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Contributed by Lance Fleming Associate Director of Athletic Communications
HAMMOND, La. - Lizzy Dimba poured in a career-high 23 points Saturday afternoon and she and her sister, Suzzy Dimba, each recorded double-doubles as the ACU Wildcats rebounded from their first loss in more than two months with an 88-72 win over Southeastern Louisiana at the University Center.
The 16-point win over the Lady Lions came less than 48 hours after the Wildcats dropped a 63-54 decision at Lamar that snapped their 14-game winning streak and also handed them their first loss of the season in the Southland Conference. In that game, neither Lizzy Dimba nor Whitney Swinford scored as the Wildcats shot just 27 percent from the floor.
But both of those players got on the board early as the Wildcats built as much as a 20-point first-half lead, withstood a second-half charge by the Lady Lions and pulled away in the final seven minutes to pick up the victory. The win pushes ACU to 19-3 overall and 10-1 in the conference, meaning ACU will enter the week no worse than tied with Central Arkansas for first place in the Southland.
After committing a season-worst 25 turnovers in the loss to Lamar, ACU head coach Julie Goodenough knew limiting the giveaways and knocking down shots would play a huge role in keeping the Wildcats from dropping a second straight road game. Saturday against Southeastern the Wildcats turned it over just 14 times and knocked down 26 of 66 shots (39 percent), including 8 of 22 from 3-point range (36 percent).
"I was proud of the way we bounced back (Saturday) and came out really aggressively on both ends of the floor," said Goodenough, who improved to 75-34 in four seasons as the Wildcats' head coach, including 54-27 in ACU's three seasons at the NCAA Division I level. "We took care of the basketball and executed our offense pretty well. And I was pleased with our rebounding effort (43-41 in ACU's favor). We've had back-to-back games now where Lizzy and Suzzy have been relentless in going after rebounds."
ACU built a comfortable first-half lead, but saw Southeastern trim that advantage to just 45-36 at halftime and then 67-60 at the end of three quarters. The Lady Lions, in fact, had the lead down to 68-64 with 7:57 to play after a layup by Nanna Pool. Not long after that, however, the game turned in ACU's favor for good after Sydney Shelstead hit ACU's first 3-pointer of the second half, burying a trifecta from the top of the circle to give the Wildcats a 71-64 lead with 7:37 to play.
Immediately after that, Taylin Underwood turned the ball over to Suzzy Dimba, who fed Alexis Mason for a layup and a 73-64 ACU lead with 7:25 to play. ACU's lead would not dip below seven points the rest of the way. ACU, which went to the free throw line a season-high 41 times, hit 8 of 10 from the charity stripe inside the final three minutes to pull away from Southeastern.
Lizzy Dimba posted those 23 points along with a career-high 17 rebounds to go with career-bests in assists (six), steals (five), free throws made (11) and free throws attempted (13). She posted her fifth double-double of the season and 10 th of her career.
"Lizzy gave us a great effort (Saturday)," Goodenough said. "She was in a zone early on the offensive end, so we ran a lot of sets to get the ball to her. She was fantastic (Saturday). She showed a lot of resiliency to come back from that game against Lamar and play the way she did (Saturday)."
Suzzy Dimba had 12 points and 11 rebounds to go along with two assists, three blocks and one steal as she recorded her fifth double-double of the season and 26 th of her career. Swinford had 17 points on 5 of 10 shooting, including 4 of 6 from 3-point range. She now has 219 career 3-pointers, leaving her just 21 away from passing Ashley King for ACU's all-time record.
Alexis Mason - who had a career-high 30 points against Lamar - followed it with 19 points and six rebounds Saturday against the Lady Lions. Sydney Shelstead finished with 12 points and three points for the Wildcats.
ACU will return to action Wednesday when it hosts Houston Baptist at 7 p.m. at Moody Coliseum.
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HAMMOND, La. - Lizzy Dimba poured in a career-high 23 points Saturday afternoon and she and her sister, Suzzy Dimba, each recorded double-doubles as the ACU Wildcats rebounded from their first loss in more than two months with an 88-72 win over Southeastern Louisiana at the University Center.
The 16-point win over the Lady Lions came less than 48 hours after the Wildcats dropped a 63-54 decision at Lamar that snapped their 14-game winning streak and also handed them their first loss of the season in the Southland Conference. In that game, neither Lizzy Dimba nor Whitney Swinford scored as the Wildcats shot just 27 percent from the floor.
But both of those players got on the board early as the Wildcats built as much as a 20-point first-half lead, withstood a second-half charge by the Lady Lions and pulled away in the final seven minutes to pick up the victory. The win pushes ACU to 19-3 overall and 10-1 in the conference, meaning ACU will enter the week no worse than tied with Central Arkansas for first place in the Southland.
After committing a season-worst 25 turnovers in the loss to Lamar, ACU head coach Julie Goodenough knew limiting the giveaways and knocking down shots would play a huge role in keeping the Wildcats from dropping a second straight road game. Saturday against Southeastern the Wildcats turned it over just 14 times and knocked down 26 of 66 shots (39 percent), including 8 of 22 from 3-point range (36 percent).
"I was proud of the way we bounced back (Saturday) and came out really aggressively on both ends of the floor," said Goodenough, who improved to 75-34 in four seasons as the Wildcats' head coach, including 54-27 in ACU's three seasons at the NCAA Division I level. "We took care of the basketball and executed our offense pretty well. And I was pleased with our rebounding effort (43-41 in ACU's favor). We've had back-to-back games now where Lizzy and Suzzy have been relentless in going after rebounds."
ACU built a comfortable first-half lead, but saw Southeastern trim that advantage to just 45-36 at halftime and then 67-60 at the end of three quarters. The Lady Lions, in fact, had the lead down to 68-64 with 7:57 to play after a layup by Nanna Pool. Not long after that, however, the game turned in ACU's favor for good after Sydney Shelstead hit ACU's first 3-pointer of the second half, burying a trifecta from the top of the circle to give the Wildcats a 71-64 lead with 7:37 to play.
Immediately after that, Taylin Underwood turned the ball over to Suzzy Dimba, who fed Alexis Mason for a layup and a 73-64 ACU lead with 7:25 to play. ACU's lead would not dip below seven points the rest of the way. ACU, which went to the free throw line a season-high 41 times, hit 8 of 10 from the charity stripe inside the final three minutes to pull away from Southeastern.
Lizzy Dimba posted those 23 points along with a career-high 17 rebounds to go with career-bests in assists (six), steals (five), free throws made (11) and free throws attempted (13). She posted her fifth double-double of the season and 10 th of her career.
"Lizzy gave us a great effort (Saturday)," Goodenough said. "She was in a zone early on the offensive end, so we ran a lot of sets to get the ball to her. She was fantastic (Saturday). She showed a lot of resiliency to come back from that game against Lamar and play the way she did (Saturday)."
Suzzy Dimba had 12 points and 11 rebounds to go along with two assists, three blocks and one steal as she recorded her fifth double-double of the season and 26 th of her career. Swinford had 17 points on 5 of 10 shooting, including 4 of 6 from 3-point range. She now has 219 career 3-pointers, leaving her just 21 away from passing Ashley King for ACU's all-time record.
Alexis Mason - who had a career-high 30 points against Lamar - followed it with 19 points and six rebounds Saturday against the Lady Lions. Sydney Shelstead finished with 12 points and three points for the Wildcats.
ACU will return to action Wednesday when it hosts Houston Baptist at 7 p.m. at Moody Coliseum.
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