ABILENE, Texas — The Wildcats aim to snap a four-game losing streak on Sunday as they head to San Antonio to take on the UIW Cardinals.
This is the 25th matchup between these two programs. The first matchup took place on Nov. 21, 2009, where UIW took a 67-62 win. The two would then become longtime rivals in the Southland Conference, playing many tightly contested matchups. ACU comes into the game winning the last three in this series. The last matchup came in ACU's last year in the Southland Conference before moving to the Western Athletic Conference, where ACU took an 81-70, SLC tournament win in Katy on March 10, 2021.
The Purple and White tip-off against the Cardinals at 2 p.m. on Sunday. Fans who can't make it to the Alamo City 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.
ACU Storylines:
LAST GAME: The ACU women's basketball team climbed out of a big hole to force some tense moments near the game's end, but could not deliver the deciding punch in a 68-64 loss against Western Kentucky on Thursday night. Payton Hull bounced back from an off-night at Texas Tech on Tuesday to lead the Wildcats with a season-high 27 points on 9-of-15 shooting from the field. Sophomore Emma Troxell secured her first career double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds. Troxell rarely came off the floor, leading ACU with 38 minutes played.
DEALING DIMES: Senior guard Bella Earle is his her fourth year as a Wildcat proven crucial for ACU this season. Earle leads the Wildcats with 3.3 assists per game this season, with 20 so far this season. She is also second on the team in points per game and rebounds per game. After the first week of the season, she also earned WAC Player of the Week Honors.
DOUBLE-DOUBLE WATCH: Three Wildcats have earned double-doubles this season. The most recent was Emma Troxell on Thursday with 10 points and 12 rebounds against WKU. Bella Earle had her first double-double against UNT and Meredith Mayes had the first double-double this season against SFA.
HULL ON A ROLL: Preseason All-WAC Team member and sophomore Payton Hull has made an impact this season. She has scored in double digits in four of the 'Cats first six games, with three of them being 20-point performances. She averages a team-best 17 points per game, as well as leads the team with 2.8 steals per game.
END OF A TOUGH STRETCH: The Wildcats just concluded their toughest three-game stretch of non-conference play this season, where the Wildcats played two Group of Five schools and one Power 4 school. The stretch started on Saturday last against North Texas from the American Conference, where ACU fell 60-71. The stretch continued as they traveled to Lubbock last Tuesday to play Texas Tech, who is in the Big 12, with the 'Cats ultimately falling 40-66. They wrapped up the stretch at home on Thursday, Nov. 21 against Western Kentucky from Conference USA, where they saw a narrow loss, 64-68.
WAC PRESEASON POLL: In the WAC Preseason Pool, the Wildcats were chosen to finish fourth in the nine-team field. The preseason favorite was Grand Canyon, and they were followed by California Baptist and UT Arlington. Ranked below the Wildcats are Southern Utah, Tarleton State, Utah Tech, Utah Valley and Seattle U. Ultimately, all eyes will be toward the WAC tournament, with all nine teams hoping to earn the top prize, a tournament championship and an NCAA tournament bid.
COACH GOODENOUGH'S MILESTONES: Head coach Julie Goodenough will coach her 874th career game on Sunday, and has earned 519 career victories, including 231 as the coach at ACU. Goodenough is in her 31st season overall and her 13th with the Wildcats.
History with Incarnate Word
- ACU leads the series, 18-6
- Current Streak: ACU, 3 wins
- Last ACU win: March 10, 2021: 81-70
- Last UIW win: Feb. 1, 2020: 71-70
Scouting the Cardinals
- Incarnate Word is 3-3 so far this season. All three of UIW's wins came at home, including wins over Nelson, Texas Lutheran and Prairie View A&M. Their three losses came on the road against Texas Tech, Baylor and Texas Christian.
- Head coach Jeff Dow is in his sixth year at the helm at UIW. In his sixth season, he holds a 70-69 record. In his 22 years as a head coach, Dow holds a 335-278 record.
- Jorja Elliott leads the Cardinals scoring 9.3 points per game. She also averages 3.2 rebounds per game, a team-best 2.7 assists per game and 1.3 steals per game.
- Myra Bell and Brynn Lusby both lead UIW with 4.8 rebounds per game. Madison Cockrell leads the team with 1.8 steals per game.
#RowTheBoat #GoWildcats
