BARTLESVILLE, Okla. – Aubrey Maxwell scored 33 points, including three straight field goals down the stretch to help Abilene Christian hold off Texas A&M University-Commerce, 88-82, in Thursday’s quarterfinal round of the Lone Star Conference women’s championship at Bruin Field House.
“I think we just got beat by a better team on this day,” said Lions coach Denny Downing. “I looked at halftime and we were down nine and they had shot 60 percent and I told my kids there is no way they can do that again. Our kids responded, holding them to 35 percent shooting. We made a great run.”
Maxwell added 13 rebounds for the Wildcats, who also received 22 points from Alex Guiton.
Abilene Christian University (18-10) needed every bit of it to hold off the Lions, who were paced by junior guard Britney Jordan, who scored 38 points and dished out 12 assists.
Abilene Christian, the No. 2 seed in the Lone Star Conference South, advances to Saturday’s semifinal round to play the winner of Tarleton State-Central Oklahoma .
The season ended for A&M-Commerce, which advanced to the Elite Eight last season but finished 19-9 this year.
ACU avenged an 86-80 overtime loss to A&M-Commerce back on Jan. 12.
In that game, it was one of only five games where Maxwell was held under double-digits in scoring with nine points on just 3-of-5 shooting from the field.
But Maxwell redeemed herself early on in Thursday’s rematch in Bartlesville .
The junior center scored the first eight points for ACU and had 17 of her team’s first 29 points.
Maxwell not only kept the pace in the second half, but attacked the boards as well, posting her 12th double-double of the season and 24th of her career.
Trailing by as much as 14 in the first half and 11 at halftime, A&M-Commerce kept the game close and even grabbed a quick lead with 11:08 to play, thanks to Jordan and senior center Katrina Mosley, who became the school’s all-time leading scorer with 14 points, just passing former Lion standout Meshell Graham (1984-88), who had 1,600 points.
Mosley needed 13 points for the school record and hit the mark with a key layup with 3:39 to play, cutting ACU’s lead to 71-69.
But that’s when Maxwell took over for the Wildcats, hitting two straight short jumpers to push the lead to six.
Maxwell also added another free throw and a layup to score seven points in a key 8-2 run that pushed ACU over the top.
Kelsey Darby came off the Wildcats’ bench to score 10 points, making both of her 3-point attempts.
“We were trying to be strong with the ball, said Darby. “It was fun going into this game. Everyone was ready to play.”
ACU racked up its 28th win in the LSC Tournament and advance to the semifinal round for the 18th time in school history.
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