Abilene Christian women overcome slow start, crush Texas-Rio Grande Valley in basketball

After watching her Abilene Christian team fall behind 10-0 to start its game against Texas-Rio Grande Valley, Madi Miller was determined to turn things around quickly.

The 5-foot-9 senior guard did just that – scoring five unanswered points to spark an 8-0 run. Miller scored 12 of her game-high 18 points in the quarter as the Wildcats rallied to take a 22-20 lead.

Jamie Bonnarens and Miller combined for 29 points in the half for a 50-36 lead, and the Wildcats rolled to an 88-69 victory over the Vaqueros in the Western Athletic Conference game Thursday at the Teague Center.

“I don’t like going down 10 points,” Miller said. “… Coach Goodenough called a timeout, and it kind of refocused us. I was just like, ‘This isn’t how we play. This isn’t what it’s going to be like.’ I just had a shooter’s mentality. Shoot like Coach Goodenough says. Be shot-ready at all times. I just (caught) the ball, saw the rim and let it go.”

Miller hit all five shot attempts in the quarter, including two 3-point goals. She finished the half with 18 points, going 6 of 7 from field, including 3 of 4 treys. She took only one more shot the rest of the night – and missed. But the damage had been done.

Miller was encouraged by her early success shooting the ball.

“That felt really good,” Miller said about watching her first few shots fall. “I was making a lot of shots in warmups, so I was really confident in my shot. My teammates were able to get by their girl and get me open for some open 3s and stuff.”

ACU hit 8 of 16 3-point goals in the first half, including three each by Bonnarens and Miller. The Wildcats, who shot 60% from the field in the half (9 of 15) finished the night shooting 53.2% overall (33 of 62, including 10 of 22 treys).

Bonnarens, who had 11 points in the first half, totaled with 16, while Emma Middleton and Bella Earle added 12 and 11, respectively, off the bench for the Wildcats (13-7 overall, 5-4 WAC).

ACU outscored the Vaqueros 19-8 in the third quarter to put the game away.

Big lift in WAC play

The win comes after ACU lost two close games on the road last week, and it was only the Wildcats' second win in their past six games.

“It was a must-win for us,” ACU coach Julie Goodenough said. “… We had to get back on the winning track.”

And the Wildcats did it after the horrible start.

“The worst start you could possibly have the first 2½ minutes of the game, but (I’m) really proud of how our team responded after that,” Goodenough said. “Kind of settled down and worked for good shots, got defensive stops.”

Sara Bershers led the Vaqueros (7-12, 3-4) with 16 points, and Jessica Martino added 13 off the bench. UTRGV matched ACU’s with 10 3-point goals on 26 attempts but hit 23 of 56 shots from the field overall.

The Wildcats forced 18 turnovers, while committing 11, yet outscored UTRGV 28-13 off turnovers and had a 42-24 advantage in the paint.

The 19-point win is the Wildcats’ biggest margin of victory since a 71-53 home win over WAC rival Dixie State and their biggest in conference this season.

“I think it’s a testament to how tough the WAC is,” Goodenough said. “Every night we’ve got completely different game plans. The styles of play change drastically from Thursday to Saturday to Thursday. Really good coaching. Really good teams."

Program milestone

The win was the 900th in the program’s 52-year history.

“It’s phenomenal,” Goodenough said. “I really appreciate the opportunity to be the women’s basketball coach at ACU. I’ve had games before where I would look up in the stands and see (former ACU coaches) Burl McCoy and Wayne Williams and Joyce (Curtis) all setting together, and it puts a little pressure on the you to be in the role they had years ago. … They really established the foundation for success here.”

Only McCoy, who was 299-174 in 16 seasons (1976-92) has more wins than Goodenough (195-93), who is in her 10th season.

Up next

ACU plays Lamar at 1 p.m. Saturday in a conference game at the Teague Center. The Cardinals (10-7, 5-3) beat Tarleton 53-45 on Thursday in Stephenville for their third straight win.

Joey D. Richards covers Abilene high schools and colleges, Big Country schools and other local sports. Follow him at Twitter at ARN_Joey. If you appreciate locally driven news, you can support local journalists with a digital subscription to ReporterNews.com.

WESTERN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE

ACU 88, Texas-Rio Grande Valley 69

UTRGV … 20 … 16 … 8 … 25 – 69

ACU … 22 … 28 … 19 … 19 – 88

TEXAS-RIO GRANDE VALLEY (7-12, 3-4) – Taylor Muff 4-10 0-0 8, Jena Williams 1-3 0-0 2, Maria Llorente 0-3 0-0 0, KaCee Kyle 1-6 3-3 5, Sara Beshers 6-10 0-0 16, Iva Belosevic 3-3 0-0 6, Tiffany McGarity 1-4 2-2 5, Brooke Jessen 2-4 0-0 5, Borcu Soysal 0-0 0-0 0, Jessica Martino 3-5 5-8 13, Halie Jones 1-2 3-4 6, A’nnika Saenz 0-4 0-0 0, Mariya Taser 0-0 0-0 0, Arianna Sturdivant 1-2 0-0 3. Totals 23-56 13-17 69.

ABILENE CHRISTIAN (13-7, 5-4) – Jamie Bonnarens 6-12 0-0 16, Sarah Griswold 2-4 0-0 4, Kamryn Mraz 3-5 0-0 7, Tatum Barber 1-4 2-3 8, Madi Miller 6-8 3-3 18, Nykale Cramer 0-1 2-2 2, Bella Earle 5-8 0-0 11, Emma Middleton 5-10 2-4 12, Taylor Morgan 1-3 2-4 4, Katie Horyna 1-1 1-2 3, Paige Emborsky 1-1 0-0 3, Alexis Babineaux 2-4 0-0 4, Alice Stevenson 0-1 0-0 0, Niyah Johnson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 33-62 12-18 88.

3-Point Goals – UTRGV 10-26 (Muff 0-3, Williams 0-2, Kyle 0-3, Beshers 4-7, McGarity 1-2, Jessen 1-1, Martino 2-2, Jones 1-2, Saenz 0-2, Sturdivant 1-2), ACU 10-22 (Bonnarens 4-7, Mraz 1-2, Barber 0-1, Miller 3-4, Cramer 0-1, Earle 1-4, Middleton 0-1, Morgan 0-1, Emborsky 1-1). Rebounds – UTRGV 31 (Muff 5), ACU 29 (Miller 5, Middleton 5). Assists – UTRGV 14 (Kyle 5), ACU 23 (Miller 7). Total Fouls – UTRGV 18, ACU 12. Fouled Out – None. Technical Fouls – None.

This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: Abilene Christian rips Texas-Rio Grande Valley women in basketball