Friday, November 6
Houston, Texas
6 p.m.
Abilene Christian
at
Houston Christian
11/5/2026 10:42:00 PM | Women's Basketball
HOUSTON — Abilene Christian women's basketball kicks off a three-game road trip versus Houston Christian at Sharp Gym at 6 p.m. Friday. The Wildcats look to carry their energy from Monday's season-opening 108-32 win over Howard Payne to H-Town.
Friday's matchup will be streamed on ESPN+ with Nicholas Pietrzycki (play-by-play) and Basketball Hall of Famer Van Chancellor (analyst) on the call. Chancellor guided the Houston Comets to the first four WNBA championships and is the former coach of the 2004 United States Olympic gold medal team with stops at LSU and Ole Miss.
The Wildcats look to remain undefeated against their former Southland Conference foes in the Huskies. ACU is 11-0 versus Houston Christian since 2014, with the teams meeting in the regular season for the first time since 2021.
ACU can improve to 8-2 in its last 10 games versus nonconference opponents, dating back to last season. A victory would mark the Wildcats' sixth win in their last 10 road matchups.
The Huskies feature a familiar face to the Wildcats and the Abilene community on the sideline. Houston Christian head coach Drew Long made his way to Space City following four seasons as the head coach at McMurry in Abilene. Previously, he served in administration at ACU, including as deputy director of athletics for three years. Long's daughter, Alice, is a freshman goalkeeper for the Wildcat soccer team.
The Wildcats showed little signs of rust in a thrashing of the Lady Jackets of Moody Coliseum. ACU connected on 54.5% of its shots while limiting Howard Payne to a .204 clip from the field. The Wildcats converted 34 Lady Jacket turnovers into 49 points behind 22 steals and capitalized with 25 second-chance points.
ACU drained 17 three-pointers, its most in three seasons, at 37%. Preseason United Athletic Conference Player of the Year Payton Hull led the way with 20 points and was just as strong on the defensive side of the ball, coming away with a career-high eight steals. It's tied for the most steals in a game in ACU's Division I history.
Riley Grohman opened her sophomore season on a high note with a career effort. She delivered career bests with 15 points, five assists and four steals, while her six field goals and trio of three-pointers were also career highs.
Emma Troxell followed with 16 points on an efficient 6-of-9 showing from the field. With three rebounds, she surpassed 500 career boards after entering the season one shy of the milestone. College of Southern Idaho transfer Samara Morrow impressed in her first action at ACU, leading the team with seven assists and scoring eight points.
ALL EYES ON ABILENE – ACU kicks off the 2026-27 campaign with plenty of preseason hardware. The Wildcats were tabbed the UAC preseason favorites with eight of nine first-place votes atop the Preseason UAC Coaches Poll. Payton Hull was named the 2026-27 United Athletic Conference Preseason Player of the Year and landed on the Preseason All-UAC Team alongside Meredith Mayes and Erin Woodson. The Wildcats' three honorees on the 11-member Preseason All-UAC Team are the most in the conference. Experience ought to be a strength of the 2026-27 Wildcats, with five members of the roster owning 50 or more career starts in Hull, Mayes, Woodson, Emma Troxell and Raimi McCrary. Hull, Troxell, Mayes and Woodson started each game they appeared in for ACU last season.
Hull, the reigning Western Athletic Conference Player of the Year, and Mayes were also named to the Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Award preseason watch list. The seniors join a team of 25 student-athletes from across the nation to land on the preseason watch list representing the best players at the mid-major level. The Wildcats are one of three programs to tout at least two selections and are the only United Athletic Conference program featured.
REWRITING THE RECORD BOOK – As she begins her senior season, Hull has made a name for herself as one of the most consistent players in the nation. The Peaster, Texas product has scored 10 points or more in 82 of 88 career games and has notched a steal in 37 of her last 38 games, dating back to 2024-25. Hull rattled off an ACU DI-record 36 points at Tarleton State on Feb. 14, 2026. With four career 30-point performances, she is tied with Breanna Wright for the most in the program's Division I era. Hull's 14 20-point performances led the WAC last season.
