ABILENE - Abilene Christian women's basketball gutted out a 59-56 win over Tarleton State at Moody Coliseum on Thursday night. The Wildcats snapped a three-game losing streak to the Texans in the I-20 Rivalry, improving to 18-10 overall with a 7-6 mark in Western Athletic Conference action.
For the fourth game in a row,
Meredith Mayes led or was tied for the lead in ACU's scoring with 14 points. She added a team-high six rebounds and has had the most or tied for the most boards in five of the Wildcats' last six games.
Mayes topped off her effort with three blocks, the most she's recorded in a WAC matchup this season. She's scored 11 points or more in 10 consecutive contests.
Bella Earle put herself into the ACU record books with a pair of assists, upping her career total to 374, good for second-most in the program's Division I history. She scored 11 points with four rebounds and a pair of blocks in the defensive slugfest.
Emma Troxell was the final Wildcat in double figures with 11 points and a team-high two steals. It was just the second game this season in which ACU scored less than 60 points and came away with the victory. With a 4-of-22 clip from beyond the arc, it is tied for the Wildcats' worst three-point shooting performance in a win this season.
The Wildcats clinched the victory behind 19 Texan turnovers that they turned into 17 points. ACU clamped down in the fourth quarter to hold Tarleton to 11 points and 5-of-16 shooting.
Miannah Little and Arieona Rosborough combined for 30 points, with Rosborough bringing down eight rebounds. The Texans outrebounded the Wildcats, 38-24, as Jakoriah Long and Elise Turrubiates reeled in six boards apiece.
The rivalry matchup remained even early on, as the Wildcats built a slim 15-12 lead by the end of the first quarter despite shooting 6 of 16 overall and 1 of 10 from long distance. Davis tallied four points, while Mayes added three points and a trio of rebounds. Rosborough did most of the work for the Texans with six points and four boards.
The neck-and-neck affair continued into the second quarter as each team scored 15 points, leading to a 30-27 ACU lead at halftime. Seven Wildcats had logged points by the break, with
Natalia Chavez scoring five in the second quarter with ACU's second three-pointer to that point. Little scored seven points in the period, raising her total to 11 at halftime.
A Tarleton defense allowing just 58.5 points per game stepped up in the third quarter as the Texans grabbed their first lead. Rosborough's layup with 5:56 remaining put them ahead by a point, and Tarleton held onto the lead until 45 seconds were left in the quarter. Troxell drew a foul while sinking a midrange jumper and nailed the ensuing free throw to even the score at 45.
The Texans shot 8 of 13 from the field in the third quarter, but the Wildcats knocked down six of nine free throws to stay in it.
Points came at a premium in the final stretch as both defenses rose to the occasion.
Erin Woodson found the net for a three-pointer that pushed ACU ahead by seven with five minutes to go, but Tarleton cut the lead to three with 1:40 remaining.
The Wildcats went scoreless in the final 2:11, but they held firm to fend off a game-tying three-point attempt with six seconds to go.
ACU is back in action at 1 p.m. Saturday for its home finale against UT Arlington. It's Senior Day at Moody Coliseum, as
Mia Rivers,
Zoe Jackson and Earle will be honored pregame.
