Thursday, February 26
Abilene, Texas
6 p.m. (CT)
Abilene Christian
vs
Utah Tech
Photo by: Aly Bayliss
Troxell Embraces Role as “Glue Girl” as Wildcats Enter Final Homestand of Season
2/25/2026 5:32:00 PM | Women's Basketball
ABILENE - Emma Troxell's mentality on the court can be summed up with a single play from Abilene Christian women's basketball's matchup with California Baptist on Feb. 7.
In the waning seconds of the third quarter, Troxell had her driving layup blocked by the Lancers' 6-foot-3 forward beneath the rim. She immediately turned to defense, deflecting CBU's pass attempt and recovering it with 1.2 seconds to play. While falling backward, Troxell put up a turnaround midrange jumper just before the buzzer.
Swish.
The Wildcats' jubilated bench flooded the court to the roar of over 1,100 fans as head coach Julie Goodenough nearly fell to her knees in exhilaration. ACU moved in front, 58-49, as Troxell moved one step closer to what would be a career-high 22 points.
It was the latest example of Troxell's motor that never turns off. The junior forward has found her role as the team's "glue girl" that can produce for ACU in a variety of ways on any given night — be it through scoring, or just doing the little things.
"I feel like my style of play is just going out there and doing my best everyday," Troxell said. "Giving my full effort, if one thing's not working, just trying to contribute in a different way."
ACU kicks off its final homestand of the season this week as it hosts Utah Tech and Utah Valley at Moody Coliseum. The Wildcats meet the Trailblazers at 6 p.m. Thursday before taking on the Wolverines at 1 p.m. Saturday.
Thursday is Greek Night and a Purple Game, presented by First Financial Bank. On Saturday, ACU will celebrate She Can Be and Mentor Day, presented by Dr. Leslie Hutchins, to celebrate and empower young girls to believe they can be anything — on the court, in the classroom and in life.
Troxell averages 9.2 points while collecting six rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.8 steals in 29.8 minutes per game. It's a gritty style of play that feels tailor-made for ACU's "Team First Win" mantra that emphasizes the unselfishness, toughness and grit conducive to winning.
"She's just tough as nails," Goodenough said. "No one sacrifices their body like Emma Troxell, whether it's diving on the floor after a loose ball, fighting hard for a rebound or taking charges. She just does all those hustle plays.
"We chart 50-50 balls, like a deflection from a rebound or from a pass and who collects the most of those. We want our team to collect more than the other team, and Emma is involved in so many of those, whether she's the one causing the deflection or she's the one diving on the loose ball, but you can count on her to make hustle plays, for sure."
Troxell has scored in the double figures in 11 games this season, but her on-court impact isn't limited to how much she can put on the scoreboard. The Bushland, Texas native takes pride in doing the dirty work and in the versatility she brings to the Wildcats' lineup.
"I feel like that's half of my play, actually, just going out there and working hard," Troxell said.
The detail-oriented Troxell has become one of the Western Athletic Conference's most reliable players at the charity stripe, where she touts an .833 free throw percentage. Goodenough credited her high-level decision-making and basketball IQ for putting the ball in her hands often, where she's turned it over just 31 times.
For evidence of Troxell's toughness and unselfishness, one doesn't need to look further than ACU's "Charge Wall" that tracks how many offensive fouls a Wildcat has drawn. Troxell has developed her own real estate at the top of the list, absorbing 19 charges this season. She's turned it into a tangible skill that gives a shot in the arm to the Wildcats' bench.
"If there's going to be a loose ball and someone dives on it and gets possession of it, it's going to be Emma," Goodenough said. "She by far leads our team in taking charges. She just makes a lot of plays that get the momentum swung in our direction."
As comfortable as Troxell looks in her position, it's not to say it hasn't been a new role for her. As a sophomore last season, she averaged 11.1 points per game while knocking down 41% of her shots and led the Wildcats with 55 three-pointers at a .335 clip. Troxell was a driving force behind ACU's WNIT Super 16 berth and its winningest campaign since 2019-20.
"I feel like every team needs a role player, and I take my role very seriously," Troxell said. "I love helping my teammates, I love when they help me. I think the chemistry on the team is just great."
Now part of the Wildcats' quartet of juniors pacing the squad in scoring, rebounding, steals and minutes played, Troxell has embraced her responsibility as a veteran in the locker room. That duty was heightened when Meredith Mayes, averaging 15.2 points and 7.9 rebounds per game, suffered an injury in the third game of conference play. Fellow forward Emma Daugherty was later injured versus CBU on Feb. 7.
"Ever since Mere went down, I knew I was next up, so I kind of had to flip my mindset into just being able to contribute, not how she contributes, but by playing my game in that position," Troxell said. " … Her going down was a big loss for us, leadership-wise and skill-wise on the court. Not only me, but I think the other upperclassmen knew we kind of had to step up our vocal leadership and even our play style."
ACU's next victory will give it 11 conference wins, its most since 2019-20, and mark its second year in a row with 20 or more wins, doing so for the first time since 2018-20. Entering the final four games of the regular season in pursuit of a WAC title, Troxell and the Wildcats aren't trying to make the moment too big.
"I feel like it's the same as the beginning," Troxell said. "We just want to go in, play our best, obviously win, stick to the gameplan and just do what we know how to do."
