.
Key Plays
- Mabry hit the first three of the game 39 seconds into the game. Dominique Golightly followed it up with a layup to get the Wildcats off to the good start at 5-0.
- Mabry hit another triple in the closing seconds of the first period to push the lead to nine, 23-14.
- The junior's fourth three pushed the lead to 17, 39-22, and Brea Wright followed it up with a fast-break layup and-one to give ACU its first 20-point advantage at 42-22.
- Houston Baptist made a run at the Wildcats in the second half, holding ACU to its lowest point total in any quarter this year, six. It was 55-45 ACU at the end of the third and the Huskies were coming. HBU scored the first four of the fourth and trailed 55-49, but then Wright hit the biggest shot of the night, a three-pointer to push the lead back to nine, 58-49.
- Lexie Ducat scored in the paint to push the lead back to 10 points, and then hit key free throws to help put the game away.
Stat Pack
- Free throws allowed ACU to push the advantage all the way back out to 17 points in the fourth quarter. ACU went 9-of-10 at the line in the period, and only scored seven points outside of the free throw line in the frame.
- Despite being outscored 25-22 in the second half, the Wildcat defense was strong, holding HBU to 10-34 from the floor in the final 20 minutes.
- ACU's 37 three-point attempts are tied for the second-most attempts from distance in a game this season; the team took 40 at Nicholls on Dec. 21.
- The team shot 10-21 in the first half from distance, and finished 11-37.
- Wright added another 20-point effort to her incredible career on 6-of-15 shooting (5-14 3FG), and added a pair of six-packs with rebounds and assists.
- Ducat tallied 14 points on a perfect 4-of-4 from the field and 6-of-8 at the foul line. The senior came close to a double-double with eight rebounds.
- Mabry's 12 points came on four three-pointers, and the San Antonio native was special defensively with nine rebounds and a new career-high five blocks.
- Golightly scored in double figures yet again with 10 points to go along with five rebounds and three assists.
Up Next
- ACU hits the road for three straight, including a rematch with the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders on Saturday, Feb. 15 at 1 p.m. The game can be heard on 98.1 The Ticket. The Wildcats then travel next week to Houston Baptist for a quick rematch with the Huskies before battling Southeastern Louisiana for the second time this season, this time in Hammond, La.
