Two 20-point performances from Brandi Jordan and Ariel Walker lifted ACC over Cloud County CC for the first time since 1992.
The pair combined for 8 of 17 from beyond the arc as the Lady Devils earned a huge 73-54 win over the T-birds on homecoming.
“Brandi and Ariel were on fire,” ACC head coach Rachel Janzen said.
ACC led cloud 14-10 after the first period, but in the second is when the Lady Devils began to pull away.
Courtney Crippen provided a spark off the bench, causing havoc in transition, scoring in the lane, and setting up her teammates. Crippen finished with 13 points along with five assists. Her 3-point play was followed by a trey from Jordan, giving ACC a five-point lead.
The T-Birds battled within two, but Walker answered with back-to-back 3-pointers, putting ACC up by eight with 4:57 in the second. In the final seconds of the period, Jordan knocked down two 3-pointers to send ACC into the locker room leading 40-29.
Ending the first half with a bang gave ACC the needed fuel to seal the deal after intermission.
“You get momentum, and get hyped up,” Janzen said. “We already had the lead, but to extend it at the end of the half, it just takes you into halftime ready to come back out.”
The hot shooting from Walker and Jordan wasn’t the only reason ACC enjoyed success against Cloud. The Lady Devils shut down the T-Birds top two scorers in Jacy Dalinghaus and Haven Hamilton. Dalinghaus was held to two points, and after scoring 14 in the first half, Hamilton was reduced to three points in the second.
Jordan stayed hot in the second half, connecting from 3-point land with under four minutes remaining in the third, giving ACC a 15-point lead. Crippen continued to shine as well, dishing a dime to Alejandra Handie for the deuce to close the period. The Lady Devils stood in control after three, leading 56-42.
“Courtney really played aggressive,” Janzen said. “She got back to attacking the basket. She hadn’t been doing that the last couple games, but whoahhh did she tonight. She was not stopped.”
ACC led by as many as 20 in the fourth, and sent in the reserves in the closing minutes of the period. The 73-54 win breaks a four-game losing slide, and couldn’t have come at a more perfect time.
“We had a lot of fans in here tonight. We had a little girl come in here tonight who just idolizes the girls, and she wants to buy in to what they are doing because they are college athletes,” Janzen said. “We’ve been close every game, and usually have a little slump, but tonight we didn’t. We kept the lead, extended the lead, and did not look back finally.”
ACC will travel to Cowley County CC on Saturday, and will have their final game at home on Wednesday versus Independence.
