NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Abilene Christian women's basketball's fourth-quarter comeback came up just short as it dropped a 77-76 heartbreaker to Stephen F. Austin at William R. Johnson Coliseum on Friday night. The Ladyjacks scored the winning basket with four seconds remaining to deal the Wildcats their first loss of the season.
ACU aims to return to the win column when it takes on North Texas in Denton, Texas on Wednesday, Nov. 19. Tipoff from the Super Pit is at 11 a.m.
The Wildcats trailed for the entire second half, trailing by as much as 13 points with 8:30 remaining in the ballgame.
Breanna Davis drove to the basket for a go-ahead layup with 10.1 seconds left, but SFA responded with a quick basket and prevented ACU from getting another shot off.
A quartet of Wildcat juniors each scored in double digits, paced by
Payton Hull's 22. She matched her career highs with nine rebounds and five steals and added a trio of assists.
Erin Woodson nailed seven of 10 shots for 18 points, seven of which came in the fourth quarter on 3-of-4 shooting. She brought down seven rebounds.
Meredith Mayes came alive in the second half, scoring 15 of her 17 total points and each of her six boards. For the second game in a row, she hit seven of eight free throws.
Emma Troxell recorded the fourth double-double of her career with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Redshirt junior
Jazmyn Stone dished out a career-best six assists.
The Wildcats pulled down 18 offensive rebounds, turning them into 16 second-chance points.
ACU led 19-18 following a back-and-forth first quarter that featured five lead changes and three ties. Both teams turned the ball over four times while Hull scored six points with a pair of three-pointers. Troxell added five points as the Wildcats held the lead for 7:42 worth of game time, but didn't lead by more than five points.
Troxell, Woodson and Hull were responsible for each of ACU's 14 points in the second quarter and 10 of its 13 rebounds. SFA took a slight 36-33 lead into the break after outscoring the Wildcats 18-14 in the second period. An 8-0 run by the home team effectively turned the game in the Ladyjacks' favor, giving them the lead until the fourth quarter.
A pair of Ladyjacks scored eight points each as the team sank seven of 16 field goal attempts for the second straight quarter.
Both squads had their most productive quarters of the game in the third period as SFA outscored ACU, 28-23. Mayes poured in 10 points and brought down five rebounds to spearhead the Wildcats' offense, while Hull scored eight points and earned three assists. The Ladyjacks came out of the quarter with an eight-point lead at 64-56 after leading by as much as 13.
ACU delivered its best defensive effort of the game in the fourth quarter, limiting SFA to 13 points. Six of the Wildcats' 19 forced turnovers came in the final period as Hull grabbed a couple of steals.
ACU used a pair of 5-0 runs to get within two points at 74-72 with 2:04 remaining.
Payton Hull sank two free throws to make it a one-point game with 1:02 on the clock before Davis' go-ahead bucket.
