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ABILENE - The Abilene Christian bench scored 11 of the Wildcats' 24 points in a pivotal third quarter and junior guard Alexis Mason registered the first double-double of her illustrious career during a 77-60 win over Houston Baptist Thursday night at Moody Coliseum.
The victory pushed ACU's (17-2, 8-0 Southland) overall winning streak to 13 games, home winning streak to 11 and conference winning streak to eight. The loss dropped the Huskies to 8-10 overall and 3-5 vs. the Southland.
On a night when four starters were in early foul trouble, the Wildcats' six-woman bench chipped in to contribute 22 points, 11 rebounds and six assists with most of the scoring coming late in the third quarter.
"Our being in foul trouble made it difficult," said junior Suzzy Dimba, "but our bench led us out there scoring and blocking out while we had to sit there. Alyssa (Echols) hit some big shots, so did Mack (Martin) and Paris had a big fast-break layup off a turnover. They did their part."
"Everybody has to be ready when her number is called," said head coach Julie Goodenough, whose team tonight matched last season's win total, "and tonight so many of us were in foul trouble, so I have to praise our bench, the team and Suzzy who at different times tonight had to play the 3, 4 and 5 … and she hasn't been practicing post at all this year. But she figured it out and displayed some toughness."
After a pair of Anna Strickland free throws cut the Wildcats' lead to 49-40, ACU took off on a bench-ignited 15-2 run over the final 3:38 of the third quarter, which started with a layup from senior Paris Webb. Sophomore Alyssa Echols then buried her first of two 3-pointers coming out of the media timeout and freshman Sara Williams gave the Wildcats a 20-point lead with her trey at the 1:24 mark.
Webb assisted on a Suzzy Dimba jumper with 40 seconds left in the third to put the Wildcats ahead by 22 points at 64-42, and then the home team reached its largest lead of the night at 28 points with 6:53 to go thanks to an 8-2 run to start the fourth. Junior forward Sydney Shelstead scored nine of her 11 points in the final quarter, and seven during that last big run for the Wildcats.
Mason - the three-time defending Southland Conference Player of the Week - got off to a bit of a slow start offensively, but came down with an impressive eight defensive rebounds between the second and third quarters in finishing with 11 boards overall. She hit her first 3-pointer with 1:18 to go before halftime, which put the Wildcats ahead 37-29, and then two possessions later freshman McKenzie Martin buried a trey that gave ACU its first double-digit lead (40-29) right before the break.
In the second half, Mason hit all four of her free throws and knocked down another 3-pointer to finish the game with 18 points. She has reached double-figures in scoring against all eight Southland opponents and in all but three of this season's games.
Webb and Echols also posted career highs tonight in assists and rebounds. Webb's five assists were her most since recording four vs. Lamar in January of last year, and Echols' six rebounds (five defensive) were one better than previous high of five recorded against Schreiner on New Year's Eve.
Suzzy Dimba finished two rebounds shy of a double-double in 28 minutes of action, but scored 11 points and made all five of her free throws. Her sister, Lizzy, meanwhile, scored 12 points and pulled down seven boards before fouling out late in the fourth quarter.
HBU was again led by Strickland, who continued to post all-conference worthy numbers, scoring 16 points on 6-11 shooting with 12 rebounds, nine of which were off the defensive glass. Three other Husky starters reached double figures, but their bench could only muster seven points.
The Wildcats tonight also dominated scoring in the paint, 36-20, and used their 19 offensive rebounds to score as many points. ACU finished with 50 rebounds overall - its third-highest single-game total of the season behind 53 vs. Missouri Valley and 51 in overtime at Idaho.
"One of our key focal points going into this game was rebounding and we outrebounded them by 23 (50-27)," said Goodenough. "We had to take away their extra possessions, and for Alexis to come away with 11 shows how intentional she was on defense. Everyone was boarding so hard - the guards were even going after rebounds - and that gave us a huge advantage late in the game … it was a great effort on the glass and everyone came ready to play."
The Wildcats return to action Saturday at 2 p.m. vs. Lamar as part of a men's and women's doubleheader. The Cardinals are the only Southland Conference team tACU has yet to defeat through three meetings.
"Every game is so different, because of what were seeing from the opposition," said Goodenough, "and now we're going to see a completely different style of basketball from Lamar. But we'll work hard the next few days to prepare the team with a game plan, and the players will implement it. Playing in this league makes us demand a lot from our players and coaches but they've all done a tremendous job of responding. They're a fun group to coach."
All ACU fans are invited to a special launch party for the Wildcat Club following the women's game at approximately 4 p.m. in Gym C of the Royce and Pam Money Student Recreation Wellness Center. Abilene Christian University President Dr. Phil Schubert, Director of Athletics Lee De León and head football coach Ken Collums are all scheduled to speak, and free refreshments will be provided.
