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ABILENE - A 14-3 run to begin the third quarter in which the Abilene Christian women's basketball team forced five turnovers in addition to hitting consecutive 3-pointers helped the Wildcats defeat Sam Houston State, 87-76, Thursday night at Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum.
The victory was the 11th-straight for the Wildcats, who improve to 15-2 overall and remain in first place in the Southland Conference at 6-0. They've also won eight straight away from Moody Coliseum, while the Bearkats fell to 7-10 and 3-4 vs. the league despite getting 21 points from Shernise Robertson and an all-star performance from Angela Beadle, who finished with 14 points, 17 rebounds and a share of school record for blocks with eight.
The Wildcats, however, countered with four of their starters reaching double figures in points led by Suzzy Dimba's season high of 22. Sydney Shelstead poured in 21 points and guards Alexis Mason and Whitney West Swinford contributed 18 and 14 points, respectively.
Dimba sank 8-of-13 shots and was a near-perfect 4-of-5 from 3-point range to go along with seven rebounds, three assists, two blocks and six assists.
"Sam played a zone defense and we were ready for it," said head coach Julie Goodenough, who has led the Wildcats to four-straight winning seasons. "I want all our players to be shot ready on the catch and Suzzy went off out on the perimeter. Maybe the Bearkats wanted to play off her a little bit … and she made them pay."
Mason and Dimba hit a pair of treys right out of the gate to start the second half, giving ACU at 43-34 lead. An offensive rebound by Lizzy Dimba then led to a Shelstead jumper, and a turnover on the next Bearkats' possession led to two of ACU's 18 fast-break points as Swinford dropped in an easy layup to put the Wildcats ahead by 13 points at 47-34.
ACU continued to shoot the ball well for most of the third quarter and grabbed its biggest lead of the night at 20 points following a 3-pointer from freshman McKenzie Martin with 4:17 remaining. The Wildcats outscored the Bearkats 27-19 in the third and for the game shot .429 (429) with over a third of their 30 field goals (11) coming from beyond the arc.
Mason connected on 4-of-10 long-range attempts. Shelstead buried only her fourth of the season early in the fourth quarter as part of a 7-2 run and Swinford hit a buzzer-beating trey at the end of the third right after Beadle cut the Wildcats' lead to 12 points at 62-50.
Swinford's bucket was pivotal as the Bearkats' continued to push offensively in the fourth quarter, scoring 26 points, while ACU, which started 11-for-11 from the free-throw line, finished the game 5-of-13.
But right after the final media timeout taken with 4:26 to go, Swinford made another fast-break layup and Lizzy Dimba hit the Wildcats' final field goal at the two-minute mark to give ACU a fairly secure lead at 84-69.
"There are a lot of scoring threats on our team and four certainly hit their offensive groove tonight," said Goodenough. "We picked each other up on offense, and defensively I was pleased with our effort against their two stars (Robertson and Beadle) who are among the best in the league. We got the stops and scored in transition. Our guards made great passes and we capitalized on our fast break opportunities.
"I thought our defense made it difficult for them to score, but they made a lot of contested shots over our hands - they're tough to defend," she added. "Next time though we have to be better at blocking out and rebounding because they had way too many second-chance points."
Sam Houston outrebounded the Wildcats by only one, 43-42, with 16 boards coming off the offensive glass, and the Bearkats had 20 second-chance points to 14 for the Wildcats.
The Bearkats and Wildcats meet again February 10 at Moody Coliseum at 7 p.m. This game will serve as the 500th women's basketball game at Moody Coliseum, where the Wildcats all-time record is 376-121 (.757)
The Wildcats conclude their three-game road trip Saturday with a 2 p.m. game at Incarnate Word. ACU has won its last four games vs. the Cardinals and lead the all-time series 16-8.
Both ends of the women and men's doubleheader at UIW's McDermott Convocation Center will be carried on Abilene's 98.1 FM - The Ticket.
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The victory was the 11th-straight for the Wildcats, who improve to 15-2 overall and remain in first place in the Southland Conference at 6-0. They've also won eight straight away from Moody Coliseum, while the Bearkats fell to 7-10 and 3-4 vs. the league despite getting 21 points from Shernise Robertson and an all-star performance from Angela Beadle, who finished with 14 points, 17 rebounds and a share of school record for blocks with eight.
The Wildcats, however, countered with four of their starters reaching double figures in points led by Suzzy Dimba's season high of 22. Sydney Shelstead poured in 21 points and guards Alexis Mason and Whitney West Swinford contributed 18 and 14 points, respectively.
Dimba sank 8-of-13 shots and was a near-perfect 4-of-5 from 3-point range to go along with seven rebounds, three assists, two blocks and six assists.
"Sam played a zone defense and we were ready for it," said head coach Julie Goodenough, who has led the Wildcats to four-straight winning seasons. "I want all our players to be shot ready on the catch and Suzzy went off out on the perimeter. Maybe the Bearkats wanted to play off her a little bit … and she made them pay."
Mason and Dimba hit a pair of treys right out of the gate to start the second half, giving ACU at 43-34 lead. An offensive rebound by Lizzy Dimba then led to a Shelstead jumper, and a turnover on the next Bearkats' possession led to two of ACU's 18 fast-break points as Swinford dropped in an easy layup to put the Wildcats ahead by 13 points at 47-34.
ACU continued to shoot the ball well for most of the third quarter and grabbed its biggest lead of the night at 20 points following a 3-pointer from freshman McKenzie Martin with 4:17 remaining. The Wildcats outscored the Bearkats 27-19 in the third and for the game shot .429 (429) with over a third of their 30 field goals (11) coming from beyond the arc.
Mason connected on 4-of-10 long-range attempts. Shelstead buried only her fourth of the season early in the fourth quarter as part of a 7-2 run and Swinford hit a buzzer-beating trey at the end of the third right after Beadle cut the Wildcats' lead to 12 points at 62-50.
Swinford's bucket was pivotal as the Bearkats' continued to push offensively in the fourth quarter, scoring 26 points, while ACU, which started 11-for-11 from the free-throw line, finished the game 5-of-13.
But right after the final media timeout taken with 4:26 to go, Swinford made another fast-break layup and Lizzy Dimba hit the Wildcats' final field goal at the two-minute mark to give ACU a fairly secure lead at 84-69.
"There are a lot of scoring threats on our team and four certainly hit their offensive groove tonight," said Goodenough. "We picked each other up on offense, and defensively I was pleased with our effort against their two stars (Robertson and Beadle) who are among the best in the league. We got the stops and scored in transition. Our guards made great passes and we capitalized on our fast break opportunities.
"I thought our defense made it difficult for them to score, but they made a lot of contested shots over our hands - they're tough to defend," she added. "Next time though we have to be better at blocking out and rebounding because they had way too many second-chance points."
Sam Houston outrebounded the Wildcats by only one, 43-42, with 16 boards coming off the offensive glass, and the Bearkats had 20 second-chance points to 14 for the Wildcats.
The Bearkats and Wildcats meet again February 10 at Moody Coliseum at 7 p.m. This game will serve as the 500th women's basketball game at Moody Coliseum, where the Wildcats all-time record is 376-121 (.757)
The Wildcats conclude their three-game road trip Saturday with a 2 p.m. game at Incarnate Word. ACU has won its last four games vs. the Cardinals and lead the all-time series 16-8.
Both ends of the women and men's doubleheader at UIW's McDermott Convocation Center will be carried on Abilene's 98.1 FM - The Ticket.
More...