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Contributed by Lance Fleming, ACU Associate Director of Athletics for Media Relations
HOUSTON - If Alexis Mason has learned one thing in her ACU career it's that her head coach, Julie Goodenough, is never going to tell her to stop shooting. Not even when she misses 18 straight shots.
That's because Goodenough knows that even after missing 18 straight shots, Mason can do exactly what she did Saturday afternoon at Sharp Gymnasium, which is shoot the Wildcats to a second straight Southland Conference women's basketball regular-season championship.
After missing her first six shots of the game, Mason put on an absolute clinic, hitting 10 of her final 17 shots and finishing with 31 points as the Wildcats blew open a close game en route to an 89-60 win over the Huskies that clinched a conference co-championship with Central Arkansas.
"As I've gotten older, I've learned to just keep shooting," Mason said. "Coach Goodenough has given me the freedom to keep taking shots, and I'm never going to turn down an open shot."
Mason had missed her final shot last Saturday in ACU's win over Sam Houston State, all 11 of her shots from the field Wednesday night against Incarnate Word, and her first six Saturday against HBU before she hit a 3-pointer with 8:43 left in the second quarter. From that point forward, Mason was virtually unstoppable, including in a key stretch in the third quarter when she hit 3-pointers on three straight ACU possessions to turn a tenuous 50-43 lead into a 59-45 runaway.
She hit the first of her seven second-half 3-pointers with 3:54 left in the third quarter to make it 53-43. She followed that with another at the 3:22 mark and then buried a third straight with 2:59 to play to give her team a 59-45 lead, forcing HBU to call timeout.
Out of the timeout, Suzzy Dimba buried a corner 3-pointer to push the lead to 62-47, and ACU carried a 65-50 lead to the fourth quarter. Mason continued her hot streak by burying her first two 3-point attempts of the fourth quarter, at the 7:12 mark and again at the 6:47 mark, the latter of which pushed the Wildcats' lead to an insurmountable 76-52.
In the process of dominating the second half, Mason continued to re-write the ACU record book. She finished 9 for 19 from 3-point range, setting single-game records for most made 3-pointers and most 3-pointers attempted in a game. And her ninth and final 3-pointer of the game was the 300th of her remarkable career.
She also finished with 31 points, one shy of the career high she established earlier this season in a win over Lamar, and her 23 attempts set a career high.
"Shooters shoot, and when Alexis is open she knows she needs to shoot the ball," Goodenough said. "She knows when she's shot-ready because she's shot thousands and thousands of 3-pointers on her own, in practice and in games."
As usual, it wasn't just Mason who contributed to the win, despite a dominating 31-point effort that also included five rebounds, three assists and four steals. Twins Suzzy Dimba and Lizzy Dimba each had 13 points and six rebounds with Suzzy Dimba adding six assists, three blocks and one steal to her final line. Sydney Shelstead had 14 points and eight rebounds, also playing in her final regular-season game.
When the final buzzer sounded, the Wildcats gathered on the Sharp Gymnasium floor and accepted the conference championship trophy from Ed Henderson of the Southland office in a much more subdued celebration than what was witnessed last March in Moody Coliseum.
But the subdued celebration doesn't take away from the accomplishments of a team that is now 21-8 on the season and 16-2 in conference play. And the back-to-back titles cap a two-year run in the Southland that has seen the Wildcats post a combined 33-3 record.
"It's so hard to win one conference title, much less win back-to-back titles," Goodenough said. "I believe winning the regular-season title is tougher than winning the conference tournament title because you have to put your best foot forward 18 times every season and see how it works out.
"It certainly doesn't take anything away from the title that we have to share the trophy with Central Arkansas," Goodenough said. "Central Arkansas has a great team and is led by a great coach (Sandra Rushing). We could probably play 10 times and we'd each win five times. We're very honored to win this league championship a second straight season."
Now the Wildcats await their post-season fate, which will include either a second straight berth in the Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) or a possible bid to the Women's Basketball Invitational (WBI). ACU will host a Selection Show party on Monday, March 13, from 9:30-11 p.m. in Gym D of the Royce and Pam Money Student Recreation & Wellness Center.