Hull was the fastest of the nine Wildcats in the DI era to reach the 1,000-point milestone. She ranks third in the Wildcats' DI record book with 1,523 career points and is 143 points shy of breaking Alexis Mason's program record of 1,666 points. Hull ranks second in ACU's DI history with 528 field goals, fourth with 219 three-pointers and sixth with 248 free throws. She's second with 192 steals and seventh with 230 assists.
IN THE REARVIEW MIRROR – The Wildcats launched back-to-back 20-win campaigns with a 24-11 showing in 2025-26. ACU placed second in the final season of the Western Athletic Conference with a 13-5 mark in conference action. The Wildcats picked up their most conference victories since 2019-20 and their first back-to-back 20-win seasons since 2018-20. ACU built Moody Coliseum into one of the conference's top home-court advantages with a 14-2 record at home. It marked its most home victories since 2019-20. The Wildcats returned to the Women's National Invitation Tournament's Super 16 with an automatic berth, matching the program's deepest postseason run.
NEW YEAR, NEW CONFERENCE – ACU makes its debut in the United Athletic Conference in 2026, welcoming six new conference opponents along with Tarleton State and UT Arlington in the rebranding of the WAC. Austin Peay, Central Arkansas, Eastern Kentucky, North Alabama and West Georgia join from the Atlantic Sun, while Little Rock makes the move from the Ohio Valley. The inaugural UAC Tournament is set for the Credit Union of Texas Event Center in Allen, Texas on March 10-14, 2027. The venue in the DFW Metroplex will serve as the championship site for the next three seasons.
WORLDWIDE WILDCATS – ACU was propelled into the 2026-27 season with a summer international tour to Greece and Rwanda across two weeks in August. The Wildcats took part in numerous unforgettable experiences through international competition, service work and cultural immersion activities. ACU played two games versus semi-pro teams in Athens, Greece before hosting basketball clinics at Rwanda Children, a faith-based nonprofit founded by ACU track and field alum Serge Gasore ('09) outside of Kigali, Rwanda.
COACH GOODENOUGH'S MILESTONES – With a .641 winning percentage in 15 seasons at ACU (275-154), head coach Julie Goodenough is second in program history in winning percentage behind Suzanne Fox (117-33, .780) and second in wins behind Burl McCoy (299-174). Goodenough is 564-374 (.601 winning percentage) in her career spanning 33 seasons between Hardin-Simmons, Oklahoma State, Charleston Southern and ACU. She will coach in her 939th game on Friday.
Friday's matchup will be streamed on ESPN+ with Nicholas Pietrzycki (play-by-play) and Basketball Hall of Famer Van Chancellor (analyst) on the call. Chancellor guided the Houston Comets to the first four WNBA championships and is the former coach of the 2004 United States Olympic gold medal team with stops at LSU and Ole Miss.
The Wildcats look to remain undefeated against their former Southland Conference foes in the Huskies. ACU is 11-0 versus Houston Christian since 2014, with the teams meeting in the regular season for the first time since 2021.
ACU can improve to 8-2 in its last 10 games versus nonconference opponents, dating back to last season. A victory would mark the Wildcats' sixth win in their last 10 road matchups.
The Huskies feature a familiar face to the Wildcats and the Abilene community on the sideline. Houston Christian head coach Drew Long made his way to Space City following four seasons as the head coach at McMurry in Abilene. Previously, he served in administration at ACU, including as deputy director of athletics for three years. Long's daughter, Alice, is a freshman goalkeeper for the Wildcat soccer team.
The Wildcats showed little signs of rust in a thrashing of the Lady Jackets of Moody Coliseum. ACU connected on 54.5% of its shots while limiting Howard Payne to a .204 clip from the field. The Wildcats converted 34 Lady Jacket turnovers into 49 points behind 22 steals and capitalized with 25 second-chance points.
ACU drained 17 three-pointers, its most in three seasons, at 37%. Preseason United Athletic Conference Player of the Year Payton Hull led the way with 20 points and was just as strong on the defensive side of the ball, coming away with a career-high eight steals. It's tied for the most steals in a game in ACU's Division I history.
Riley Grohman opened her sophomore season on a high note with a career effort. She delivered career bests with 15 points, five assists and four steals, while her six field goals and trio of three-pointers were also career highs.
