ABILENE – Abilene Christian finishes off a four-game road swing on Thursday, visiting Tarleton State in Stephenville at 7 p.m.
The Wildcats are 8-10 overall and 4-5 in the Western Athletic Conference after a loss at Southern Utah on Saturday.
Tarleton State enters the game at 5-13 on the season and 2-7 against the WAC.
ACU Storylines
THREES PLEASE: ACU leads the WAC and is fifth in the nation with 29.2 three-pointers attempted per game. The Cats recently dropped into second in the league in three-pointers made per game, averaging 8.9.
Payton Hull leads the WAC in three-pointers made and attempted and is second in three-point shooting percentage at 36.8.
BOARD WORK: The Wildcats lead the WAC in rebound margin, averaging six more rebounds per game than their opponents. ACU also leads the conference with 14.1 offensive rebounds per game.
Bella Earle is second in the league with 8.2 rebounds per game. She averages 2.2 offensive rebounds per game.
PUTTING IN WORK: Bella Earle leads the league, averaging 34.2 minutes on the floor per game. Earle averages 11.5 points, 8.2 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game. She also is third in the NCAA with two triple-doubles this season.
FOUR SCORE: ACU has four players averaging double figures in scoring, led by
Payton Hull at 15.5.
Aspen Thornton gets 11.9 points,
Bella Earle 11.5 and
Addison Martin 10.2 points per game.
LAST GAME: ACU is coming off an 82-80 loss at Southern Utah.
Payton Hull had 27 points in that game, followed by
Meredith Mayes at 18 and
Aspen Thornton at 12. ACU's last-ditch three-point attempt was blocked.
TRENDING: The Wildcats will try to salvage a win on Thursday after losing the first three installments of the current four-game road trip.
Payton Hull is averaging 19 points and
Aspen Thornton 12.3 but the Cats are shooting just 23 percent from three-point range on this road swing.
ON THE ROAD: ACU has been missing
Addison Martin on this road trip. Martin averages 12.6 points per game, which is the second-best average on the team.
Payton Hull averages 19.3 points per game on the road. The Cats are 2-6 in true road games and 2-7 away from Moody Coliseum.
TAKING ON THE TEXANS: ACU won the home meeting against Tarleton State 73-51. The Wildcats dominated in rebounding, 49-29.
Bella Earle had 12 points and 12 rebounds to lead the way for ACU.
Payton Hull added 12 points while
Aspen Thornton,
Emma Troxell and
Zoe Jackson scored 11 each.
Meredith Mayes had nine points and nine rebounds. Teresa Maggio led the Texans with 11 points.
SCOUTING TARLETON: Tarleton State knocked off Southern Utah on Thursday for its first win of 2024. Jakoria Long leads the Texans with 11.2 points per game. Faith Acker averages 8.9 points and leads the team with 5.6 rebounds per game.
DAY OFF: The Thursday game at Tarleton State is ACU's only game this week. The Cats resume action and start a four-game homestand on Feb. 8 against Seattle.