In the waning seconds of the third quarter, Troxell had her driving layup blocked by the Lancers' 6-foot-3 forward beneath the rim. She immediately turned to defense, deflecting CBU's pass attempt and recovering it with 1.2 seconds to play. While falling backward, Troxell put up a turnaround midrange jumper just before the buzzer.
Swish.
The Wildcats' jubilated bench flooded the court to the roar of over 1,100 fans as head coach Julie Goodenough nearly fell to her knees in exhilaration. ACU moved in front, 58-49, as Troxell moved one step closer to what would be a career-high 22 points.
EMMA👏TROXELL👏#CWCW | #GoWildcats pic.twitter.com/LHyNh309Rq
— ACU Women's Basketball (@ACUWBB) February 7, 2026
It was the latest example of Troxell's motor that never turns off. The junior forward has found her role as the team's "glue girl" that can produce for ACU in a variety of ways on any given night — be it through scoring, or just doing the little things.
"I feel like my style of play is just going out there and doing my best everyday," Troxell said. "Giving my full effort, if one thing's not working, just trying to contribute in a different way."
ACU kicks off its final homestand of the season this week as it hosts Utah Tech and Utah Valley at Moody Coliseum. The Wildcats meet the Trailblazers at 6 p.m. Thursday before taking on the Wolverines at 1 p.m. Saturday.
Thursday is Greek Night and a Purple Game, presented by First Financial Bank. On Saturday, ACU will celebrate She Can Be and Mentor Day, presented by Dr. Leslie Hutchins, to celebrate and empower young girls to believe they can be anything — on the court, in the classroom and in life.
Troxell averages 9.2 points while collecting six rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.8 steals in 29.8 minutes per game. It's a gritty style of play that feels tailor-made for ACU's "Team First Win" mantra that emphasizes the unselfishness, toughness and grit conducive to winning.
"She's just tough as nails," Goodenough said. "No one sacrifices their body like Emma Troxell, whether it's diving on the floor after a loose ball, fighting hard for a rebound or taking charges. She just does all those hustle plays.
"We chart 50-50 balls, like a deflection from a rebound or from a pass and who collects the most of those. We want our team to collect more than the other team, and Emma is involved in so many of those, whether she's the one causing the deflection or she's the one diving on the loose ball, but you can count on her to make hustle plays, for sure."
Troxell has scored in the double figures in 11 games this season, but her on-court impact isn't limited to how much she can put on the scoreboard. The Bushland, Texas native takes pride in doing the dirty work and in the versatility she brings to the Wildcats' lineup.
"I feel like that's half of my play, actually, just going out there and working hard," Troxell said.
The detail-oriented Troxell has become one of the Western Athletic Conference's most reliable players at the charity stripe, where she touts an .833 free throw percentage. Goodenough credited her high-level decision-making and basketball IQ for putting the ball in her hands often, where she's turned it over just 31 times.
For evidence of Troxell's toughness and unselfishness, one doesn't need to look further than ACU's "Charge Wall" that tracks how many offensive fouls a Wildcat has drawn. Troxell has developed her own real estate at the top of the list, absorbing 19 charges this season. She's turned it into a tangible skill that gives a shot in the arm to the Wildcats' bench.
"If there's going to be a loose ball and someone dives on it and gets possession of it, it's going to be Emma," Goodenough said. "She by far leads our team in taking charges. She just makes a lot of plays that get the momentum swung in our direction."
As comfortable as Troxell looks in her position, it's not to say it hasn't been a new role for her. As a sophomore last season, she averaged 11.1 points per game while knocking down 41% of her shots and led the Wildcats with 55 three-pointers at a .335 clip. Troxell was a driving force behind ACU's WNIT Super 16 berth and its winningest campaign since 2019-20.
"I feel like every team needs a role player, and I take my role very seriously," Troxell said. "I love helping my teammates, I love when they help me. I think the chemistry on the team is just great."
Now part of the Wildcats' quartet of juniors pacing the squad in scoring, rebounding, steals and minutes played, Troxell has embraced her responsibility as a veteran in the locker room. That duty was heightened when Meredith Mayes, averaging 15.2 points and 7.9 rebounds per game, suffered an injury in the third game of conference play. Fellow forward Emma Daugherty was later injured versus CBU on Feb. 7.
"Ever since Mere went down, I knew I was next up, so I kind of had to flip my mindset into just being able to contribute, not how she contributes, but by playing my game in that position," Troxell said. " … Her going down was a big loss for us, leadership-wise and skill-wise on the court. Not only me, but I think the other upperclassmen knew we kind of had to step up our vocal leadership and even our play style."
ACU's next victory will give it 11 conference wins, its most since 2019-20, and mark its second year in a row with 20 or more wins, doing so for the first time since 2018-20. Entering the final four games of the regular season in pursuit of a WAC title, Troxell and the Wildcats aren't trying to make the moment too big.
"I feel like it's the same as the beginning," Troxell said. "We just want to go in, play our best, obviously win, stick to the gameplan and just do what we know how to do."
Players Mentioned
F
/ Women's Basketball
C
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's BasketballACU Baseball: Rick McCarty Press Conference | Feb. 23, 2026
Tuesday, February 24
ACU Men's Basketball: Brette Tanner Press Conference | Feb. 23, 2026
Monday, February 23
ACU Softball: Jo Koons Press Conference | Feb. 23, 2026
Monday, February 23
ACU Men's Basketball: vs. Southern Utah postgame | Feb. 21, 2026
Sunday, February 22