Emma Troxell followed with 16 points on an efficient 6-of-9 showing from the field. With three rebounds, she surpassed 500 career boards after entering the season one shy of the milestone. College of Southern Idaho transfer Samara Morrow impressed in her first action at ACU, leading the team with seven assists and scoring eight points.
ALL EYES ON ABILENE – ACU kicks off the 2026-27 campaign with plenty of preseason hardware. The Wildcats were tabbed the UAC preseason favorites with eight of nine first-place votes atop the Preseason UAC Coaches Poll. Payton Hull was named the 2026-27 United Athletic Conference Preseason Player of the Year and landed on the Preseason All-UAC Team alongside Meredith Mayes and Erin Woodson. The Wildcats' three honorees on the 11-member Preseason All-UAC Team are the most in the conference. Experience ought to be a strength of the 2026-27 Wildcats, with five members of the roster owning 50 or more career starts in Hull, Mayes, Woodson, Emma Troxell and Raimi McCrary. Hull, Troxell, Mayes and Woodson started each game they appeared in for ACU last season.
Hull, the reigning Western Athletic Conference Player of the Year, and Mayes were also named to the Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Award preseason watch list. The seniors join a team of 25 student-athletes from across the nation to land on the preseason watch list representing the best players at the mid-major level. The Wildcats are one of three programs to tout at least two selections and are the only United Athletic Conference program featured.
REWRITING THE RECORD BOOK – As she begins her senior season, Hull has made a name for herself as one of the most consistent players in the nation. The Peaster, Texas product has scored 10 points or more in 82 of 88 career games and has notched a steal in 37 of her last 38 games, dating back to 2024-25. Hull rattled off an ACU DI-record 36 points at Tarleton State on Feb. 14, 2026. With four career 30-point performances, she is tied with Breanna Wright for the most in the program's Division I era. Hull's 14 20-point performances led the WAC last season.
Hull was the fastest of the nine Wildcats in the DI era to reach the 1,000-point milestone. She ranks third in the Wildcats' DI record book with 1,523 career points and is 143 points shy of breaking Alexis Mason's program record of 1,666 points. Hull ranks second in ACU's DI history with 528 field goals, fourth with 219 three-pointers and sixth with 248 free throws. She's second with 192 steals and seventh with 230 assists.
IN THE REARVIEW MIRROR – The Wildcats launched back-to-back 20-win campaigns with a 24-11 showing in 2025-26. ACU placed second in the final season of the Western Athletic Conference with a 13-5 mark in conference action. The Wildcats picked up their most conference victories since 2019-20 and their first back-to-back 20-win seasons since 2018-20. ACU built Moody Coliseum into one of the conference's top home-court advantages with a 14-2 record at home. It marked its most home victories since 2019-20. The Wildcats returned to the Women's National Invitation Tournament's Super 16 with an automatic berth, matching the program's deepest postseason run.
NEW YEAR, NEW CONFERENCE – ACU makes its debut in the United Athletic Conference in 2026, welcoming six new conference opponents along with Tarleton State and UT Arlington in the rebranding of the WAC. Austin Peay, Central Arkansas, Eastern Kentucky, North Alabama and West Georgia join from the Atlantic Sun, while Little Rock makes the move from the Ohio Valley. The inaugural UAC Tournament is set for the Credit Union of Texas Event Center in Allen, Texas on March 10-14, 2027. The venue in the DFW Metroplex will serve as the championship site for the next three seasons.
WORLDWIDE WILDCATS – ACU was propelled into the 2026-27 season with a summer international tour to Greece and Rwanda across two weeks in August. The Wildcats took part in numerous unforgettable experiences through international competition, service work and cultural immersion activities. ACU played two games versus semi-pro teams in Athens, Greece before hosting basketball clinics at Rwanda Children, a faith-based nonprofit founded by ACU track and field alum Serge Gasore ('09) outside of Kigali, Rwanda.
COACH GOODENOUGH'S MILESTONES – With a .641 winning percentage in 15 seasons at ACU (275-154), head coach Julie Goodenough is second in program history in winning percentage behind Suzanne Fox (117-33, .780) and second in wins behind Burl McCoy (299-174). Goodenough is 564-374 (.601 winning percentage) in her career spanning 33 seasons between Hardin-Simmons, Oklahoma State, Charleston Southern and ACU. She will coach in her 939th game on Friday.
Players Mentioned
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