LUBBOCK, Texas — ACU saw its first road loss of the season on Tuesday, falling to the Texas Tech Red Raiders, 66-40.
In the first quarter, both teams held each other scoreless until the 6:39 mark, when Payton Hull scored on a fast break from a steal. Hull scored in the next possession, giving ACU their first five points. The Wildcats were able to hang with the Red Raiders by holding them to 38.5 percent shooting and causing nine turnovers. Heading into the second quarter, the score was tied at 14-14.
Texas Tech began to create some space from the Wildcats in the second quarter, holding ACU to 0-5 shooting in the first five minutes. Meanwhile, the Red Raiders shot 3-6 and gained a 21-14 lead by the first media timeout. The Wildcats remained scoreless until the 1:01 mark when Bella Earle made a tip-in layup. Ultimately, the Wildcats were outscored by Texas Tech 16-2, with the Red Raiders taking a 30-16 lead into the locker room.
Coming out to the locker room, the Red Raiders went on a 4-0 run in 34 seconds to cause the Wildcats to call a quick timeout. The Wildcats were able to slow down the Red Raiders slightly, but ACU struggled to shoot, only shooting 20 percent from the field, but did not hit a single 3-pointer, allowing Texas Tech to extend their lead to 23.
In the fourth quarter, ACU finished the quarter shooting 33 percent from the field and scored 14 points, keeping pace with Texas Tech who scored 17 in the quarter.
The Wildcats finished the game shooting 23.1 percent from the field and 13.0 percent from the 3-point line, while Texas Tech shot 43.5 percent from the field and 47.8 from the 3-point line. ACU did cause more turnovers than Texas Tech, causing the Red Raiders to have 27 turnovers in the game. ACU also had 13 steals to Texas Tech's 11.
Payton Hull finished the game as the leading scorer with the Wildcats, finishing the game with 13 points with four steals and two rebounds. Emma Troxell and Natalia Chavez led the way rebounding with five rebounds each.
Up next, the Wildcats return to Moody Coliseum on Thursday night at 6 p.m. for a game against Western Kentucky.
Fans who can't make it to Moody can stream the game live on ESPN+. Fans can also keep up with the 'Cats by following the team on X, Instagram, Facebook and acusports.com.
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