ABILENE, Texas – Junior guard
Rachel Arthur scored in double figures for the sixth-straight game, but HBU was held to 33 percent shooting as Abilene Christian defeated the Huskies, 68-53, Wednesday night from Moody Coliseum.
Arthur led HBU (11-15 overall, 5-10 SLC) with a team-high 16 points, as she went 5-of-11 from the floor and 6-for-8 from the free throw line. Junior forward
Monet Neal scored 12 points on 5-of-10 shooting and 2-for-2 from the charity stripe. Junior forward
Anna Strickland pulled down a game-high 14 rebounds, as she scored six points and had three blocked shots. HBU shot 33 percent from the floor in the game.
Sydney Shelstead scored a game-high 27 points to lead ACU (16-10 overall, 8-7 SLC), as she went 8-of-13 from the floor and 11-of-13 from the line. She also pulled down a team-high 13 rebounds. Alexis Mason dropped 20 points. Reigning Southland Conference Player of the Week Suzzy Dimba was held to three points, but grabbed 11 rebounds, with six blocks, four assists, and four steals. The Wildcats shot 40 percent from the floor.
ACU started the game scoring nine of the first 11 points in the first five-and-a-half minutes. A
Heidi Sihvola jumper ended a 7-0 Wildcats run, but a Shelstead layup followed by a Lizzy Dimba three-pointer gave the hosts a 10-point advantage, 14-4, with 13:52 remaining in the opening half.
HBU outscored the Wildcats, 6-3, in a span of 3:42 to cut the deficit to seven, 17-10. But ACU would use another 7-0 run to take a 14-point lead, 24-10, with 8:26 to go and would not trail by more than eight the remainder of the half, as the Wildcats carried a 36-26 lead into the locker room.
Tayler Jefferson, Arthur, and Neal all led HBU with six points. Strickland pulled down a half-high nine rebounds. HBU shot 38 percent from the floor in the half and 20 of its 26 first-half points came in the paint. Shelstead led ACU with 19 points, while Mason added 10. S. Dimba pulled down a team-high seven rebounds. The Wildcats shot 41 percent from the floor in the half.
A steal and fast-break layup by Arthur at the 17:37-mark of the second half brought the Huskies within seven, 40-33, but ACU would use a 14-6 run to lead, 54-40, with 10 minutes remaining in regulation.
An old-fashioned three-point play by Neal brought the Huskies within 10, 59-49, with 4:39 remaining, but the Wildcats would close the game outscoring HBU, 9-4. HBU shot only 29 percent from the floor in the second half compared to 38 percent for ACU.
HBU hosts conference leader, Stephen F. Austin, Saturday at 4 pm. Prior to the game,
Maisie Elston, Jefferson,
Erin McGarrachan,
Ashleigh Nwanguma, and
Shanice Steenholdt will be honored.
