ABILENE - Abilene Christian women's basketball jumped to a commanding lead and didn't look back in a 72-48 win over Buffalo at Moody Coliseum on Saturday afternoon. The Wildcats closed out the inaugural ACU Christmas Classic as the only team with an undefeated 2-0 showing following Friday's 60-48 victory versus Montana.
ACU is off next week for the Christmas holiday before putting a bow on its nonconference slate versus Nelson University on Monday, Dec. 29. The team will celebrate Wildcat Family Day by offering free admission to all fans. Tipoff from Moody Coliseum is set for 1 p.m.
The Wildcats began the game with a roaring start on both ends of the floor, grabbing a 28-6 lead through the first 10 minutes of play. They limited the Bulls to a .333 field goal percentage, the lowest by an ACU opponent since the season opener versus Howard Payne, and forced 30 turnovers with 17 steals.
ACU was fueled by four players with double digit points, led by
Payton Hull, who scored 17 with seven rebounds.
Erin Woodson tallied 15 points to go with nine boards and was one of four Wildcats with three steals apiece alongside
Meredith Mayes,
Emma Troxell and
Emma Daugherty.
Mayes and Troxell scored 10 points each, doing so on 5-of-10 and 4-of-7 shooting, respectively. Mayes blocked a pair of shots and brought down seven rebounds. She was named to the Christmas Classic All-Tournament Team with Hull.
Breanna Davis dished out four assists, and
Jordyn Coleman collected a career-high six rebounds. Twenty of the Wildcats' 28 boards came on the offensive glass.
ACU came out of the gates blazing to begin the game, knocking down 12 of 16 field goal attempts in the first quarter en route to a 22-point advantage. In contrast, Buffalo sported a 3-of-16 mark from the field. The Wildcats mounted a 22-0 run over nearly seven minutes of game time as seven players logged points.
ACU was a force inside, scoring 22 points in the paint and 11 points off of turnovers.
The Wildcats took a 44-17 lead into halftime as they continued to pressure the Bulls on defense, forcing seven turnovers with five steals in the second quarter. Woodson accounted for half of ACU's scoring with eight points. She scored five points in a row across one minute and six seconds to push the Wildcats ahead by as much as 30.
Hull was responsible for eight of ACU's 10 points in the third quarter as both teams exchanged 6-0 runs. She hit three of four field goal attempts, including a 2-of-3 effort from beyond the arc. Buffalo scored 12 points as the Wildcats took a 54-29 lead into the final quarter.
Seven Wildcats found the basket in the fourth quarter, as a six-point rally gave ACU its largest lead of the day at 60-29. It posted its top performance from beyond the arc in period, sinking four of seven three-point tries.
