by ABILENE – Junior Dominique Golightly (Kiowa Tribe) scored a game-high 17 points and hit two of the Wildcats’ 10 3-pointers in Abilene Christian basketball’s 72-55 triumph over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Wednesday night at Moody Coliseum.
The win lifted ACU’s overall and Southland records to 18-8 and 11-4, keeping them tied for third place with Nicholls, which tonight defeated McNeese in Lake Charles, La. The Islanders fell to .500 at 13-13 and 7-8 with the loss. They are now 3-8 all time vs. the Wildcats after being swept in this year’s season series.
ACU led for close to 37 of 40 minutes as the Wildcats hit 8-of-11 first quarter field goal attempts including a pair of late 3-pointers from Makayla Mabry (10 points, four rebounds, one block) and Kayla Galindo (three points, one rebound, eight minutes). The remaining 12 points that quarter all were scored in the paint as ACU only missed once inside the 3-point arc (6-of-7).
The Wildcats dished out six assists in the first 10 minutes, and finished the game with 21, tying their D1 season high (Jan. 5, 2019 at Sam Houston State). Breanna Wright (seven points, six rebounds, three steals) recorded eight of those assists, tying her season high for the fourth time.
Golightly started the second quarter with a 3-pointer to give ACU its first 10-point lead of the night and pushed it to 14 at halftime (39-25) as the Wildcats finished on a 7-3 run. Wright assisted on a fast-break trey by Golightly with about two minutes to go, which put ACU ahead 37-25, and on the final possession Wright found a wide ope Alyssa Adams (four points, five rebounds, 20 minutes) in the paint.
ACU maintained a 12-to-16 point lead throughout the third quarter, and grabbed its largest lead at 24 points (66-42) on its third 3-pointer of the fourth quarter hit by Mabry right before the final media timeout. Sara Williamson (seven points, three assists) and Madi Miller (3-4 3-pointers, nine points) also buried treys earlier in the frame as the Wildcats recorded their seventh game with 10 or more 3-pointers.
ACU shot 55.3 percent (26-47) for the game, won the rebounding battle, 35-26, and held a 17-2 advantage in fast-break points. The Wildcats’ defense limited the Islanders’ to 37.9 percent shooting (22-58) and scored 17 points off their 17 turnovers.
