ABILENE – Abilene Christian returns home for the final game of 2023, hosting Louisiana Tech at 1 p.m. in Moody Coliseum on Saturday.
ACU is 5-5 after a 72-68 loss at Western Kentucky on Dec. 18.
Louisiana Tech is 5-9 but comes in on a three-game winning streak after a 68-34 win at South Alabama.
ACU Storylines
Player of the Week: Payton Hull finished out 2023 as the three-time Newcomer of the Week, the Western Athletic Conference announced on Tuesday. Hull, a freshman guard from Peaster, led ACU with 16 points and was four of eight from three-point range in a narrow 72-68 loss at Western Kentucky last week. Hull, who also was honored on Nov. 27 and Dec. 4, is the only player in the WAC to win the award multiple times this season.
Second Chances: ACU leads the Western Athletic Conference with 14.4 offensive rebounds per game.
Addison Martin averages 2.9 offensive rebounds per game and
Bella Earle checks in at 2.1. Earle is the overall rebound leader for ACU at 7.6 per game while Martin averages 5.4.
Threes: Abilene Christian is seventh in the NCAA with 9.8 three-pointers made per game and sixth with 29 three-pointers attempted per game.
Payton Hull leads the WAC with 33 made three-pointers, 76 attempts and a 43.4 percentage from downtown.
Four Score: The Wildcats have four players with double-figure scoring averages, led by
Payton Hull at 16.8.
Bella Earle averages 13.1 points, followed by
Aspen Thornton at 11.4 and
Addison Martin at 11.0.
Triple-Doubles: Bella Earle is in a four-way tie atop the NCAA with two triple-doubles. Earle got hers in back-to-back games. She had 13 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in a win at Navy and followed up with a 19-point, 10-rebound, 10-assist night in a home win against Texas-Arlington.
Scouting Louisiana Tech
- After starting 2-0, La Tech lost nine consecutive games before getting its current three-game win streak. The three-game streak includes a 77-51 win over California Baptist.
- Salma Bates leads the Lady Techsters with 11.8 points per game with Anna Larr Roberson at 11.6.
- Salma Bates is seventh in the NCAA with 106 three-pointers attempted this season.
- Anna Larr Roberson shoots 51 percent from the field and leads the Lady Techsters with 6.7 rebounds per game.
