ST. GEORGE, Utah - Abilene Christian women's basketball kicks off Western Athletic Conference action in the mountains with matchups against Utah Tech and Utah Valley this week. The Wildcats take on the Trailblazers at 3 p.m. (CT) Thursday in St. George, Utah before meeting the Wolverines at 3 p.m. (CT) Saturday in Orem, Utah.
ACU looks to begin conference play with a victory for the 10th time in the past 11 seasons, having won 11 of 13 conference openers under head coach
Julie Goodenough. It won five of its last six games to close out nonconference play, capping it with a 112-54 win over Nelson at Moody Coliseum on Monday.
The Wildcats connected on 48 of 86 field goal attempts at .558, their most field goals in a game in the DI record books and most since 2008-09. ACU dished out 29 assists, its most since March 9, 2019 and tied for the second-most as a DI program. The Wildcats finished off an undefeated 7-0 nonconference slate at home, their first since 2022-23.
ACU forced 38 Nelson turnovers, tied for the second-most in the DI era, and turned them into 64 points. The Wildcats came away with 28 steals, the most in the program's DI history.
The Wildcats aim for their third and fourth consecutive wins both on the road and in the state of Utah. They've won three straight matchups versus the Trailblazers while picking up their first win at Burns Arena last season. ACU finished off a sweep of Utah Tech in 2024-25 with an 84-66 win in Abilene and a 71-60 victory in St. George.
ACU is undefeated at Utah Valley's UCCU Center in three previous visits and is 6-2 against the Wolverines. The teams split last season's regular season series before the Wolverines took down the Wildcats in the WAC Tournament. ACU picked up a 71-62 win in Orem, with Woodson and
Breanna Davis combining for 29 points.
The Wildcats' last 2-0 start to conference play came in 2021-22, when they won their first three WAC matchups in their debut season in the conference.
ACU's defensive effort versus Nelson raised it to the top mark in the WAC at just 57.6 points allowed per game. The Wildcats' 77.1 points per game is the second-ranked offense in the conference, while their .447 field goal percentage leads the league. All three figures landed within the top 70 in the nation.
The Wildcats are within the country's top 20 with 13.2 steals and 23.5 turnovers forced per game, including a +8.6 turnover margin.
Payton Hull,
Meredith Mayes and Woodson each rank in the WAC's top 10 in scoring, with Hull leading the field and ranking 51st nationally at 17.9 points per game. Mayes leads the conference and ranks third nationally in field goal percentage at .684 while averaging 7.9 rebounds per game.
