Claremore, Okla. -- Despite three Lady Evangels scoring at least 15 points, the Mid-America Christian Lady Evangels fell 89-69 to the Rogers State Hillcats in a Sooner Athletic Conference matchup Monday night (Jan. 3) in Claremore, Okla.
The Hillcats scored the first eight points of the game and built the lead as high as 12 in the first half.
A three by April Hale brought the Lady Evangels to within five at 25-20 before a 10-3 run stretched the lead for the Hillcats to 12.
RSU went on to a 41-30 lead at the break.
Hunter Peterson hit a trey that gave the Hillcats (8-5, 2-4 SAC) their largest lead to that point at 54-37 at the 14:41 mark of the second half.
The Hillcats led 58-42 when Magen Roth nailed a three that started a 9-0 run that cut the lead to seven with 10:46 remaining.
It was 67-58 when the Hillcats pulled away thanks to seven points from Cortney Crockett that fueled a 16-6 spurt that put RSU comfortably in front 83-64 with just 4:03 remaining.
Nicole Wittman led the Lady Evangels with a game-high 20 points and a team-high six rebounds. Roth scored 18 and Marcy Robinson added 15.
Crockett led five Hillcats in double-figures with 17 points, while Hunter Peterson scored 16 and added a game-high seven assists. Angie Criner chipped in with 15 and Logan Froese tallied 14 and a team-best seven boards.
The Hillcats were bolstered by a 57.1 percent (36-of-63) shooting performance overall from the field, including a blistering 64.3 percent (18-of-28) clip in the second half.
The Lady Evangels will next play at Oklahoma Christian on Thursday evening (Jan. 6) at 6 p.m. in Edmond, Okla.
