Oklahoma City, Okla. -- The Mid-America Christian Lady Evangels staged a second half rally and went on to a 76-68 overtime victory over the No. 20-ranked Lubbock Christian Lady Chaps Thursday evening (Dec. 2) at the Gaulke Activity Center.
MACU had a chance to win it in regulation, but Marcy Robinson was called for an offensive foul in the waning seconds.
But Robinson didn't let the final play effect her as she immediately drilled a three for the opening points of overtime.
Brittany Hampton tied it with a three before Robinson drained another from beyond the arc for a 61-58 lead with 4:05 left in the overtime period.
Emily Atkins then hit a three for LCU that once again evened the score as the two squads continued trading shots from long range.
Nicole Wittman though gave the Lady Evangels the lead for good with a field goal inside and Robinson extended the lead to four with another field goal at the 1:52 mark.
After another defensive stop, Robinson hit a pair of free throws and April Hale turned an offensive rebound into a three-point play to put the game away for MACU.
The Lady Evangels (4-3, 1-1 SAC) trailed by as many as 11 in the second half before making their surge.
LCU went up 42-31 after Hampton hit a layup off a turnover with 15:36 remaining in the second half.
Robinson then hit from long range that began an 8-0 spurt that cut the deficit to 42-39 at the 13:05 mark.
After Hampton scored again to stop the run, Hale hit a three and Chelsea Key drove in and hit a bucket to tie the score at 44-44.
With the Lady Evangels trailing by one, Tranecia Smith scored to give MACU its first lead since early in the opening half.
Hampton briefly stemmed the tide for the Lady Chaps with five points in a 7-2 run that put LCU up 52-48 with 6:40 remaining.
But five points from Magen Roth sandwiched around a bucket by Michelle Hardimon gave MACU a 55-52 lead.
Hampton then tied it again with a three at the 2:28 mark.
Hale led the Lady Evangels with 17 points, while Robinson scored 10 of her 16 in the deciding overtime period.
Wittman added 12 along with a team-high eight boards for MACU.
Hampton scored a game-high 25 points to lead the Lady Chaps (4-4, 2-1 SAC). Atkins also scored in double-figures with 10 and Renee Wilson scored nine and pulled down a game-high nine rebounds.
It was a stark contrast in the shooting of both squads from the first half through the overtime period.
LCU came out shooting 52.4 percent (11-of-21) in the opening half, but cooled down to only a 38.2 percent (13-of-34) shooting clip in the second half and overtime.
Meanwhile, the Lady Evangels mustered only a 29.4 percent (10-of-34) performance from the field in the first half, but warmed up to a 56.3 percent (18-of-32) clip in the second half and overtime.
The Lady Evangels will next host Wayland Baptist on Saturday afternoon (Dec. 4).
Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. in the Gaulke Activity Center.
