CONWAY, Ark. - A pair of 20-plus-point performances from
Payton Hull and
Meredith Mayes powered Abilene Christian women's basketball to a historic win over Central Arkansas in the second round of the WNIT at the Farris Center on Monday night. With a 75-53 victory, the Wildcats advanced to the third round of a postseason tournament for the first time in the program's Division I history.
Hull led ACU with a 28-point effort, finishing a point shy of matching her season-best performance. She knocked down 11 of 18 field goal attempts and hit five of 10 three-pointers with 17 points in the second quarter alone. It's Hull's eighth game of the season with 20 points or more, becoming the first Wildcat to accomplish the feat since Anna McLeod in the 2020-21 campaign.
Mayes recorded 20 points on an efficient 10-of-14 clip with nine rebounds, doing so with no turnovers. She nailed each of her first nine shots and was one of five Wildcats to come away with two steals as ACU forced 25 Central Arkansas turnovers, turning them into 22 points.
For the third game in a row,
Bella Earle rewrote the Wildcats' Division I history books with another single-season record. The senior logged 26 minutes, giving her 1,140 for the year to set the program's single-season record for minutes played.
Earle scored seven points with three assists and two steals, and her seven boards ascended her into third place in ACU's career rebounding list with 767.
Each active member of ACU's roster saw game action in a victory that also served as head coach
Julie Goodenough's 250th win in 13 seasons leading the Wildcats.
First Team All-Atlantic Sun selection Jade Upshaw energized the Sugar Bears with 17 points, nine rebounds and four assists, leading the team in each statistic. Upshaw got off to a torrid start in knocking down each of her first five three-point attempts, but went 0 of 7 from beyond the arc to end the game.
Kinley Fisher and Cheyanne Kemp combined for 22 points as ACU limited Central Arkansas to a 36.7% clip from the field.
The Sugar Bears struck first to grab an 18-14 lead by the end of an opening quarter in which they sank six of eight three-point tries. The Wildcats hit seven of 16 shots but came up empty on each of their seven attempts from long distance. Mayes guided them with eight points on perfect 4-of-4 shooting.
Hull caught fire with a 17-point outburst in the second quarter as ACU outscored Central Arkansas, 29-11. She made six of seven shots, including a 3-of-4 mark from three-point range, to power the Wildcats to a 43-29 halftime lead. They hit 11 of 18 field goal tries in the quarter compared to a 3-of-12 showing by the Sugar Bears.
ACU showcased its defensive mettle in the third quarter, limiting Central Arkansas to eight points on 0-of-6 shooting from deep. Mayes hit her first four shots of the period for eight points, and
Natalia Chavez nailed a three-pointer for the eighth game in a row.
The Wildcats stretched their lead to as much as 28 in the fourth quarter with 3:52 remaining behind
Aimee Flippen's tip-in below the basket. ACU made half its shots, including both its three-point tries.
Paula Pique recorded her first points since a six-point effort at Seattle U on Feb. 13.
ACU continues its run through the WNIT at 6:30 p.m. Thursday versus Illinois State, who took down Western Illinois on Sunday. The Super 16 matchup will be hosted by Illinois Wesleyan University at the Shirk Center in Bloomington, Ill.
