Women's Basketball: Nov. 15 Scoreboard
Wayland Baptist 64, Abilene Christian 91
Sam Houston State 45, LSU 71
Louisiana Tech 76, Stephen F. Austin 69
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Wayland Baptist 64, Abilene Christian 91
ABILENE, Texas - Four consecutive baskets near the start of the second half set the tone for a dominating performance by the Abilene Christian women's basketball team Saturday night at Moody Coliseum, as the Wildcats cruised to a 91-64 victory over Wayland Baptist in their season opener.
The victory was ACU's third straight in its all-time series vs. the Flying Queens, which dates all the way back to 1971, and lifted its Opening Night record to 27-17. ACU hasn't lost a season-opener since 2009 and the 91 points were its most against Wayland Baptist through 16 meetings.
The Wildcats entered halftime comfortably ahead at 40-26 largely because of a defensive effort that converted 16 WBU turnovers into 15 points. ACU's defense also shut down the Flying Queen's long-range game as they missed six times in the first half on their way to finishing the game 1-of-11.
ACU too struggled some out of the gate offensively - hitting on just 5-of-24 3-point attempts - but in the paint, sophomore center Sydney Shelstead chipped in seven first-half points, while sophomore post Lizzy Dimba started 2-of-3 with a pair of free throws.
The Wildcats' shooting fortunes immediately changed for the better coming out of the break. Lizzy Dimba missed a layup to start, but sophomore guard Alexis Mason put back her offensive rebound to kick start a 7-0 run. Junior guard Whitney West (nine points) then drilled one of her three treys and Lizzy Dimba followed with another easy basket to give the home team its first 20-point cushion of the game a minute into the second half.
Wayland Baptist scored the next two points on a pair of free throws by LaTericka Anderson, but the Flying Queens wouldn't hit their first field goals of the second half until the 16:48 mark.
Suzzy Dimba tossed in layup to make it a 22-point game seconds before the 16-minute media timeout, and coming out of that break newcomer and sophomore guard Ellyn Avery and Mason nailed consecutive back-breaking 3-pointers that pushed the Wildcats' advantage to 59-33.
Avery would hit a second three with 12:02 remaining to give ACU its largest lead of the night at 33 points. The Lenorah, Texas, native and Midland College transfer scored eight points in her Wildcat debut - six of which came during ACU's 51-point second half in which it shot 50 percent (19-38).
Mason led all scorers tonight with 19 points (her 20th career game in double figures) on 7-of 16 shooting, while the Dimba twins combined for 33 points on 11-of-24 shooting with 18 rebounds. Suzzy Dimba's 16 point/11-rebound double-double was the 12th of her career, and extended the Dimbas' streak of leading ACU in rebounds to an 18th game. Mason was the last Wildcat other than Suzzy or Lizzy Dimba to lead the Wildcats in rebounds when she pulled down six vs. Jacksonville on Dec. 21, 2013.
Lizzy Dimba's line included a 7-of-9 effort at the charity stripe, six defensive rebounds, two assists and a steal.
Newcomers Paris Webb, Madison Parker, Sierra Allen and Alyssa Echols also made their ACU debuts this evening. Webb hit both her field goals to finish with five points. Parker pulled down three rebounds, while Echols recorded a game-high four steals and Allen scored five points in nine minutes.
Wayland Baptist had two players post a double-double. Anderson finished with 11 points and 17 rebounds (nine off the offensive glass), and Stephanie Afunugo hit 7-of-10 free throws to finish with 17 points and 10 rebounds (seven defensive).
The Wildcats continue their season-opening homestand Monday at 7 p.m. vs. Howard Payne.
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Sam Houston State 45, LSU 71
Recap to follow.
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Louisiana Tech 76, Stephen F. Austin 69
NACOGDOCHES, Texas – Sophomore Taylor Ross had a breakout night and senior Porsha Roberts was solid on the blocks but the Stephen F. Austin women’s basketball team couldn’t finish off Louisiana Tech on Saturday night in William R. Johnson Coliseum, falling 76-69. The Ladyjacks drop to 26-17 all-time in season openers.
Ross started red hot from the floor for the Ladyjacks (0-1), connecting on her first seven shots in the game. She helped her team jump out to an early 10-5 lead with two layups in the early going and finished the half with 19 points on 9-for-11 shooting. The 5-6 guard poured in a career-high 26 points overall on the night, connecting on 12 of 16 field goals attempts. Ross also chipped in a team-high five assists and four rebounds to pace the offensive attack.
Roberts also had a good night on both ends of the court. She turned in a double-double with 16 points and 10 boards while blocking two shots and swiping three steals. The forward hit seven of nine shots from the floor to help the Ladyjacks shoot 52.6 percent (30-for-57) as a team in the contest.
Senior Tierany Henderson also scored in double digits with 13 points on 6-for-12 shooting while rejecting a game-high three shots.
After the Ladyjacks built their early 10-5 lead, the Lady Techsters (1-0) went on an 11-0 run to pull ahead 16-10. SFA battled right back over the next nine minutes, going on a 24-8 spurt to mount its largest lead of the game at 34-24. Sophomore Brentney Branch hit a three-pointer with 4:25 remaining in the first frame to cap the run.
The Ladyjacks went into halftime up 38-31 and didn’t relinquish their lead until midway through the second half.
The two programs, both of which are ranked as the top five winningest women’s basketball programs in NCAA history, fought back and forth the rest of the way. Roberts banked home a mid-range jumper to give her team a 67-65 lead with 2:52 to play but LA Tech went on an 11-2 run to close the game and secure the win.
Tyler Summitt, son of coaching legend Pat Summitt, recorded his first head coaching win in his first season with LA Tech.
The Ladyjacks next take the court on Tuesday, Nov. 18 against Prairie View A&M. Tip is set for 7:00 p.m.
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