by ABILENE – Senior Dominique Golightly (Kiowa Tribe) scored a career-high 27 points, the Wildcats scored 22 points in the fourth quarter, and the ACU women’s basketball team earned its seventh consecutive victory Saturday in front of a great crowd in Moody Coliseum. ACU withstood a big 27-point fourth quarter from the Lamar Cardinals, and earned a 78-72 win to improve to 11-1 on the season and 3-0 in Southland Conference play.
With a bye on Thursday, the Wildcats had the whole week to get ready for the Southland Conference Tournament semifinal rematch from last March (which ACU won 88-79 to advance to the championship). ACU, with its five seniors and extremely veteran squad, was able to take every punch from a very athletic Lamar team and still pull away at the end. ACU improves to 3-0 in games decided by 10 points or less.
Turning Point
– Lamar used an offensive barrage to win the third quarter, 27-14, giving the Cardinals a 58-56 lead going into the fourth. Then ACU got going defensively. The Wildcats forced back-to-back turnovers to start the fourth, and got a big three-pointer from Makayla Mabry and a layup from Golightly.
– With the game tied at 65 with 5:03 left, Anna McLeod took her defender to the rim and Madi Miller followed it up with a score to put the Wildcats up four points. Even after the Cardinals hit a three to get within one, Makayla Mabry hit the key three at the top of the key with 2:38 to play to immediately push the lead back to four. ACU would hold on with four Madi Miller free throws to ice the game.
Key Plays
– Trailing 5-2 early on, the Wildcats went on an incredible 15-0 run to lead 17-5. Golightly and Breanna Wright each hit three-pointers, while Anna McLeod hit three free throws after being fouled. ACU set the tone early, but Lamar would come right back.
– ACU trailed 27-26 midway through the second quarter, but McLeod rattled off five straight points to regain the lead. The junior finished with 15 points Saturday.
– Mabry hit a three right away in the fourth quarter to give ACU the lead right back after trailing at the end of the third. It was the first points of the game for the junior, who finished with six.
– After Lamar’s Angel Hastings (29 points) hit a three-pointer to give Lamar the lead, Dominique Golightly went to the hoop, as she did all game, to answer the call with a tough layup.
– The biggest play of the game was Mabry’s second three. Lamar hits a big three at the 2:54 mark to get within one, and seconds later Mabry finds herself a little room at the top of the key. Wright found her teammate, and Mabry delivered. It had a nice resemblance to the three-pointer Mabry hit in the semifinal win last March.
