Tuesday, March 24
Abilene, Texas
6 p.m. (CT)
Abilene Christian
vs
Florida International
Photo by: Luke White
Goodenough Returns to Familiar Setting as Wildcats Begin WNIT Run at Hardin-Simmons
3/24/2026 7:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
When Abilene Christian women's basketball matches up with Florida International at Hardin-Simmons' Mabee Complex at 6 p.m. Tuesday, it will mark the Wildcats' first time playing at the home of the Cowgirls since 2019. For head coach Julie Goodenough, though, it's a familiar route down Ambler Avenue.
ACU and FIU will meet in the second round of the Postseason WNIT just two miles from Moody Coliseum as the Wildcats' home facility is prepared for Sing Song on March 27-28. It's a full-circle moment for Goodenough, who spent nine seasons patrolling the sidelines at the Mabee Complex as the Cowgirls' head coach from 1993 to 2002.
Goodenough cut her teeth in coaching at HSU and quickly established herself as a Big Country legend. She amassed nearly 200 wins with the Cowgirls and left as the program's all-time winningest coach. Goodenough captured seven conference titles at HSU, advancing to the Division III Sweet 16 four times and to the Elite Eight in 2000.
"I absolutely loved being the head coach at Hardin-Simmons University," Goodenough said. " … The trajectory of my career, it just started with being in a very family-oriented, Christian athletic department at Hardin-Simmons and really molded me to be ready for the next three stops. I think, had I not started my career there, I don't know what would have happened. But I think just because of all the support I had there from the other head coaches and the administration, it really helped me to have pretty quick success there."
As a 2007 inductee into the Cowgirls' athletic Hall of Fame, Goodenough credited the relationships she fostered for her achievements when arriving in Abilene to begin her career.
"They hired me when I was 23 years old," Goodenough said. "I didn't have any idea how to be a leader, much less a head coach, but the other head coaches there just really provided a lot of support and resources for me. Dr. Lanny Hall was our president, he was a phenomenal leader. I could knock on his door and walk in, sit in front of his desk and pepper him with questions about, 'How am I doing?' and 'How can you help me?'
"We had some phenomenal athletic directors as well with Jimmie Keeling and with John Neese, who's currently still there. Probably the most influential leader I had at Hardin-Simmons was our head football coach, who in my mind is still one of the greatest college football coaches ever, [Keeling]. We spent so much time together, even though he was coaching football and I was coaching women's basketball. I just learned a lot from him about how to run a program and how to love your players and how to win, as well."
After reaching the Air Force Reserve Western Athletic Conference Tournament championship, Goodenough and the Wildcats are embracing the chance to keep their season rolling. ACU is making its second consecutive appearance in the WNIT and, with a victory Tuesday, will advance to the Super 16 round for the second year in a row. It would match the Wildcats' deepest postseason run in the Division I era.
"I'm so excited and so grateful to have an opportunity to continue playing," Goodenough said. "We have been gifted a brand new season, playing in March Madness in the WNIT. You don't want your season to end, and this has been one of those really special teams. I've just so much enjoyed coaching this group, and we'll be really sad when it's over, and that's why we're just so thankful that we get at least one more game. We're really excited about it and just ready to see what we can do in the postseason."
With seven returners from last season's roster, ACU will look to draw on its experience from its 2025 postseason run that featured wins over Northwestern State and Central Arkansas. The Wildcats are in line for a potential Super 16 matchup with Illinois State, who knocked them out of last year's tournament.
"I've been coaching for a long time, and when you have opportunities to play in March, you've got to enjoy all the moments, enjoy all of it," Goodenough said. "Everybody knows it's 'survive and advance' right now. I do think our experience playing in postseason play should help us. We have had some success in the WNIT. Last year's run to the Super 16 gives us confidence about being in an event like this. We've got a lot of returners that enjoyed that WNIT experience last year, so I think we can draw from the success that we've had to help push us forward as we go into this event."
In the rapidly evolving landscape of college basketball that forces coaches to plan for the long-term futures of their teams, postseason opportunities can often be overlooked or cast aside. Goodenough said tournaments like the WNIT still hold value for establishing expectations for programs and for the development of student-athletes.
