ARLINGTON - Abilene Christian women's basketball's
Bella Earle and
Meredith Mayes earned All-Western Athletic Conference honors after leading the Wildcats to a 20-11 regular season, the league announced Monday evening. The awards were voted upon by the league's women's basketball head coaches.
Earle landed on both the All-WAC First Team and WAC All-Defensive Team, while Mayes was named to the All-WAC Second Team. It's the first on-court honor of Mayes' career after being named an Academic All-WAC honoree as a freshman in 2023-24.
In the Wildcats' fourth season in the WAC, Earle is the program's first selection to the All-Defensive team and its third First Team honoree. She adds to her trophy case after receiving All-WAC Second Team distinction last season. The senior was named WAC Player of the Week on Nov. 11, 2024 and earned WAC Freshman of the Week honors on two occasions in the 2021-22 campaign. She also garnered Academic All-WAC accolades in the past two seasons.
The Corinth native was a leader for ACU on both sides of the court, pacing active Wildcats in a host of statistics. Earle recorded 14.5 points, 7.3 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 2.4 steals per game, each team bests. She scored at a 44.7% clip from the field, including a 29.9% mark from three-point range and a free throw percentage of 71.6%.
Earle ranks seventh in the WAC in scoring, third in rebounding, sixth in field goal percentage, fourth in assists and fourth in steals. Her 5.2 defensive rebounds per game are second, and she leads the league with 34.8 minutes per game. Earle led ACU with six double-doubles, including three versus WAC foes.
Earle stepped up in conference play, averaging 14.1 points, 7.8 boards, 4.9 assists and 2.6 steals, numbers that continued to lead ACU's active players. In WAC action, her scoring ranks sixth and her rebounding, assists and steals rank fourth. Earle remained a workhorse, leading the conference in minutes per WAC game with 37.8.
Earle has written her way into the Wildcats' Division I record books, ranking in the top 10 in a number of categories. Her 388 assists are second, her 749 rebounds are fourth and her 161 steals are fifth. Earle is sixth in field goals and three-pointers with 422 and 155, respectively, Her 187 free throws are good for ninth and her 117 games played rank seventh.
Mayes became a force in conference play for ACU, scoring in the double digits in 12 of 16 games. For the season, she's averaged 10.8 points, 7.3 rebounds, 1.5 steals and a team-high 1.2 blocks per game. Mayes' 3.3 offensive boards per game lead the Wildcats, as does her 60.1% shooting percentage.
Mayes' blocks and offensive rebounds per game are both second in the WAC, while her rebounding and scoring rank fourth and 19th, respectively.
The Bixby, Okla. product took it to another level when WAC action rolled around, scoring 13.4 points per game with 7.6 boards, 1.5 steals and 1.2 blocks while starting each contest. Mayes shot 63.4%, the league's best clip in conference play.
Against WAC opponents, Mayes' scoring tied for 10th, her rebounding ranked fifth, her blocks tied for third and her 3.8 offensive rebounds per game were good for first. Mayes notched four double-doubles in conference action, the most on the team. She is tied for sixth in ACU Division I history with 50 career blocks.
Grand Canyon led the league with four players between the First and Second Teams, while ACU tied UT Arlington with two. The Wildcats and the Lopes were the only teams with a player on both the First or Second Team and the All-Defensive Team.
ACU returns to action against Utah Valley in the quarterfinal round of the WAC Tournament at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas. The No. 4 Wildcats meet the No. 5 Wolverines at 2 p.m. Thursday on ESPN+.
2024-25 WAC Women's Basketball Awards
WAC Player of the Year
Trinity San Antonio, Sr., G, Grand Canyon
WAC Defensive Player of the Year
Tiarra Brown, Gr., G/F, Grand Canyon
WAC Co-Sixth Player of the Year
Aspen Thornton, Sr., G, UT Arlington
Kylee Mabry, Jr., G, Utah Valley
WAC Freshman of the Year
CeCe Legaspi, G, California Baptist
WAC Coach of the Year
Molly Miller, Grand Canyon
All-WAC First Team
Bella Earle, Sr., G, Abilene Christian
Trinity San Antonio, Sr., G, Grand Canyon
Tiarra Brown, Gr., G/F, Grand Canyon
Avery Brittingham, Fifth, F, UT Arlington
Koi Love, Fifth, F, UT Arlington
All-WAC Second Team
Meredith Mayes, So., C, Abilene Christian
Khloe Lemon, So., G, California Baptist
Alyssa Durazo-Frescas, Sr., G, Grand Canyon
Laura Erikstrup, Gr., F, Grand Canyon
Jakoriah Long, Sr., G, Tarleton State
WAC All-Defensive Team
Bella Earle, Sr., G, Abilene Christian
Callie Cooper, Sr., G, Grand Canyon
Trinity San Antonio, Sr., G, Grand Canyon
Tiarra Brown, Gr., G/F, Grand Canyon
Tahlia White, R-Sr., G/F, Utah Valley
WAC All-Freshman Team
CeCe Legaspi, G, California Baptist
Candy Edokpaigbe, G, Seattle U
Kendal Robinson, G, UT Arlington
Ellie Taylor, G, Utah Tech
Cambree Blackham, G, Utah Valley
