FORT MYERS, Fla. - Abilene Christian women's basketball fell to Northwestern 62-59 in its first game of the Elevance Health Women's Fort Myers Tip-Off on Friday afternoon at Suncoast Credit Union Arena.
The Wildcats look to return to the win column versus Bradley to round out the event at 10 a.m. (CT) Saturday. It represents both programs' first-ever meeting against each other and will be ACU head coach
Julie Goodenough's 400th game at the helm of the Wildcats.
ACU forced 21 Northwestern turnovers with 12 steals as
Emma Troxell,
Meredith Mayes and
Payton Hull each scored in the double figures. Troxell led ACU in scoring for the second time this season with 13 points to go with six rebounds and a team-high four assists.
Mayes tallied 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting with six boards and three steals. With three offensive rebounds, she moved into sixth in the Wildcats' Division I era with 171 in her career. Mayes notched her 10th game in a row with 10 points or more.
Hull added 10 points and two steals, while
Erin Woodson and
Breanna Davis registered nine points and two steals each. Woodson also recorded five rebounds a block. Each of Davis' points and eight of Hull's came in the second half.
Northwestern experienced its most productive quarter in the opening period as it got off to a 21-18 advantage. It led 9-2 before ACU used an 8-0 rally to briefly move in front. Troxell supplied four points during the run. Mayes and Woodson scored six points apiece as Mayes hit each of her three shots and brought down three rebounds.
Defense ruled the second quarter as both teams combined for just 14 points, with Northwestern taking a 29-24 lead into the break following a two-point jumper at the buzzer. Mayes grabbed a pair of steals while Troxell and Woodson had three boards each.
ACU nearly matched its first-half scoring with a 22-point third quarter that saw it take a 46-45 lead over Northwestern entering the final period. After falling behind 39-31, ACU mounted a 10-2 run to even the score at 41 following a
Riley Grohman three-pointer. Davis' basket from beyond the arc with 49 seconds to go gave the Wildcats the one-point edge.
Davis scored seven points on perfect 3-of-3 shooting as ACU shot at a .529 clip in the third quarter. The team hit four of nine shots from long range while forcing seven Northwestern turnovers and turning them into 10 points.
Two Mayes free throws put ACU up by three points early in the fourth quarter, but Northwestern launched an 11-2 rally to take a six-point lead with 3:05 remaining. A free throw by Hull got ACU within a point with 26 seconds left, but Northwestern held on to close out the game.
ACU hit seven of eight free throw attempts in the fourth quarter, making 13 of 16 on the day.
