ABILENE — Redshirt freshman
Addison Martin led the way with 18 points,
Madi Miller and
Aspen Thornton combined to hit eight three-pointers, and the ACU women's basketball team got a much-needed victory Thursday night at Moody Coliseum over arch-rival Tarleton. The Wildcats (12-13, 6-8 WAC) dominated the fourth quarter, 26-9, en route to a 78-60 victory to complete the season sweep of the Texans (7-18, 1-13 WAC). After the game all of Moody Coliseum celebrated a milestone moment: head coach
Julie Goodenough earned her 500th career victory. It was a night filled with celebration after a dominant closing of the game. ACU will wrap the weekend on Saturday at UT Arlington.
"We needed this one," said Goodenough. "We've been waiting on win 12 for awhile, and that was the focus. There was something in their eyes tonight heading into that fourth quarter. We just felt we were going to win this game."
Key Plays
- ACU started the game hot. Martin got it all started with a bucket inside, and Thornton buried one from distance to burst out of the gates with a 5-0 start. A Miller three and Martin free throws would bump the lead to 10-2 with 5:37 to go in the opening quarter.
- The 'Cats built up a 10-point lead on a sweet jumper in the paint from freshman Claire Graham, and a three from Raychael Harjo gave ACU a 15-point, 21-6 lead with 1:10 left in the frame. ACU led 21-8 after one.
- The lead blossomed to 18 with a Miller triple and a Martin bucket in the paint, and it was a 28-10 lead. But as good as the start was, Tarleton eventually started chipping away. The Texans hit back-to-back three-pointers and eventually got it all the way back down to a seven-point game, 39-32, with 56 seconds to play in the first half. ACU led 41-34 at the intermission.
- Tarleton cut it to three early in the third, but a free throw from Martin and a triple from Bella Earle pushed the advantage back to seven, 45-38. However, Tarleton played well in the back half of the third and got it to a 52-51 ACU lead heading to the fourth. The Texans outscored the Wildcats 17-11 in the third period and held a 43-31 edge in the second and third quarters combined.
- Tarleton buried a three to open the fourth, and all of a sudden it was a Texan lead for the first time in the game, 54-52. How would ACU respond? How about a 20-0 run. It was remarkable. The 20-0 stretch spanned four minutes of game time and began with a pair of three-pointers from Thornton. ACU got back-to-back stops and Miller then drained one in transition, forcing a timeout and bringing the house down. Moody was rocking as ACU built up a seven-point lead.
- After five consecutive free throws and three straight layups, the lead blossomed out to 18 to end the run, and the game was over at that point. Graham hit a three for good measure to cap the ridiculous 26-9 fourth quarter to absolutely run away with the game.
Turning Point
The 20-0 run is hard to overlook. But another key was the third period. ACU got outscored 17-11, but at one point traded eight-straight baskets with Tarleton. Without the continued ability to answe the bell, Tarleton may have taken the lead before the fourth. They did not. ACU kept the one-point lead, and then after the opening three of the quarter by the Texans, went on the 20-0 run to put the game away.
Stat Pack
- Martin led the way with 18 points on 6-9 shooting and attempted 12 free throws in the game. Big Country added six boards in the game as well.
- Miller scored 17 also on 6-9 shooting including five three-pointers, and added four rebounds and three assists.
- Thornton tallied 16 points on 5-12 with three triples and added a career-high six assists.
- ACU hit 11 three-pointers, giving the team double-digit makes from distance for the 12th time this season.
- ACU held a 35-25 edge in rebounding and is now 11-3 when it out-rebounds its opponents this season.
- Head coach Julie Goodenough earned career win number 500 Thursday night. She is in her 29th career season that has spanned stops at Hardin-Simmons, Oklahoma State, Charleston Southern, and ACU. Coach Goodenough has won championships at the NAIA, NCAA Division III, NCAA Division II, and NCAA Division I levels.
Up Next
The Wildcats will head to the Metroplex to take on UT Arlington to wrap the weekend on Saturday, Feb. 18 at 2 p.m. The game will air on ESPN+.
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