ANNAPOLIS – Freshman
Payton Hull matched a D-I era single-game school record and
Bella Earle turned in a triple-double in Abilene Christian's 87-62 win at Navy on Sunday.
"We lost a tough battle yesterday and had to reset and prepare for a really good opponent in less than a 24 hour turn around," head coach
Julie Goodenough said. "For our team to be so locked in mentally to the scout and to play so physically today took a valiant team effort. I am really proud of our team's overall toughness."
Hull also tied the school DI-era record with nine three-pointers, hitting 9 of 16 from the perimeter. She ended with 34 points to tie
Maleeah Langstaff's 2022-23 mark.
Earle put up 13 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists for the triple-double.
Addison Martin turned in a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds and
Aspen Thornton added 10 points.
Both Hull's and Earle's performances throughout the weekend also earned them a spot on the Navy Classic All-Tournament Team.
Earle scored the first points of the game while Hull added a three-pointer for a 5-0 lead and the Wildcats never trailed.
Clare Traeger scored with 2:49 left in the first quarter for the first double-digit Wildcat lead, 19-8. Martin finished the first quarter scoring with a basket for a 22-8 lead.
Hull gave the Cats their biggest lead of the half with 42 seconds remaining in the second quarter, sinking a three-pointer for a 42-19 lead.
Earle scored a fast-break layup with 2:21 remaining for the first of two 30-point leads in the third quarter, 65-35. The gap peaked at 74-42 on a pair of Earle free throws 10 seconds into the fourth quarter.
Earle got her 10
th assist to complete the triple-double with 7:49 left in the game, feeding Martin.
"We had players have great individual games with one double-double, one triple-double and one player get 34 points," Goodenough said. "A game like that doesn't happen without each player bought in ready to contribute."
The 3-2 Wildcats open Western Athletic Conference action at home on Wednesday, hosting Texas-Arlington at 6 p.m.
