ABILENE, Texas – Round one of the I-20 rivalry went to the Wildcats, as Tarleton State Women's Basketball was defeated by ACU 64-59 at Moody Coliseum on Thursday night. 

Down by 10 points entering the final period, Tarleton State shot 52% from the floor in the last 10 minutes to cut it as close as three points. The Texans made it a three-point game with five seconds left, but ACU protected the ball and knocked down a pair of free throws to clinch the win. 

Junior forward Shadasia Brackens scored a career-high 21 points to go with nine rebounds and four steals, knocking down four 3-pointers. Senior guards Jakoriah Long and Kyriana Jones each scored 12 points while freshman center Elodie Lutbert added 10 points. 

"I thought we fought hard in the second half," head coach Bill Brock said. "You're always proud of your team when your kids play hard. At CBU, we played one good half. We played three decent quarters tonight. I thought Shadasia really brought her game tonight. She shot well from 3-point range and I thought she gave us a lift when we needed it. We're getting more mature and we have the opportunity to try to get back to our winning ways on our home floor next week." 

Lutbert scored the first bucket for the Texans after a pair of ACU layups, but the Wildcats went on a quick 7-0 scoring run to stretch the lead. Long helped the Texans answer with a basket before ACU got three straight buckets to force a Tarleton State timeout. The Wildcats scored four consecutive baskets and ended the first quarter with 10 points off Tarleton State's turnovers to take a double-digit lead. 

Tarleton State held ACU scoreless for the first two and a half minutes of the second quarter, using a Long layup to cut the deficit to single digits. Jones followed with a turnaround jumper on the Texans' next possession, but ACU once again responded by stringing together baskets of its own. A 9-0 scoring run put the Wildcats up by 16 with four and a half minutes left in the first half. 

The Texans scored three of the next four baskets to chip the deficit to 10 points. Tarleton State forced ACU into a three-minute scoring drought to end the first half, making it a 30-20 game going into the locker room. 

A Brackens jumper tipped off the third quarter, igniting the Texans' offense to score seven of the next nine points. After another 3-pointer by Brackens and a Lutbert free throw, Jones hit a 3-pointer to make it a three-point game and force an ACU timeout. 

ACU, however, answered with eight straight points in a minute and a half to go back up by 11. The Texans continued to cut the deficit, capitalizing off a stolen inbounds ACU pass and turning it into a layup following a jumper from Long. A layup by ACU once again made it a 10-point game, but 60% third quarter shooting from Tarleton State gave the Texans momentum entering the final period. 

Forcing ACU into turnovers, Tarleton State took advantage. Senior guard Luka Malinka knocked down a 3-pointer while Brackens followed with a trey of her own to make it a nine-point game. ACU quickly responded by getting a second-chance layup to make it an 11-point game with four minutes left to play. 

Even with the large deficit, the Texans refused to quit. 

A 3-pointer by Brackens and jumper from Lutbert following an ACU turnover made it a seven-point game. Brackens knocked down another 3-pointer and Long hit two free throws with five seconds left after nearly converting the basket while being fouled. The Texans were unable to get a steal on ACU's last offensive possession and the Wildcats knocked down a pair of free throws to seal the win. 

Tarleton State returns back to the EECU Center for a three-game homestand starting Thursday, Jan. 15 at 7 p.m., tipping it off against Southern Utah. 

Postgame Notes

• Tarleton State was defeated by ACU 64-59 at Moody Coliseum Thursday night. This was the first of three games of the I-20 rivalry in 2026. 
• Down by double-digits in the fourth quarter, the Texans shot 52% in the final period. This is the second straight game the Texans have shot 50% or better in the fourth quarter (55.2% at CBU).                              
• The Texans played their third game at Moody Coliseum this season, competing in the ACU Christmas Classic earlier this season. Tarleton State is 1-2 this season in Abilene. 
• Junior forward Shadasia Brackens collected a career-high 21 points to go with nine rebounds and four steals. Brackens' four steals are the most by any Texan this season. 
• Tarleton State's starters accounted for 95% of the team's scoring on Thursday. The starting five accounted for 76% of the team's scoring entering Thursday's contest.