Wildcats Begin Postseason Play Versus Lady Mavs in WAC Tournament Semifinals

Friday, March 13

Las Vegas, Nev.

4:30 p.m. (CT)

Abilene Christian

UT Arlington

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Emma Troxell shoots a jumper in ACU's shootaround at the WAC Tournament in Las Vegas on March 13, 2026.

Photo by: Luke White

Wildcats Begin Postseason Play Versus Lady Mavs in WAC Tournament Semifinals

3/13/2026 12:25:00 PM | Women's Basketball

By: Luke White

LAS VEGAS - No. 2 Abilene Christian women's basketball looks to make history when it battles No. 6 UT Arlington in the Western Athletic Conference Tournament semifinals at Orleans Arena at 4:30 p.m. (CT) Friday. The Wildcats aim for their first WAC Tournament victory in program history, one that would send them to their first conference championship since 2018-19.

Friday's game will be streamed on ESPN+ with Chris Mycoskie (play-by-play), Brandi Poole (analyst) and Kendra Sheehan (sidelines) on the call. An audio stream is available on the ACU Sports Network, with Andy Penney and Ron Holmes painting the picture.

With a win Friday, the Wildcats would advance to the WAC championship game at 2:30 p.m. (CT) Saturday. ACU would meet No. 1 California Baptist or No. 5 Tarleton State to earn the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

ACU seeks its first victory in a conference tournament game since 2020-21 in the Southland Conference. The Wildcats advanced to the Southland championship in 2018-19, where fourth-seeded ACU eked out a 69-68 win over A&M-Corpus Christi to punch its first ticket to the NCAA Tournament. The Wildcats picked up three wins in three days, including an upset of top-seeded Lamar.

A victory Friday would mark ACU's 23rd victory of the season, its most since 2019-20. The Wildcats secured 22 wins for the second year in a row, doing so for the first time since 2018-20.

In their last game, the Wildcats pulled out a 72-57 win over the Lady Mavs to close out the regular season in Arlington on March 7. ACU secured a three-game season sweep of UT Arlington and wrapped up WAC play with a 13-5 mark, its most conference victories since 2019-20. The Wildcats' 22 conference wins over the past two seasons are their most since 2019-21.

ACU's defense stepped up in its three meetings with UT Arlington this season, limiting the Lady Mavs to 58.7 points per game and forcing 25.3 turnovers per matchup. Erin Woodson led the way with 15.0 points per game, while Payton Hull and Natalia Chavez averaged 14.0 points apiece.

Hull, the WAC Player of the Year, has rewritten the Wildcats' record book with the most points (575), field goals (197) and steals (84) in a season in the program's Division I history. Woodson's 58 steals are sixth-most in a season in ACU's Division I era. The All-WAC Second Team honoree's 442 points are tied for 10th, and her 102 free throws rank ninth. Emma Troxell's 55 steals are tied for ninth.