ABILENE – Down 19 late in the third quarter, the ACU women's basketball team turned to their team motto: Grit Don't Quit. The team dug down deep and pulled off a win that won't soon be forgotten. The Wildcats came back to top the New Mexico State Aggies Saturday night, 76-73, outscoring their guests 22-8 in the final quarter, and snapping a two-game losing streak to close out a busy week. ACU (12-5, 4-2 WAC) got a layup from freshman
Bella Earle to take the lead with 1:15 left, and after a key stop, the Wildcats hit free throws to seal it. The 'Cats split the week in which they played four games in eight days, capping it in style with a big home win, moving to 3-0 all-time against NM State.
Turning Point: The end of the third quarter.
ACU trailed by 19 with 5:07 remaining in the third, but the 'Cats scored 16 of the final 24 points of the quarter, including the final six points in 40 seconds from Earle. The freshman got behind the defense after a made basket by NM State, and converted the layup with a foul, and hit the free throw to complete the three-point play. Earle then did it again after a turnover and converted with another foul, scoring the final six of the frame. ACU trailed by 11, 65-54, heading to the fourth. And it was game on.
The Finish
Taylor Morgan hit big free throws, as she did all weekend, to cut the deficit to six, 69-63, with 4:17 left.
Tatum Barber then hit a foul shot and
Emma Middleton got open for a layup to then cut it to three, 69-66. After NM State got a two back, Morgan hit two more foul shots to get it right back to a three-point game, 71-68. Earle then got open for a layup after a
Jamie Bonnarens steal, and on the next possession, Middleton got a takeaway and found Earle who laid it in again to give ACU its first lead, 72-71, since the first quarter, with 1:15 to play. After a missed three-pointer for the Aggies, Earle hit two free throws to lead 74-71. NM State would answer with two free throws to make it 74-73, and on the ensuing possession, ACU turned it over on an out-of-bounds play, giving NM State a chance to win the game on the final possession. But the shot was no good from Taylor Donaldson, and
Kamryn Mraz hauled in her first rebound of the game with three seconds left, and hit both foul shots after the foul to ice the game, 76-73.
Key Plays
- 1Q |
Sarah Griswold scored four of the first six points for ACU, putting the 'Cats up 6-2 early.
- 1Q | The first quarter was back-and-forth, with neither team leading by more than one point. NM State shot 42% from the floor, while ACU shot 54%.
- 2Q | NM State went on an 11-0 run to lead by 12, 29-17, but a Mraz layup stopped the bleeding.
- 2Q | Miller hit two free throws to close the half, putting ACU down 39-29 at the break.
- 3Q | Trailing by 19, Miller hit a big-time triple at the shot-clock buzzer, banking it in after launching it at the top of the key. It was ACU's only three-pointer in the game.
- 3Q | The back-to-back and-one's from Earle gave ACU momentum heading to the fourth.
- 4Q | The second Earle layup came off the Middleton steal on an inbound play. NM State tried to catch ACU sleeping by throwing it off a back, but Middleton took it away and gave it up ahead to Earle.
Stat Pack
- Earle scored a career-high 16 points, matched a career-high with seven rebounds, and played a career-high 33 minutes.
- ACU overcame just one three-pointer made, the lowest number of the its Division I era, but scored 46 points in the paint, and outscored NM State 23-12 in points off turnovers.
- Griswold scored 13 points, converting half of her shots in 24 minutes.
- Miller added 12 points with a pair of assists.
- Morgan added nine off the bench, and hit 7-of-8 at the foul line, giving her 17 makes in the last two games at the charity stripe.
- Barber scored six points, but hauled in a team-high eight boards.
- Middleton added eight points off the bench, hitting 4-of-5 shots.
Up Next
ACU will head on the road next week to the west coast with matchups against Seattle U and California Baptist. The game against SU takes place on Thursday, Jan. 20 at 8 p.m. CT, and the week wraps on Saturday, Jan. 22 against CBU in Riverside, Calif. at 3 p.m. CT.
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