ABILENE - Abilene Christian women's basketball continues its season-opening three-game homestand as it welcomes Incarnate Word to Moody Coliseum at 6 p.m. Friday. The Wildcats will host Big Country Day, highlighting the spirit and passion of West Texas while celebrating Native American History Month.
The Wildcats are 15-2 against the Cardinals in the program's Division I era, winning their last four matchups. Last season, ACU beat its former Southland Conference foe 61-53 in San Antonio behind 18 points from
Emma Troxell and 14 by
Erin Woodson. A victory on Friday would be the Wildcats' seventh in a row at Moody Coliseum, dating back to last year.
ACU wrote the first chapter of the 2025-26 campaign with a resounding 103-33 win over Howard Payne on Monday. The Wildcats dominated on both ends of the floor, allowing their fewest points in a game since 2020 and shooting at a .621 clip, their highest shooting percentage since 2019.
ACU forced 40 Howard Payne turnovers with 24 steals, both marking the program's highest totals in the Division I era. The Wildcats turned those turnovers into 55 points.
Six Wildcats scored in the double figures, led by Preseason Western Athletic Conference Player of the Year
Payton Hull with 16 points. Troxell and Woodson combined for 25 points, with Woodson adding a team-high five steals and five assists.
In her collegiate debut, freshman
Molly Daugherty scored 12 points with 4-of-6 shooting from three-point range.
Meredith Mayes and
Natalia Chavez totaled 21 points as they hit each of their nine shots.
Through just one game, the Wildcats rank within the nation's top 10 for field goal percentage, steals and turnovers forced per game.
UIW kicked off its season at No. 4 Texas on Monday, suffering a 123-51 loss to the Longhorns. The Cardinals were limited to a .277 shooting percentage and a .176 mark from beyond the arc. Destiny Whitaker and Gwendlyn McGrew tallied 14 and 12 points, respectively, for UIW. Brynn Lusby, who scored 14 points with eight rebounds versus ACU last season, had nine points and three boards against Texas.
The Cardinals, now under first-year coach Jhasmin Player, went 18-14 last season with a 12-8 showing in Southland action. They qualified for the Women's National Invitation Tournament, falling in the first round to UT Arlington.
