KATY, Texas – Destiny Terrell and Kara Speer's career days to pace the University of the Incarnate Word women's basketball team were spoiled by a late fourth-quarter run by No. 7 Abilene Christian for a Wildcats 81-70 win in the first round of the 2021 Hercules Tires Southland Championship Basketball Tournament on Wednesday afternoon, inside the Leonard E. Merrell Center in Katy, Texas. 

Terrell scored a career-high 17, Kara Speer pitched in with five points and a career-best seven rebounds while Destiny Jenkins and Jaaucklyn Moore both scored in double figures with 16 and 14, respectively. The Cardinals and Wildcats fought tooth-and-nail through the first three quarters as neither team rallied for more than a five-point game. 

ACU went on a 14-0 run to close the third quarter, into the fourth quarter and it was all the momentum it needed to hold off UIW.

UIW quickly got out to a hot start with Terrell and Moore hitting back-to-back 3s to set the tone. Speer and Brittney Stafford nailed clutch 3-pointers and contain the lead. ACU was able to break through with 1:13 on the clock on a trey of its own to hold a 17-16 edge. The Wildcats lead was short-lived when Star Omozee put up a layup with a second left in the quarter and tied the game at 20. 

The second quarter saw eight lead changes and eight ties. After the Wildcats took a 29-25 lead with 6:07 left in the second quarter, Terrell and Moore went back-to-back to start a 10-6 run to regain a 35-32 lead. Tiana Gardner helped get the Cardinals back in the game with a block and a tough drive on the other end to force an ACU foul and knock down two free throws. The Cardinals and Wildcats traded 3s in the final 20 seconds of the half for a 43-43 tie at halftime. 

Moore led the Cardinals, contributing with 10 points on 4-of-9 shooting, two 3s, two rebounds and three steals. Terrell added eight points and Gardner did not miss coming off the bench with seven points on two tough layups and three free throws.

ACU started the second half with an 8-2 run before Moore's layup stopped the run and gave UIW momentum, Speer hitting a trey and a layup on the next possession and Terrell wrestled back the lead with a layup to hold a 52-51 lead with 5:54 to go in the third quarter. ACU pushed back out to the largest lead of the game (5), after five more ties and five lead changes, at the buzzer with a driving layup by Taylor Morgan for a 66-61 lead heading to the final frame.  

ACU's 10-0 run capped by Alyssa Adams free throws grabbed the largest lead of the game to start the fourth quarter, 71-61. The Wildcats added another free throw made it a 72-61 game with 6:13 to play in the game. Jenkins was finally able to stop the run and get UIW back on the board after five minutes of lost possessions on a steal and score, an easy layup and a trey to pull within six, 74-68, with 3:52 to go and give UIW some much-needed momentum. 

The Wildcats capped off the game with a 7-2 run as the Cardinals struggled to shake off a three-minute scoring drought, advancing to the next round with the 81-70 win. 

Anna McLeod led ACU with a double-double putting up 28 points and bringing down 10 rebounds, while Sarah Griswold and Alyssa Adams both contributed double-figure performances. 

POSTGAME QUOTES 

Coach Dow opening statement...

"Obviously a tough loss for our team, we certainly competed well throughout the game. Typically, if we score 70 points in a game, we would win 90% of the time because of our defense but it was unusual to be tied 43-43 after half, 66-61, after three. The game was played at a different pace and both teams were making shots."

"I thought we did an incredible job of being resilient and playing through that even getting within six and having a chance to come back from down double-digits. Individually we had a lot of great performances with Terrell to come up with 17 points, [Jaaucklyn] Moore 14 points 6 assists, [Starr] Omozee 10 rebounds, [Destiny] Jenkins with 16 points. There are certainly a lot of positives to build on for our program especially with as many freshmen as we had playing this season and in today's game."

Dow on the fourth quarter...

"We had a lot of great looks, it was a big part of why we were as competitive as we were as to how well we were shooting from 3 going into the fourth quarter, but to go 1-10 was not great. We had to be a little bit better there."

Destiny Terrell...

"In the beginning, we had the struggles of being in quarantine and missing games and practices, even though we have a young team I think we have a really good team and a really good coach, we missed a lot of touches and a lot of games where we could have had more experience coming into the game."

Jaaucklyn Moore...

"I never had a postseason experience before, so this was a first for me and I was really thankful to do it with a really good team and a really good coach. The results didn't turn out, but I am still glad that I was able to experience it with this group."

LOOKING AHEAD 

UIW looks to be in good hands with the entire roster returning for the 2021-22 season. 

FOLLOW ALONG 

For the most up-to-date information on UIW Athletics, visit uiwcardinals.com, follow the Cardinals on Twitter @UIWAthletics and like UIW Athletics on Facebook.  

Follow the team on Twitter @UIWWBB and Instagram @uiw_womenshoops.