Chickasha, Okla. --
Nicole Wittman scored a game-high 27 points to lead the Mid-America Christian Lady Evangels to a 71-67 victory over the USAO Lady Drovers in the regular season finale Saturday evening (Feb. 26) in Chickasha, Okla.
The win gives the Lady Evangels their eighth conference victory of the season under first-year head coach
Roman Owen, their most since joining the NAIA and Sooner Athletic Conference in 2007.
The Lady Evangels led by eight at the half and held off the Lady Drovers most of the second half as another three-point play by Wittman gave them their largest lead of the game at 64-53 at the 5:14 mark of the second half.
But the Lady Drovers finally broke through as a jumper by Gueye capped an 11-1 run that knotted the score at 67-67 with 40 seconds left.
But Wittman again answered with the eventual game-winning jumper with 21 seconds left and after the Lady Evangels got a stop on the defensive end, Woodard closed the deal with a layup with three seconds left.
A three by Wittman gave the Lady Evangels (12-16, 8-14 SAC) a one-point lead with 5:23 left in the opening half and she also hit three free throws as part of a 9-0 spurt that gave MACU a seven-point advantage.
Two threes by Tiffany Jupin brought the Lady Drovers to within one before
Melissa Aguilar hit two free throws and
April Hale nailed a three to help the Lady Evangels jump on top by eight and then settle for a 38-32 lead at the half.
The Lady Drovers (7-22, 3-19 SAC) clawed to within two early in the second stanza when Wittman capped a 7-2 spurt with a three-point play that pushed the lead back to 45-38.
A layup by Korie Hargus and a pair of free throws by Aita Gueye cut the lead to three, but
Brittany Woodard answered for the Lady Evangels with five straight to expand the lead back to eight.
Wittman's 27 points came on 8-of-14 from the field, 3-of-5 from three-point distance and 8-of-9 at the charity stripe. Senior
Brittany Johnson also scored 12 points and pulled down a team-high 10 rebounds.
Gueye had a team-high 23 points for the Lady Drovers along with a game-high 12 boards and seven assists. Jupin scored 20 and hit 5-of-10 from beyond the arc. Hargus chipped in with 10 points.
The Lady Evangels out-rebounded the Lady Drovers 47-39 overall and 18-14 on the offensive glass.
MACU will now gear up to host the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) Central Regional Tournament, scheduled for March 9-12 at the Gaulke Activity Center. Game times and opponents are still to be determined.
