ABILENE — Maleeah Langstaff led the way with 17 points,
Aspen Thornton dropped 13, but the ACU women's basketball team fell short against its long-time rival Stephen F. Austin, 66-53, on Saturday at Moody Coliseum. The Wildcats (10-11, 4-6 WAC) celebrated Langstaff and
Madi Miller after the game for Senior Day, and now will have a quick turnaround before they take the floor on Monday; Saturday started a stretch of four games in eight days for the program. ACU forced SFA into 22 turnovers and scored 24 points off them, but turned it over 19 times themselves. Points in the paint was a big difference Saturday, with SFA holding a 42-26 edge inside.
Key Plays
- Bella Earle buried a three-pointer to go up 5-4 at the 7:41 to go in the first quarter.
- After an 8-0 SFA run, Thornton buried a triple to close the gap, making it a 12-8 SFA lead with 5:38 to play in the first.
- SFA led 19-13 at the end of the first quarter, and after trailing 20-15 early in the second, ACU went on a 6-0 run to take the lead.
- Thornton hit a jumper to give ACU a 23-22 lead with 6:16 to go in the second quarter, and that would end up being the Wildcats' final lead of the game.
- There were only 13 total points scored the final six minutes of the half. SFA held an 11-2 edge in that stretch and led 33-25 at halftime.
- Down 10 early in the third, Miller buried a three to get it to 35-28.
- Langstaff buried a three-pointer to make it a 36-33 game with 6:57 to play in the third.
- SFA took a rebound and went the length of the floor and made a layup at the buzzer to go up 13, 52-39, heading to the fourth.
- SFA led by as many as 17 in the fourth quarter and ultimately held on by 13 over ACU.
Turning Point
The final six minutes of the second quarter pushed the lead to double digits for SFA, and ACU never got back in it to take the lead. The Ladyjacks pulled away in the second half to win their sixth straight over ACU.
Stat Pack
- Langstaff scored 17 points on 7-10 shooting and added a pair of rebounds, two steals, and an assist.
- Thornton was the other Wildcat in double figures with 13 points, doing so on 5-15 shooting. Thornton was in foul trouble Saturday as well.
- Addison Martin scored eight points and hauled in a team-high seven rebounds and stole the ball three times.
- Miller scored seven points to go with four rebounds on Senior Day.
- ACU shot 36% from the floor and went 4-21 from the three-point line. Both teams Saturday combined for 7-38 from deep.
Up Next
The Wildcats will remain in Moody for the next two games, starting with Utah Valley on Monday in a rescheduled game. The game tips at 2 p.m. on ESPN+ and the ACU Sports Network.
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