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HOUSTON - If Alexis Mason has learned one thing in her ACU career it's that her head coach, Julie Goodenough, is never going to tell her to stop shooting. Not even when she misses 18 straight shots.
That's because Goodenough knows that even after missing 18 straight shots, Mason can do exactly what she did Saturday afternoon at Sharp Gymnasium, which is shoot the Wildcats to a second straight Southland Conference women's basketball regular-season championship.
After missing her first six shots of the game, Mason put on an absolute clinic, hitting 10 of her final 17 shots and finishing with 31 points as the Wildcats blew open a close game en route to an 89-60 win over the Huskies that clinched a conference co-championship with Central Arkansas.
"As I've gotten older, I've learned to just keep shooting," Mason said. "Coach Goodenough has given me the freedom to keep taking shots, and I'm never going to turn down an open shot."
Mason had missed her final shot last Saturday in ACU's win over Sam Houston State, all 11 of her shots from the field Wednesday night against Incarnate Word, and her first six Saturday against HBU before she hit a 3-pointer with 8:43 left in the second quarter. From that point forward, Mason was virtually unstoppable, including in a key stretch in the third quarter when she hit 3-pointers on three straight ACU possessions to turn a tenuous 50-43 lead into a 59-45 runaway.
She hit the first of her seven second-half 3-pointers with 3:54 left in the third quarter to make it 53-43. She followed that with another at the 3:22 mark and then buried a third straight with 2:59 to play to give her team a 59-45 lead, forcing HBU to call timeout.
Out of the timeout, Suzzy Dimba buried a corner 3-pointer to push the lead to 62-47, and ACU carried a 65-50 lead to the fourth quarter. Mason continued her hot streak by burying her first two 3-point attempts of the fourth quarter, at the 7:12 mark and again at the 6:47 mark, the latter of which pushed the Wildcats' lead to an insurmountable 76-52.
In the process of dominating the second half, Mason continued to re-write the ACU record book. She finished 9 for 19 from 3-point range, setting single-game records for most made 3-pointers and most 3-pointers attempted in a game. And her ninth and final 3-pointer of the game was the 300th of her remarkable career.
She also finished with 31 points, one shy of the career high she established earlier this season in a win over Lamar, and her 23 attempts set a career high.
"Shooters shoot, and when Alexis is open she knows she needs to shoot the ball," Goodenough said. "She knows when she's shot-ready because she's shot thousands and thousands of 3-pointers on her own, in practice and in games."
As usual, it wasn't just Mason who contributed to the win, despite a dominating 31-point effort that also included five rebounds, three assists and four steals. Twins Suzzy Dimba and Lizzy Dimba each had 13 points and six rebounds with Suzzy Dimba adding six assists, three blocks and one steal to her final line. Sydney Shelstead had 14 points and eight rebounds, also playing in her final regular-season game.
When the final buzzer sounded, the Wildcats gathered on the Sharp Gymnasium floor and accepted the conference championship trophy from Ed Henderson of the Southland office in a much more subdued celebration than what was witnessed last March in Moody Coliseum.
But the subdued celebration doesn't take away from the accomplishments of a team that is now 21-8 on the season and 16-2 in conference play. And the back-to-back titles cap a two-year run in the Southland that has seen the Wildcats post a combined 33-3 record.
"It's so hard to win one conference title, much less win back-to-back titles," Goodenough said. "I believe winning the regular-season title is tougher than winning the conference tournament title because you have to put your best foot forward 18 times every season and see how it works out.
"It certainly doesn't take anything away from the title that we have to share the trophy with Central Arkansas," Goodenough said. "Central Arkansas has a great team and is led by a great coach (Sandra Rushing). We could probably play 10 times and we'd each win five times. We're very honored to win this league championship a second straight season."
Now the Wildcats await their post-season fate, which will include either a second straight berth in the Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) or a possible bid to the Women's Basketball Invitational (WBI). ACU will host a Selection Show party on Monday, March 13, from 9:30-11 p.m. in Gym D of the Royce and Pam Money Student Recreation & Wellness Center.
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