Feb. 8 was a big night in the First United Bank Center for women’s basketball as they took on Abilene Christian in front of a “Marooned Out” crowd. The Lady Buffs were attempting to win their fourth-straight game in addition to clinching a spot in the post season, both of which they did spectacularly.
The Lady Buffshit the board hard early, going on a 9-2 run only minutes into the game. With only seven minutes gone from the clock, the Lady Buffs had an 18-8 lead, earned by Joni Unruh’s layup to set the precedent for how the rest of the game would go.
ACU came within six points of the home team almost half way through the first half, but the Lady Buffs continued to motor ahead. ACU would try to catch up to the team, but WTAMU went to the locker room with a 40-28 lead.
WT continued its domination out of the locker room, scoring the first six points of the half. Abilene Christian kept fighting throughout the period but only came within 18 points of the Lady Buffs in the second half. The Lady Buffs added insult to injury in the final minutes, pulling off a 10-0 run to end the game 30 points up over ACU with a final score of 89-59 on the board.
“It’s always good to beat ACU, especially on our home court where we’re always looking to defend. We came out ready to play tonight and we did that,” Point Guard Casey Land said.
The Lady Buffs shot 52.2 percent from the field while playing outstanding defense to hold the Wildcats to 34.4 percent. Ashley Leven led the team in points with 16 while also leading in rebounds with eight. Joni Unruh would record 13 points, moving to 11th-place all-time in school history. She currently sits at 1250 career points, only 21 points out of 10th place all-time.
“It’s an honor,” said Unruh. “I really have played with some great people in my career and honestly, I wouldn’t be where I was and wouldn’t have scored if I hadn’t been around those people.”
The Lady Buffs’ win clinched them a spot in the Lone Star Conference tournament and took their season record to 13-8 with a record of 11-4 in the LSC.
“[Qualifying for the tournament] is exciting to know,” Head Coach Krista Gerlich said. “We don’t want to let up. We certainly want some momentum, but it’s nice to know that we have achieved that goal and are going to continue to play in March.”
WT will travel to San Angelo to take on the Rambelles on Feb. 11 at 5:30 p.m. at the Junell Center.
