by PORTLAND, Ore. – ACU went 14-of-18 at the free throw line in the fourth quarter, Dominique Golightly (Kiowa) recorded a new season-high in points, and the Wildcat women’s basketball team capped off November with a tough, hard-fought road win at the University of Portland Friday afternoon, 76-69. After trailing right from the beginning, the Wildcats regained their composure and handled their business more than 1,800 miles away from home against a tough West Coast Conference opponent. With the win, ACU gets right back on track and improves to 5-1 on the year, while Portland drops to 5-2.
Turning Points
– ACU trailed 9-0 to start the game at the Chiles Center. However, the Wildcats settled in without head coach Julie Goodenough having to call a timeout, and made an 8-0 run of their own. ACU would gain the lead on a Breanna Wright free throw and the teams would trade punches after that.
– The game was close deep into the third quarter, when ACU went on a key run. With just 3:12 remaining in the period, the Wildcats went on an 11-0 run to push their lead to 45-33. In a low-scoring, defensive battle, that run was key going into the fourth. Portland would not get the game closer than four points.
Key Plays
– After trailing 9-0, Breanna Wright got the scoring going with an and-one basket to get within 9-3. That play settled things down, and the Wildcats got going.
– Dominique Golightly picked up her second foul early on in the first quarter. Sophomore Madi Miller, who turned 20 on Friday, came in to the lineup and hit two big free throws near the end of the quarter.
– The game was close again in the fourth. Portland hit some key shots to get within four points, 54-51. Then Breanna Wright did her thing. The senior hit a three off a screen at the top of the key to push the advantage to seven with 4:34 to play.
– A few possessions later, ACU was holding on to six-point lead when Dominique Golightly hit her fifth three-pointer of the game to extend the advantage to 61-52.
– Free throws down the stretch from Anna McLeod and Wright put the game away eventually. Despite Portland scoring 30 fourth-quarter points, ACU did not let them gain any ground by scoring 29 of its own.