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The victory pushed ACU's (17-2, 8-0 Southland) overall winning streak to 13 games, home winning streak to 11 and conference winning streak to eight. The loss dropped the Huskies to 8-10 overall and 3-5 vs. the Southland.
On a night when four starters were in early foul trouble, the Wildcats' six-woman bench chipped in to contribute 22 points, 11 rebounds and six assists with most of the scoring coming late in the third quarter.
"Our being in foul trouble made it difficult," said junior Suzzy Dimba, "but our bench led us out there scoring and blocking out while we had to sit there. Alyssa (Echols) hit some big shots, so did Mack (Martin) and Paris had a big fast-break layup off a turnover. They did their part."
"Everybody has to be ready when her number is called," said head coach Julie Goodenough, whose team tonight matched last season's win total, "and tonight so many of us were in foul trouble, so I have to praise our bench, the team and Suzzy who at different times tonight had to play the 3, 4 and 5 … and she hasn't been practicing post at all this year. But she figured it out and displayed some toughness."
After a pair of Anna Strickland free throws cut the Wildcats' lead to 49-40, ACU took off on a bench-ignited 15-2 run over the final 3:38 of the third quarter, which started with a layup from senior Paris Webb. Sophomore Alyssa Echols then buried her first of two 3-pointers coming out of the media timeout and freshman Sara Williams gave the Wildcats a 20-point lead with her trey at the 1:24 mark.
Webb assisted on a Suzzy Dimba jumper with 40 seconds left in the third to put the Wildcats ahead by 22 points at 64-42, and then the home team reached its largest lead of the night at 28 points with 6:53 to go thanks to an 8-2 run to start the fourth. Junior forward Sydney Shelstead scored nine of her 11 points in the final quarter, and seven during that last big run for the Wildcats.
Mason - the three-time defending Southland Conference Player of the Week - got off to a bit of a slow start offensively, but came down with an impressive eight defensive rebounds between the second and third quarters in finishing with 11 boards overall. She hit her first 3-pointer with 1:18 to go before halftime, which put the Wildcats ahead 37-29, and then two possessions later freshman McKenzie Martin buried a trey that gave ACU its first double-digit lead (40-29) right before the break.
In the second half, Mason hit all four of her free throws and knocked down another 3-pointer to finish the game with 18 points. She has reached double-figures in scoring against all eight Southland opponents and in all but three of this season's games.
Webb and Echols also posted career highs tonight in assists and rebounds. Webb's five assists were her most since recording four vs. Lamar in January of last year, and Echols' six rebounds (five defensive) were one better than previous high of five recorded against Schreiner on New Year's Eve.
Suzzy Dimba finished two rebounds shy of a double-double in 28 minutes of action, but scored 11 points and made all five of her free throws. Her sister, Lizzy, meanwhile, scored 12 points and pulled down seven boards before fouling out late in the fourth quarter.
HBU was again led by Strickland, who continued to post all-conference worthy numbers, scoring 16 points on 6-11 shooting with 12 rebounds, nine of which were off the defensive glass. Three other Husky starters reached double figures, but their bench could only muster seven points.
The Wildcats tonight also dominated scoring in the paint, 36-20, and used their 19 offensive rebounds to score as many points. ACU finished with 50 rebounds overall - its third-highest single-game total of the season behind 53 vs. Missouri Valley and 51 in overtime at Idaho.
"One of our key focal points going into this game was rebounding and we outrebounded them by 23 (50-27)," said Goodenough. "We had to take away their extra possessions, and for Alexis to come away with 11 shows how intentional she was on defense. Everyone was boarding so hard - the guards were even going after rebounds - and that gave us a huge advantage late in the game … it was a great effort on the glass and everyone came ready to play."
The Wildcats return to action Saturday at 2 p.m. vs. Lamar as part of a men's and women's doubleheader. The Cardinals are the only Southland Conference team tACU has yet to defeat through three meetings.
"Every game is so different, because of what were seeing from the opposition," said Goodenough, "and now we're going to see a completely different style of basketball from Lamar. But we'll work hard the next few days to prepare the team with a game plan, and the players will implement it. Playing in this league makes us demand a lot from our players and coaches but they've all done a tremendous job of responding. They're a fun group to coach."
All ACU fans are invited to a special launch party for the Wildcat Club following the women's game at approximately 4 p.m. in Gym C of the Royce and Pam Money Student Recreation Wellness Center. Abilene Christian University President Dr. Phil Schubert, Director of Athletics Lee De León and head football coach Ken Collums are all scheduled to speak, and free refreshments will be provided.
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