WBB battles Southern Utah for first time ever Thursday

ABILENE – The Abilene Christian women's basketball team returns to Moody Coliseum for its lone game in the penultimate week of the regular season when it takes on the top team in the WAC standings, Southern Utah. The Wildcats (12-14, 6-9 WAC) are fresh off a split last week against Tarleton and UT Arlington, and will be home for two of the final three games of the season. ACU has its final bye on Saturday, so it is just one game this week, and the game tip at 6 p.m. in Moody and will air on both ESPN+ and the ACU Sports Network.

SERIES HISTORY VS. SOUTHERN UTAH

• ALL-TIME | 1st meeting
• LAST MEETING | n/a
• STREAK | n/a
• IN ABILENE | 1st meeting
• IN CEDAR CITY | n/a
• NEUTRAL | n/a
• POSTSEASON | n/a

ACU STORYLINES

• SPLIT LAST WEEK AGAINST I-20 RIVALS
  • The Wildcats topped Tarleton last Thursday, 78-60, before falling on the road to UT Arlington on Saturday, 82-73. Thursday's win featured a dominate first and fourth quarter and became head coach Julie Goodenough's 500th career victory. It was a historic night for the Wildcats. In the win, they also clinched a spot in the upcoming 2023 Hercules Tires WAC Basketball Tournament.
• THE WILDCATS ARE SUCCESSFUL WHEN…
  • They are at home: 9-3
  • They lead at the half: 11-4
  • They have a higher shooting percentage than their opponent: 12-3
  • They out-rebound their opponent: 11-3
  • They score more bench points: 10-2
• MILLER TIME
  • Fifth-year senior Madi Miller eclipsed the 1,000-point plateau with a 20-point game against Utah Valley on Jan. 14, and the veteran now has scored 1,090 points to go with 185 three-pointers made, 473 rebounds, 348 assists, and 150 steals. She has played in more games than anyone in ACU’s entire history (143) as well.
• MAL’S PLACE
  • Fifth-year transfer Maleeah Langstaff has scored in double figures in seven straight games, and averaging 12.0 points per game during that stretch. Langstaff has 18 games this year with at least five rebounds, has 19 double-digit scoring game on the season and 56 in her career. She currently has 15 career double-doubles as well.
• ADDI-BALL
  • Redshirt freshman Addison Martin put together her first career double-double at Grand Canyon, then backed it up with a 20-point game against Utah Valley. Martin has played in no less than 30 minutes in nine consecutive games, and is averaging 11.4 points per game on 55% shooting from the floor for the season.
• CAREER MILESTONE WATCH
  • 1,000-Point Club: Aspen Thornton - 872 points
  • 150-Steal Club: Madi Miller - 150 steals
  • 100-Steal Club: Aspen Thornton - 98 steals
• COACH GOODENOUGH’S MILESTONES
  • Head coach Julie Goodenough will coach her 834th career game on Thursday, and has earned 500 career victories, including 211 as the coach at ACU. Goodenough is in her 29th season overall and her 11th with the Wildcats.

SCOUTING SOUTHERN UTAH (17-8, 13-1 WAC)

• The Thunderbirds sit at the top of the win-loss standings in the WAC, and have won four consecutive games coming into Thursday, including a 67-59 win over SFA, who sits at the top of the resume seeding rankings.
• Four players average double figures in points for the season, and six players average eight points or more for the year. Cherita Daugherty paces the offense at 15.3 points per game, and Lizzy Williamson is hauling in 10.1 rebounds per game.

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#GoWildcats