SEATTLE - Abilene Christian women's basketball aims to stretch its win streak to three games when it heads to the Pacific Northwest for a Thursday matchup versus Seattle U. Tipoff at the Redhawk Center is set for 8 p.m. (CST) on ESPN+.
Last week, the Wildcats turned their fortunes around on the heels of a three-game losing skid with home victories over Utah Tech and Southern Utah. ACU won both matchups by an average of 20 points and improved to 15-9 overall with a 4-5 mark in the Western Athletic Conference.
On the flip side, the Redhawks are still searching for their first WAC victory, having lost nine games in a row. Seattle U found itself in Texas last week, where it dropped games against Tarleton State and UT Arlington by an average of 28.5 points. The Redhawks are 3-19 overall and haven't won since Dec. 29, 2024.
It's the second time that both programs have met this season, with the year's first matchup coming at Moody Coliseum on Jan. 11. The Wildcats captured an 83-55 victory behind a 23-point effort by
Bella Earle, who eclipsed 1,000 career points with her performance.
Payton Hull and
Emma Troxell scored 19 and 15 points, respectively, with Troxell and Earle combining for 15 rebounds.
Earle continues to be the motor behind ACU's offense with 14.8 points per game, a team-high among active players and fifth in the WAC. The Corinth, Texas native has scored over 15 points in each of her last three games, including a 23-point outing with nine made field goals against Southern Utah last week.
Earle finds herself among the league's best in a host of categories. She's third in the conference with 7.3 rebounds per game, fifth with 4.1 assists, fifth with a 46.7% field goal percentage, seventh with 2.3 steals and second with 33.9 minutes played per game.
Meredith Mayes has scored in the double figures in each of her last six games, averaging 15.7 points and eight rebounds in that span. She picked up her third double-double of the season versus Utah Tech with 14 points and 12 boards and tallied 11 points and nine rebounds versus Southern Utah.
Mayes ranks sixth in the WAC with 7.2 rebounds per game, 3.3 of which come on the offensive glass, and is third with 1.1 blocks per game.
ACU shot 58.5% overall and 48.5% from three-point range against Utah Tech, both season-best marks. Its previous top shooting performance in conference action came against the Redhawks, when it sank 47.1% of its field goal tries.
The Wildcats are second in the WAC in hitting shots at a 43.9% clip, leading to their third-ranked scoring offense at 72.5 points per game. ACU boasts the league's second-best scoring margin at +11.5 points.
Candy Edokpaigbe paces Seattle U with 9.7 points per game on 51.7% shooting to go with 1.5 steals per game. The Naples, Italy product tallied 15 points in the programs' first meeting of the season while hitting six of nine shots.
Christeina Bryan adds 8.6 points and a team-high 5.6 rebounds per game. Olivia Moore and Tamia Stricklin are the Redhawks' top threats from long distance with marks of 40.4% and 33.7%, respectively.
