Women's Basketball: Nov. 24 Scoreboard
Abilene Christian 79, Eastern Washington 72
Rice 59, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 54
South Dakota State 60, Sam Houston State 49
Abilene Christian 79, Eastern Washington 72
ABILENE, Texas – ACU's second-half defensive effort squeezed the life out of Eastern Washington's offense, and the Wildcats used a big late run to pull away from the Eagles en route to a big 79-72 non-conference win in women's college basketball action at Moody Coliseum.
The Wildcats – who gave up 45 points and 18 field goals in the first half – limited the Eagles to just 27 points and 40 percent shooting from the field in the second half to snatch the win.
The second half was a tight affair with neither team taking more than a five-point lead until a key stretch late in the game – powered by sophomore center
Sydney Shelstead – that helped ACU pull away from the Eagles and push its record to 3-1.
Eastern Washington strung together back-to-back buckets late in the second half to take a 70-68 lead with 5:29 to play. That layup by Jade Redmon, however, would be the Eagles' final field goal of the game and their final points until Lexie Nelson hit two free throws with six seconds to play.
In between, Shelstead – who played her best game as a Wildcat with 18 points and 18 rebounds – powered an ACU run that turned the game in her team's favor. Shelstead had three points, four rebounds and one assist for a dagger 3-pointer from
Whitney West that gave ACU a 78-70 lead 1:35 to play.
Shelstead – whose 18 rebounds are the most by a Wildcat since Kelsey Smith had 19 in a win over Incarnate Word on Feb. 15, 2012 – tied the game at 70-70 with a pair of free throws, and then Echols gave ACU a 71-70 lead with a free throw at the 3:28 mark.
After an EWU miss and Shelstead defensive rebound,
Lizzy Dimba hit a layup on a feed from her twin sister,
Suzzy Dimba. EWU missed again on its next possession and Shelstead grabbed another defensive rebound and went to the free throw line where she hit 1 of 2 to give ACU a 74-70 lead with 2:33 to play.
West hit a free throw with 2:13 to play to make it 75-70, and then the game's key sequence pushed the Wildcats toward the finish line. After West's second free throw rimmed out, EWU grabbed the rebound and went down the floor trailing by just five points. Nelson, however, missed a 3-pointer and Echols grabbed the rebound.
On the other end, Shelstead missed a layup, but grabbed her own miss and threw it out to West, who buried a straight-on 3-pointer to push ACU's lead to 78-70 with 1:35 to play. It was all academic after that as the Wildcats closed it out with a free throw from Echols with 19 seconds to play.
Shelstead was one of two Wildcats to post a double-double as
Suzzy Dimba recorded her 13th career double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds to go along with two assists, two blocks and four steals in 35 minutes.
But it was Shelstead's play that powered the Wildcats in the second half as she finished with nine points and 12 rebounds in the final 20 minutes.
"Sydney worked hard all off-season on improving her body," Goodneough said. "She should be a good rebounder with her body and that's what she is right now."
West finished with 11 points and three assists, while Lyzzy Dimba had 18 points, three rebounds, three assists, one block and one steal in 35 minutes.
ACU returns to action Friday at 3:30 p.m. against George Mason in the Plaza Lights Classic at Missouri-Kansas City. ACU will play UMKC at 3:30 p.m. Saturday.
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Rice 59, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 54
HOUSTON, Texas - The Texas A&M - Corpus Christi women's basketball team fell to Rice, 59-54, at Tudor Fieldhouse Monday night.
The Islanders (0-3) trailed by as many as 12 points in the second half, before making it a three point game with just 1:03 remaining in the game. Rice's Reem Moussa drained two free throws to make it a five point game and the Islanders would not get any closer.
The Islanders were led by senior
Olivia Fouty who recorded her third straight double-double of the year with a 15 point, 12 rebound performance.
Shay Weaver scored a game-high 18 points while assisting on three baskets. Sophomore
Kassie Jones chipped in nine for the Islanders in 22 minutes of action.
After five straight points by Weaver to begin the game, the Owls went on a 14-0 run. During the run, the Islanders shot 1-11 from the field. After an
Ashanti Plummer layup and 3-pointer by Fouty, the Islanders began to claw their way back into the game. A layup by Fouty with 2:48 remaining in the half cut the Owl lead to just three points. Kassie Jones ended the first half with a running jumpshot to cut the lead to five at 30-25.
The Owls (2-1) dished out 16 assists on the night compared the Islanders' six. The Islanders bench was outscored 21-11 in the game.
After shooting just 39.3 percent from the line in its loss to Houston Friday night, the Islanders shot 7-of-9 from the charity stripe against Rice.
The Islanders will make a trip to the West Coast this weekend when they participate in the Cal Poly Holiday Tournament. The Islanders will face-off against Kent State Friday, followed with a meeting with the host school, Cal Poly Saturday.
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South Dakota State 60, Sam Houston State 49
BROOKINGS, S.D. -- Shernise Robertson scored 15 points as the Bearkats late rally fell short in a 60-49 loss to South Dakota State Monday night. Robertson has led the Sam Houston women’s basketball team in scoring in all three games this season.
The Kats trailed 40-17 at halftime but were able to outscore the Jackrabbits 32-20 in the second half. SHSU closed the game on a 16-0 run over the final 3:36 of the game.
South Dakota State was led by 11 points from sophomore Kerri Young. The Jackrabbits had seven players score more than five points in the game. As a team, they shot 36.7 percent from the field.
SHSU held South Dakota State off the board in the final four minutes of the game and outscored them 22-3 in the final eight minutes.
Freshman forward Saundra Guillory was the Kats’ second-leading scorer with eight points. Guards Sally Clavelle and Jazmin Wiley each scored seven points. Jazmin Wiley pulled down a team-high ten rebounds.
The Bearkats will close out November at the SMU Thanksgiving Classic this weekend. SHSU will play Southern California in the tournament opener Friday at 5 p.m. and then play either SMU or Florida A&M Saturday.
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