"I think it's really important that that's the standard for your program, that they know that you're playing beyond the conference tournament," Goodenough said. "We have three postseason tournaments now for the women, national tournaments, and so you want to be a part of that. There's 148 women's Division I teams that get invited to play in these three tournaments, and we want to be one of those every year. … I would be in that same mindset that if we get invited to postseason play, we're going to take advantage of that."
ACU and FIU will meet in the second round of the Postseason WNIT just two miles from Moody Coliseum as the Wildcats' home facility is prepared for Sing Song on March 27-28. It's a full-circle moment for Goodenough, who spent nine seasons patrolling the sidelines at the Mabee Complex as the Cowgirls' head coach from 1993 to 2002.
Goodenough cut her teeth in coaching at HSU and quickly established herself as a Big Country legend. She amassed nearly 200 wins with the Cowgirls and left as the program's all-time winningest coach. Goodenough captured seven conference titles at HSU, advancing to the Division III Sweet 16 four times and to the Elite Eight in 2000.
"I absolutely loved being the head coach at Hardin-Simmons University," Goodenough said. " … The trajectory of my career, it just started with being in a very family-oriented, Christian athletic department at Hardin-Simmons and really molded me to be ready for the next three stops. I think, had I not started my career there, I don't know what would have happened. But I think just because of all the support I had there from the other head coaches and the administration, it really helped me to have pretty quick success there."
As a 2007 inductee into the Cowgirls' athletic Hall of Fame, Goodenough credited the relationships she fostered for her achievements when arriving in Abilene to begin her career.
"They hired me when I was 23 years old," Goodenough said. "I didn't have any idea how to be a leader, much less a head coach, but the other head coaches there just really provided a lot of support and resources for me. Dr. Lanny Hall was our president, he was a phenomenal leader. I could knock on his door and walk in, sit in front of his desk and pepper him with questions about, 'How am I doing?' and 'How can you help me?'
"We had some phenomenal athletic directors as well with Jimmie Keeling and with John Neese, who's currently still there. Probably the most influential leader I had at Hardin-Simmons was our head football coach, who in my mind is still one of the greatest college football coaches ever, [Keeling]. We spent so much time together, even though he was coaching football and I was coaching women's basketball. I just learned a lot from him about how to run a program and how to love your players and how to win, as well."
After reaching the Air Force Reserve Western Athletic Conference Tournament championship, Goodenough and the Wildcats are embracing the chance to keep their season rolling. ACU is making its second consecutive appearance in the WNIT and, with a victory Tuesday, will advance to the Super 16 round for the second year in a row. It would match the Wildcats' deepest postseason run in the Division I era.
"I'm so excited and so grateful to have an opportunity to continue playing," Goodenough said. "We have been gifted a brand new season, playing in March Madness in the WNIT. You don't want your season to end, and this has been one of those really special teams. I've just so much enjoyed coaching this group, and we'll be really sad when it's over, and that's why we're just so thankful that we get at least one more game. We're really excited about it and just ready to see what we can do in the postseason."
With seven returners from last season's roster, ACU will look to draw on its experience from its 2025 postseason run that featured wins over Northwestern State and Central Arkansas. The Wildcats are in line for a potential Super 16 matchup with Illinois State, who knocked them out of last year's tournament.
"I've been coaching for a long time, and when you have opportunities to play in March, you've got to enjoy all the moments, enjoy all of it," Goodenough said. "Everybody knows it's 'survive and advance' right now. I do think our experience playing in postseason play should help us. We have had some success in the WNIT. Last year's run to the Super 16 gives us confidence about being in an event like this. We've got a lot of returners that enjoyed that WNIT experience last year, so I think we can draw from the success that we've had to help push us forward as we go into this event."
In the rapidly evolving landscape of college basketball that forces coaches to plan for the long-term futures of their teams, postseason opportunities can often be overlooked or cast aside. Goodenough said tournaments like the WNIT still hold value for establishing expectations for programs and for the development of student-athletes.
"I think it's really important that that's the standard for your program, that they know that you're playing beyond the conference tournament," Goodenough said. "We have three postseason tournaments now for the women, national tournaments, and so you want to be a part of that. There's 148 women's Division I teams that get invited to play in these three tournaments, and we want to be one of those every year. … I would be in that same mindset that if we get invited to postseason play, we're going to take advantage of that."
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